Saw a crew in Tampa not checking their rigging slings for flat spots before a big lift

I was on a site last month and watched them hook up a 20-ton concrete panel with slings that had clear flat spots from being pinched in a previous job. They just shrugged it off like it was normal wear. That's how you get a sudden failure when the load shifts. How often do you guys actually pull your slings out and run a hand over the whole length?

4 comments

4 Comments

blair_taylor322mo ago

Man that's scary to see. I watched a crew set a big steel beam last year with a sling that was almost cut through from edge damage. They just wrapped it with duct tape and kept going. I make my guys check every sling by hand at the start of the shift, no excuses. That lazy check stuff gets people killed.

cole_baker2mo ago

Remember my buddy who worked that bridge job in Toledo? They found a sling with the core wires showing, foreman just said "it'll hold." How do people sleep at night making calls like that?

danielnelson2mo ago

Duct tape fixes everything, right?

jana_jones2mo ago

Look, sometimes a little tape on a frayed spot is just to keep it from getting worse until the new sling shows up. Seen plenty of rigging that looks rough but is still way above the working load limit. Not every nick means the thing is gonna snap.