Slings : CE Directive and French regulations

I – EEC Directives

Directive 2006/42/EC provides as follows :

• For steel wire rope slings

"The safety factor of the rope and termination set is chosen to guarantee an adequate level of safety; this factor is, as a general rule, equal to 5. Ropes must not have any splices or loops other than those at their ends".

• For chain slings

"The safety factor of the chain and termination set is chosen to guarantee an adequate level of safety; this factor is, as a general rule, equal to 4".

• For textile fibre slings

"The safety factor of the textile and termination set is chosen to guarantee an adequate level of safety; this factor is, as a general rule, equal to 7".

"The safety factor of all the metal components of a sling, or used with a sling, is chosen to guarantee an adequate level of safety; this safety factor is, as a general rule, equal to 4".

II – French regulations

The decree of 1st March 2004 defines the conditions of inspection of the working equipment used for lifting loads to which the director of the establishment where this working equipment is put into service or used.

New regulations introduced in 2004 aim to explicitly define the responsibilities of the director to ensure that the conditions for a serious inspection are satisfied before an audit is carried out :

a) The director must make the lifting equipment and accessories involved and clearly identified, available to the competent persons in charge of the inspections for the time required, taking into account the expected time needed for the inspections, tests and trials to be done.

b) The director must keep at the disposal of the competent persons in charge of the inspections, tests and trials to be done the required documents, such as the manufacturer's instruction manual, the declaration or certificate of conformity, the reports of the previous inspections and the maintenance record of the device.

c) During the inspection, the director must ensure the presence of the personnel required to handle the device, as well as the entire operation and any adjustments. He must also make available to the competent persons in charge of the inspections the resources for safe access to the various parts of the device or installation and, if necessary, the supports to be checked.