The tag is what makes a chain sling a certified lifting accessory rather than an assembly of steel. It carries the Working Load Limit, the certificate number and the date of last thorough examination — the information a user needs before lifting and an inspector needs before signing anything off.
A sling whose tag is missing or illegible must be withdrawn from service. Not because the chain has failed, but because nobody can any longer establish what it is rated for or when it was last examined. That is a surprisingly common reason for a serviceable sling to be scrapped, and it is entirely avoidable.
Tags are consumable. They catch on things, get dragged across steel and eventually become unreadable, so keeping spares in stores is straightforward good practice.
Key Features
- Carries the essential information: Working Load Limit, certificate number and date of last thorough examination
- Makes the sling identifiable: Which is what makes it a certified lifting accessory rather than a length of chain
- Steel construction: Matched to the assembly it is fitted to
- Consumable item: Tags wear and become illegible. Keeping spares avoids scrapping serviceable slings.
- Marked to the applicable standard: The tag format and content follow the chain sling standard
Technical Specifications
| Product Code |
Material |
Suits |
| G10TAG |
Steel |
Chain sling assemblies |
Tags are stamped or engraved with the assembly details at the time of certification.
Chain Sling Identification | The Tag Is Not Optional
A chain sling must carry legible identification showing its Working Load Limit and traceable to its certificate. A sling with a missing or illegible tag must be withdrawn from service, regardless of the condition of the chain and fittings, because its rating and examination history can no longer be established. Retagging must be carried out by a competent person against the original certificate.
Suitable Applications
Fitted to every chain sling assembly at the point of certification, and replaced when the original becomes illegible. Held as stores stock by anyone running an assembly fleet, since tags are the component most likely to wear out while the sling itself remains perfectly serviceable.
More About This Product
Shackles are the most-handled component in any lifting operation, and that is precisely why they wear out first. A sling gets rigged and derigged; a shackle gets rigged, derigged, dropped, driven over, thrown into a box and picked up by whoever needs one. Most lifting gear fails from a single overload; shackles fail from accumulated inattention.
The grade markings matter more than most people realise. A Grade 6 high tensile shackle to BS EN 13889 and a Grade 8 alloy shackle look similar and share the same body shape, but the alloy version carries considerably more at the same size. Once a shackle is in a box with fifty others, the only way to tell them apart is the marking — which is why an unmarked shackle has to be scrapped no matter how good it looks.
Understanding the Load Path
A shackle has two distinct load-bearing elements and they do different jobs. The bow takes the sling; the pin takes the load. Reverse that — put the sling on the pin and the load on the bow — and two things happen. The sling bears on a smaller radius than it was designed for, and any movement in the sling starts to rotate the pin.
On a screw collar pin that rotation is the failure mechanism. A sling shifting under a settling load, or vibration transmitted from plant nearby, will slowly unscrew the pin over minutes or hours. It rarely happens quickly enough for anyone to see it happening.
The second consideration is angle. A shackle loaded in line with the pin carries its full rating. Loaded at an angle across the bow it carries substantially less, and published derating tables cover a limited range of angles — beyond that range no figure is published because none applies. On a multi-leg sling every leg is at an angle by definition, which is why the bow shackle exists and why putting a multi-leg sling into a dee shackle is a genuine mistake rather than a preference.
How to Use
- Fit at the point of certification: The tag details must match the certificate.
- Check legibility at every pre-use inspection: An illegible tag withdraws the sling.
- Retag through a competent person: Against the original certificate, not from memory or from the chain markings.
- Match the tag material to the assembly: Stainless tags on stainless slings.
- Record the retagging: It forms part of the equipment history.
Warning: A sling whose tag is missing or illegible must be withdrawn from service. Retagging must be done by a competent person against the original certificate — never re-stamp a tag from memory or by reading the chain markings.
Safety Information
- Every chain sling must carry legible identification.
- Withdraw any sling whose tag is missing or illegible.
- Retagging must be carried out by a competent person against the original certificate.
- Match the tag material to the assembly, particularly on stainless slings.
- Check tag legibility at every pre-use inspection.
Inspection and Maintenance
Check legibility at every pre-use inspection — a tag that can no longer be read has failed at its only job. Look for wear from dragging, corrosion, and physical damage from being caught. On stainless assemblies confirm the tag is also stainless, since a carbon steel tag corrodes and can cause galvanic attack on the stainless around it. Replace before the information becomes marginal rather than after.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why does a missing tag scrap a sling?
Because nobody can establish what it is rated for or when it was last examined. The chain may be perfectly serviceable, but a lifting accessory that cannot be identified cannot be used. Retagging by a competent person against the original certificate is the fix.
Q: Can I re-stamp a tag myself?
No. Retagging must be done by a competent person against the original certificate. Reading the rating off the chain markings and stamping a new tag is not the same thing and is not acceptable.
Q: How often do tags need replacing?
Whenever they become marginal. Tags are consumables — they catch, drag and corrode while the sling itself lasts years. Replace before the information becomes hard to read rather than after.
Q: Does a stainless sling need a stainless tag?
Yes. A carbon steel tag on a stainless assembly corrodes, and the contact can cause galvanic attack on the stainless around it.
