14.8.1 Marking

In addition to the information required by the applicable legislation and standard the following information should be permanently and legibly marked:

  1. Identification mark, (If the manufacturer has not provided a unique serial number then it is the responsibility of the user to add the identification mark to identify the equipment with the inspection and examination reports).

  2. SWL.

  3. Material grade.

  4. Year of manufacture

  5. Name and address of manufacturer or unique identification mark/symbol

  6. Any other information called for by the standard being worked to or by legislation.

The marking should be either on a substantial metal tag permanently attached to the master link or to a link immediately adjacent to it; or on the master link, provided that the mechanical properties of the link are not significantly impaired:

Where such information is on a metal tag it is recommended that the identification marks should also appear on the master link or secondary tag to enable the sling’s historical records, and thus the rest of the information to be recovered in the event of the tag being lost.

Particular attention is drawn to section 1 1.A5.4.3 Methods of Rating Lifting Slings as the method of marking will depend on the rating method adopted and the style of expressing this. The SWL marking for multileg slings should be in one of the following forms as appropriate:

  1. For uniform load rated slings, or slings which have otherwise been rated to express the SWL in terms of the inclination angle: SWL Ut 0-45º plus optionally Vt 45º-60º Additionally, or as an alternative, the rating angles and SWL may be shown by a pictograph on the identification tag similar to that shown in Figure 14.8.1-1 

  2. For uniform load rated slings to other standards expressing the rating at the included angle: SWL Wt 0-90º plus optionally SWL Xt 90º-120º Users of slings rated by the uniform load method and marked at the ‘included angle’ may wish to consider a programme of re-marking to show the SWL in terms of the angle to the vertical, see section 1 1.A5.4.3.7 Re-Marking and Training for Rating Methods. For example, a sling with SWL of say 16t would be re-marked SWL 16t 0-45º instead of SWL 16t 0-90º.

    Figure 14.8.1-1 

  3. For single purpose trigonometrically rated slings which express the SWL in terms of the angle to the vertical: SWL Xt @ 45º

  4. For single purpose trigonometrically rated slings which express the SWL in terms of the included angle: SWL Zt @ 90°