Chain Slings
Examination of single, two-, three- and four-leg chain slings and master-links used in heavy lift rigging.
Slings, Chains, Eyebolts & Rigging
Lifting Accessory Inspections in London
Independent statutory examination of lifting accessories — the rigging hardware that connects load to plant. LOLER 1998 Regulation 9(3)(a) sets a six-month interval unless a written examination scheme says otherwise. The report, with photographs, comes the same day, and we remind you before the next one is due.
26+ Years Hands-On Engineering Experience
Independent of Maintenance Contracts
7 Days a Week, 6am to 6pm
Same-Day Reports, With Photos
Certificate expired or lift out of compliance? You're exposed to enforcement action, and your insurance may not respond, until it's resolved. What to do.
Written and reviewed by Mark Crowley, Director, Integrity Lift Compliance Ltd — 26+ years of hands-on lifting equipment engineering. NHS estates, commercial property and industrial lifting compliance.
Engineering Approach
What our lifting accessory inspection programme delivers
Independent, defensible statutory examination by an engineer with deep hands-on plant experience.
- Six-monthly statutory examination intervals — LOLER 1998 Reg 9(3)(a)
- Every item examined by hand, not a glance along the rigging rack
- Tagging, asset register and digital report management
- On-site inspection days for large mixed rigging inventories
- Defect handling, quarantine guidance and recertification routes
- PUWER 1998's equipment-suitability duty addressed alongside the LOLER examination cycle
What a lifting accessory inspection covers
A lifting accessory is anything that connects the load to the lifting machine without being part of either. LOLER puts every one of them on a six-monthly thorough examination, because a failed sling or shackle drops the load whatever state the crane or hoist is in. Each item is examined for:
- Identification and marking: a unique ID and a legible safe working load, so the report can be traced to the item
- Chain slings: stretch, wear at the links and bearing points, gouges, and the master link and hooks with their safety catches
- Webbing and round slings: cuts, abrasion, heat or chemical damage, broken stitching and a readable label
- Wire-rope slings: broken wires, kinks, crushing, corrosion and the condition of ferrules and eyes
- Shackles and eyebolts: pin and thread condition, distortion, wear and the correct pin for the body
- Spreader beams and frames: structure, welds, lifting points and any marking of the rated load
Anything unsafe is taken out of use there and then and quarantined, so it cannot drift back into the rigging store. Everything else goes on one register with its next-due date, and we remind you before the next round is due.
Why accessories are six-monthly
LOLER 1998 Regulation 9 sets a six-month interval for lifting accessories and for anything that lifts people, and twelve months for other lifting equipment. Accessories are worn, dropped, dragged and stored in vans, so they deteriorate faster than the plant they hang from. The examination is separate from the pre-use check the rigger should make every time, and does not replace it.
How often do slings and chains need examining?What you get after the inspection
A Report of Thorough Examination with everything LOLER Schedule 1 requires — including the accessory identified, the date examined, its safe working load, any defect with what must be done and by when, and the date the next examination is due — with each defect graded by severity. On top of that:
- Same-day report: issued digitally on the day of the inspection, not weeks later
- Photographs: of what was inspected and of any defect, in every report as standard
- Records and reminders: we keep the record on file and remind you before the next one falls due
If anything is not safe to use, you are told in writing before we leave. Because we sell no repairs, a defect on the report is never a quotation in disguise.
Assets We Examine
Asset classes covered under our lifting accessory inspection programme.
Webbing & Round Slings
Inspection of polyester webbing and round slings, including endless slings and protective sleeves.
Wire-Rope Slings
Examination of swaged and ferrule-secured wire-rope slings, eye terminations and thimble inserts.
Eyebolts & Shackles
Statutory examination of dynamo, collar and swivel eyebolts and bow / dee shackles used in fixed-anchorage rigging.
Lifting Beams & Spreader Bars
Inspection of bespoke and standard spreader beams, lifting frames and clamp attachments.
Pulley Blocks & Snatch Blocks
Examination of swivel pulley blocks, snatch blocks and sheave assemblies in rigging applications.
Trusted by Critical Estates
Independent. Defensible. Genuinely Endorsed.
SAFed-aligned defect classification, and the endorsement below is a genuine NHS Trust quote — not stock marketing copy.
NHS
NHS
Critical estate passenger lift compliance experience
SK
Skanska
Construction & engineering compliance support
A·B·C
SAFed-Aligned Defect Grading
Defects graded A, B or C to the published SAFed severity scale — a grading standard we follow, not a membership we hold
DBS
Enhanced DBS
Director Mark Crowley holds an enhanced DBS check
NHS Trust Endorsement
“Exceptional response times and thorough documentation. Managing compliance across multiple critical medical estates is complex, but their team makes statutory lift auditing seamless.”
Phillip Nai
Critical Healthcare Estates Manager
Barts Health NHS Trust
Areas We Cover
Independent lifting accessory inspections across London.
Common Questions
Lifting Accessory Inspection FAQs
How often do lifting accessories need a LOLER inspection?
At least every six months, under LOLER Regulation 9. That covers slings, chains, shackles, eyebolts, hooks, spreader beams and any other item that sits between the load and the lifting machine. A written scheme of examination can set a different interval, but for accessories it rarely makes sense to go longer.
Do you tag lifting accessories?
Yes. Each item is identified so it can be matched to its line on the report, and items that pass are recorded with their next-due date. Anything that fails is quarantined on the day rather than left in the store.
Can you inspect our whole rigging store in one visit?
Yes. We work through the store item by item, issue the report the same day with photographs of anything defective, and keep the register so the next six-monthly visit picks up exactly where this one left off.
What happens to a sling that fails?
It is taken out of use immediately and marked as rejected, and the report records why. Most failed soft slings and damaged chains are replaced rather than repaired. We sell no slings or repairs, so the decision is never a sales pitch.
Do lifting magnets and vacuum lifters count as accessories?
Yes. Below-the-hook devices such as magnets, vacuum lifters, clamps and lifting beams are lifting accessories and are six-monthly.
How long must accessory reports be kept?
At least two years under LOLER Regulation 11. Keeping them longer is usually worth it, because they show the history of each item.
How soon do I get the report?
The same day, with photographs of anything rejected.
Request a Survey
Tell us what needs inspecting and where. We'll reply within one business hour.
Already have an asset list or examination schedule? Email it to info@integrityliftcompliance.co.uk and we'll come back with a survey plan rather than ask you to retype it.
Survey Request Form
Further reading on lifting accessory inspections
Do Slings and Chains Need Examining as Often as the Lift?
Lifting accessories are examined every six months, not every twelve. That surprises people, because accessories do not lift persons and the six-monthly limb is usually explained as the one for passenger-carrying plant. Accessories are on it in their own right, and they are the items most often missed entirely.
LOLER Record Keeping: How Long to Keep Your Reports
LOLER 1998 Regulation 11 requires duty-holders to keep records of every Thorough Examination. As a working rule: keep reports for lifting equipment for as long as it stays in service, and for lifting accessories for at least two years.
What Is a LOLER Inspection?
A LOLER inspection — properly a thorough examination — is a systematic engineering assessment of lifting equipment by a competent person, to establish whether it is safe to remain in service. It is not a visual walk-round and it is not a service visit. This is what one actually involves.
Prefer to talk to an engineer?
07496 873972