Wire Rope Slings

EN 13414-1 Table 3 - Working load limits for slings using fibre cored rope of classes 6x19, 6x36 and 8x36 and having ferrule-secured eye terminations

	One Leg Sling	Two Leg Sling		Three and Four Leg Sling		Endless Sling
Angle to the vertical	0°	0° - 45°	>45° - 60°	0° - 45°	>45° - 60°	0°
Nominal rope diameter mm	Working Load Limits Tonnes	Direct	Direct	Direct	Direct	Choke Hitch
8	0.700	0.950	0.700	1,50	1,05	1,10
9	0.850	1.20	0.850	1,80	1,30	1,40
10	1.05	1.50	1.05	2,25	1,60	1,70
11	1.30	1.80	1.30	2,70	1,95	2,12
12	1.55	2.12	1.55	3,30	2,30	2,50
13	1.80	2.50	1.80	3,85	2,70	2,90
14	2.12	3.00	2.12	4,35	3,15	3,30
16	2.70	3.85	2.70	5,65	4,20	4,35
18	3.40	4.80	3.40	7,20	5,20	5,65
20	4.35	6.00	4.35	9,00	6,50	6,90
22	5.20	7.20	5.20	11,0	7,80	8,40
24	6.30	8.80	6.30	13,5	9,40	10,0
26	7.20	10.0	7.20	15,0	11,0	11,8
28	8.40	11.8	8.40	18,0	12,5	13,5
32	11.0	15.0	11.0	23,5	16,5	18,0
36	14.0	19.0	14.0	29,0	21,0	22,5
40	17.0	23.5	17.0	36,0	26,0	28,0
44	21.0	29.0	21.0	44,0	31,5	33,5
48	25.0	35.0	25.0	52,0	37,0	40,0
52	29.0	40.0	29.0	62,0	44,0	47,0
56	33.5	47.0	33.5	71,0	50,0	54,0
60	39.0	54.0	39.0	81,0	58,0	63,0
leg factor KL	1	1,4	1	2,1	1,5	1,6

EN 13414-1 Table 4 - Working load limits for slings using steel cored rope of classes 6x19, 6x36 and 8x36 and having ferrule-secured eye terminations

	One Leg Sling	Two Leg Sling		Three and Four Leg Sling		Endless Sling
Angle to the vertical	0°	0° - 45°	>45° - 60°	0° - 45°	>45° - 60°	0°
Nominal rope diameter mm	Working Load Limits Tonnes	Direct	Direct	Direct	Direct	Choke Hitch
8	0.750	1.05	0.750	1.55	1.10	1.20
9	0.950	1.30	0.950	2.00	1.40	1.50
10	1.15	1.60	1.15	2.40	1.70	1.35
11	1.40	2.00	1.40	3.00	2.12	2.25
12	1.70	2.30	1.70	3.55	2.50	2.70
13	2.00	2.80	2.00	4.15	3.00	3.15
14	2.25	3.15	2.25	4.80	3.40	3.70
16	3.00	4.20	3.00	6.30	4.50	4.80
18	3.70	5.20	3.70	7.80	5.65	6.00
20	4.60	6.50	4.60	9.80	6.90	7.35
22	5.65	7.80	5.65	11.8	8.40	9.00
24	6.70	9.40	6.70	14.0	10.0	10.6
26	7.80	11.0	7.80	1.50	11.5	12.5
28	9.00	12.5	9.00	19.0	13.5	14.5
32	11.8	16.5	11.8	25.0	17.5	19.0
36	15.0	21.0	15.0	31.5	22.5	23.5
40	18.5	26.0	18.5	39.0	28.0	30.0
44	22.5	31.5	22.5	47.0	33.5	36.0
48	26.0	37.0	26.0	55.0	40.0	42.0
52	31.5	44.0	31.5	66.0	47.0	50.0
56	36.0	50.0	36.0	76.0	54.0	58.0
60	42.0	58.0	42.0	88.0	63.0	67.0
leg factor KL	1	1.4	1	2.1	1.5	1.6

Types of Sling Legs

Typical Sling Arrangements

When single leg slings are used either alone or in pairs, the Safe Working Load (SWL) can be affected.

Some examples are given here.

Cradle Sling Lifting coils, steel strip, etc. Basket Hitch SWL = 1.4 x WLL of sling Protect Rope from sharp corners.
Cradle Slings Lifting boilers and packaging cases, etc. Double Basket Hitch SWL = 2.1 x WLL of sling.
Halshing Slings Method using a single sling in place of an endless sling where a ‘bight’ is required. A stirrup fitted temporarily in the bight will minimise damage to the sling. Double and Choked. SWL = 1.6 x WLL of sling.
Double Wrap Slings Note how the double wrap grips the load and helps to prevent it from slipping sideways out of the slings. Double Wrap Basket Hitch SWL = 2.1 x WLL of sling.
Combination Slings Timber steel sheets and packing cases, etc. N.B. Maximum angle between legs is 90º
Reeving Slings Lifting tubes, bars and rods, etc. Double Choke Hitch SWL = 1.1 x WLL of sling.

Working Load Limits & Safe Working Loads

The working load limits of slings made from general engineering ropes to BS EN 12385-4 should conform to BS EN 13414-1: 2003. Note that the working load limits shown are based on the assumption that soft-eyes of single-part slings are used over bearing points of not less than twice the normal diameter of the rope. All sling ropes must be ordinary lay.

The Safe Working Load will normally be equal to the Working Load Limit but in some circumstances it may be less e.g. If the sling is used in choke hitch SWL=WLL x 0.8 .

BS EN 13414-1 covers only those sling assemblies that have legs of equal nominal length, diameter, construction and tensile grade. While sling assemblies with legs of unequal length may be made up generally in accordance with the requirements of BS EN 13414-1, it must be stressed that their rating requires special consideration by a competent person.

Caution

In all cases, where hooks or shackles are used, the WLL of the hooks and shackles shall not be less than that of the leg to which they are attached.

Safety recommendations

When using multi-leg sling assemblies, remember that increasing the angles between the legs will increase the load in each leg. Examine all slings before use, and discard any that are defective. Slings which are found to be unfit for use should be destroyed by cutting them up - not put on a refuse dump. ‘Hooking back’ to the leg of a sling is not recommended. The Safe Working Load of slings is affected by the method of usage. Check that the crane hook is positioned over the loads centre of gravity to prevent swinging when the load is being raised. Correct signals, according to the recognised code, should be given to the crane driver. The signals must be given by the person responsible for the lift and nobody else.

Keep wire rope slings away from welding and flame cutting operations. The Law requires that all lifting tackle must be examined by a competent person at regular intervals. This includes the wire rope slings. Slingers should not stow away slings and regard them as their own private property, as this could lead to them being overlooked at inspection time.

Important New Information on BS EN 13414-1 Sling Standard