Cranes get the attention. Lifting tackle gets the failures. Slings, shackles and hooks are cheap, handled constantly, stored badly and replaced late, and they sit at the exact point where a load meets the machine. They also carry a shorter statutory inspection interval than the crane above them, which a surprising number of sites do not realise.
What Counts as Lifting Tackle
Lifting tackle is the equipment between the hook and the load. It includes:
- Chain slings and their fittings
- Wire rope slings
- Webbing and round slings
- Shackles, hooks and eye bolts
- Swivels, turnbuckles and rings
- Clamps, grabs and lifting beams
If it carries the load and is not part of the crane, treat it as tackle. JGS Lifting supplies a full range of lifting tackle and rigging equipment alongside the machinery it attaches to.
The Intervals That Actually Apply
The two intervals people confuse are the crane’s and the tackle’s. They are different, and the shorter one is the one most often missed.
| Equipment | Requirement | Maximum interval |
|---|---|---|
| Lifting machines, including overhead cranes | Thorough examination and performance test by a lifting machinery inspector | 12 months, and again every time the machine is dismantled and re-erected |
| Lifting tackle in use | Examination by a competent person appointed in writing | 3 months |
| All lifting tackle | Visual inspection by the user | Before every use |
Intervals are those set out in Driven Machinery Regulation 18 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993. Where a manufacturer specifies a shorter interval, or the working environment is severe, the shorter interval applies.
Harsh environments shorten the practical interval further. Tackle used in foundries, galvanising plants, marine conditions, mining or anywhere abrasive or chemically aggressive will degrade faster than the calendar suggests.
Safe Working Load and Why Marking Matters
Every item of tackle carries a safe working load, the maximum mass it is rated to lift under normal conditions. Regulation requires lifting machines to be conspicuously and clearly marked with that figure, and the same principle governs tackle in practice: an unmarked sling is an unusable sling, because nobody on the floor can verify it is rated for the lift.
Two things routinely erode the rating in ways operators do not expect.
Sling angle. As the angle between the legs of a sling widens, the tension in each leg rises well above a simple division of the load. A two-leg sling at a wide included angle can be carrying far more per leg than the load divided by two. Where the configuration uses multiple ropes or chains, the factor of safety has to be calculated taking the angle of loading into account.
Below-hook weight. The lifting beam, spreader, magnet or grab is part of the load as far as the crane is concerned. It is not part of the load as far as most operators’ mental arithmetic is concerned.
Who Is a Competent Person
The three-month examination must be done by a competent person appointed by the user in writing for that purpose. Two parts of that get skipped.
The appointment must be in writing. A verbal instruction to the storeman is not an appointment.
The person must actually be competent for the equipment involved, meaning they can identify the discard criteria for each type of tackle, not simply confirm that a sling exists and looks fine.
Note the difference from lifting machines. A crane requires a lifting machinery inspector employed by a registered lifting machinery entity and registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa. Tackle requires a competent person appointed in writing. Sites that outsource both often assume the same person covers everything. Confirm the scope of whoever you appoint.
Keeping the Record
The results of each tackle examination must be recorded and signed in a book kept for that purpose. Separately, users of lifting machines must keep a register on the premises with full particulars of every performance test and examination, plus any modification or repair, available to an inspector on request.
If you lease your lifting equipment, note the additional requirement: the user must keep the latest applicable performance test and service records, not older than 12 months, on the premises, and the owner or lessor must keep full service history records for at least ten years.
In practice, the register is what an inspector asks for first. Equipment that is compliant but undocumented looks identical to equipment that was never tested.
What to Look For Before a Lift
Discard criteria differ by type, but the pre-use check is quick and catches most of what kills people.
Chain slings. Stretched or elongated links, gouges, nicks, bent or twisted links, worn hooks, missing or illegible tags, seized fittings.
Wire rope slings. Broken wires, birdcaging, kinks, crushing, corrosion, damaged or slipping ferrules, core protrusion.
Webbing and round slings. Cuts, abrasion, heat or chemical damage, exposed core yarn, damaged eyes, missing labels.
Shackles and hooks. Distortion or opening of the throat, wear at the crown or bow, damaged threads, mismatched or substitute pins, absent safety latches.
Anything showing damage, defect, wear or distortion that would make it unsafe comes out of service. Not to the back of the rack. Out of service.
Building a Programme That Holds Up
Register every item. Tackle that is not on a list does not get inspected.
Mark and tag consistently. Identification plus safe working load, legible after a year in the workshop.
Set the calendar to three months, not four. The interval is a maximum, not a target.
Store tackle properly. Racked, dry and off the floor. Most abrasion and corrosion happens between lifts, not during them.
Train the operators. The before-use inspection is the one that happens most often, and it is done by whoever picks up the sling.
Combine the visits. Scheduling tackle examinations alongside crane service inspections and load testing reduces disruption and keeps the paperwork in one place.
Let us manage your load testing schedule
Missed intervals are almost always a diary problem rather than a safety decision. JGS Lifting supplies certified lifting tackle, carries out load testing and certification through qualified lifting machinery inspectors, and can run your testing schedule with annual reminders so nothing quietly expires. Technicians are on standby for breakdowns and repairs.
Arrange inspection and load testing
Office 011 363 0287 | Breakdowns 073 511 1363 | 24/7 line 064 543 5276 | 16 4th Avenue, Nigel, 1490
