16.8.1 Marking
The marking may be directly onto the sling or on a sewn-on label. This marking must be such that it will not affect the safety of the sling when in use. Depending on the standard being worked to, for some slings the material of the webbing will be identified by the colour of the label: for polyamide (nylon) this will be green, for polyester blue and for polypropylene brown. Terminal fittings should be individually marked to identify them with the appropriate record.
In addition to the marking required by the applicable standard and legislation the marking on the label should indicate the following minimum information:
SWL in straight pull for single or endless slings, or for the appropriate range of angles in the case of multi- leg slings.
Distinguishing mark(s). (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).
Nominal length
Material of the webbing
Manufacturer’s name or identification.
Year of manufacture
Additionally the label may show the mode factors or SWLs for various modes of use and the grade of fitting if applicable.
some slings are dyed with a colour code to indicate the working load limit of the sewn webbing component. The WLL may also be indicated by stripes or lines running along the length of the sling, i.e. 1 stripe = 1 tonne, 2 stripes = 2 tonnes and so on. These colours and markings relate to the WLL of the sewn webbing component only and older slings may be marked with alternative colours or no specific colouring. For these reasons and due to the fact that a large proportion of the working population are colour blind to some degree, the user should always check the label to confirm the WLL of the sling.