Overhead lifting: have you checked the sling and falling-load zone?
SAFETY KIMFalling loads & lifting slings
Overhead lifting: have you checked the sling and falling-load zone?
A KOSHA reconstruction of a railway-industry accident involving an overhead crane, a belt sling and a falling load.
Key points
- Select a belt sling suitable for the load’s weight and shape.
- Check wear, tears and other damage, and inspect slings regularly.
- Move outside the danger area before lifting and control access beneath the load.
This is a reconstruction, not identified as original accident CCTV. Determine rigging and working-load limits from the actual load, sling instructions and lifting plan.
Technical principles and management judgement: match rigging and exclusion controls
Slings and connections support the load. A capacity label alone is insufficient: check the actual hitch, angle, damage and edge contact against the manufacturer’s criteria.
A rigging check does not justify allowing people beneath a suspended load. Define the falling and swinging load area in the lifting plan and coordinate signalling with access control.
Who checks suitability, damage and edge contact before lifting? How are people kept out from beneath the load and its travel path?
Source: KOSHA (South Korea) · Korean-language video · 2026-09-08
Overhead crane reconstruction ([그날의 CCTV] 끊어진 벨트슬링, 끊어진 생명줄 ｜철도업 천장크레인 낙하물 사고 편) ↗
Commentary: Field Safety Briefing · Original video: KOSHA (South Korea) · KOSHA website
If playback is unavailable, open the original video on YouTube.
Apply sling inspection to the actual load’s contact surfaces
Connect the video’s sling selection and damage checks with the actual load’s weight and shape. Different edge-contact positions change the conditions to assess even for the same sling. Review the fitted path, including connecting hardware, rather than only markings and surface appearance.
Apply the falling-load exclusion topic to the travel path as well as the suspended position. After viewing, identify actual landing and waiting positions. Establish how to withhold a sling whose condition cannot be verified instead of classifying it as serviceable.
- Review load shape together with sling contact positions.
- Check waiting positions for people along the travel path.
Reading a rating and assessing damage are different tasks
A web sling's marked load and its surface condition answer different questions. Article 163(2) of the Korean Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards (산업안전보건기준에 관한 규칙) requires firmly attached maximum-load and related markings on lifting accessories. Without readable identification, the product's intended conditions are uncertain. A similarly coloured sling cannot supply its rating.
Condition assessment must use criteria for the actual sling's material and construction, including the manufacturer's use and rejection guidance. Do not invent an acceptable amount of suspected crushing, cutting or heat damage. An inability to distinguish damage is not a pass; it calls for holding the item and obtaining an assessment. Product-specific tolerances require the actual sling manufacturer’s criteria.
Article 163(1) distinguishes safety factors by accessory type. It does not authorise an operator to multiply a marked working load. Compare the rating with attachment method, angle and connection conditions. Breaking load, permitted load and safety factor are different quantities even when their numbers appear related.
Different contact at edges and metal connections
Examine the contact between the load edge and webbing separately from contact with a hook or shackle. A smooth load surface does not establish a suitable connection. Review folding, bunching and possible sideways movement in the actual arrangement. The presence of edge protection alone does not establish that its material and thickness suit that edge.
Article 168(1) prohibits deformed or cracked hooks, shackles, clamps and rings as crane or mobile-crane lifting attachments. Replacing a sling while ignoring its connecting hardware misses this part of the load path. Follow the full set of load-bearing components and identify the basis for accepting each one.
A record describing the inspected area and reason for holding an item is more useful than “sling checked”. Separate rejected items from available slings and communicate their status so the next shift does not select them again. Cleaning or straightening an item does not by itself resolve suspected damage.
Crane restrictions still apply after rigging is completed
The overload restriction in Article 135 applies to the crane's rated load. Checking sling capacity must not omit the lifting machine's limit. Adequacy of one cannot compensate for inadequacy of the other. Confirm whether accessories are included in the weight and whether the inspected configuration is the one actually used.
Article 146(1) prohibits dragging loads along the floor and directly separating fixed objects. A load still bolted down or caught on a structure must not be lifted on the assumption that a little more force will free it. The article also requires advance access control to prevent loads passing over workers' heads. Planning must therefore identify where people wait after rigging is finished.
After viewing, ask one person to explain the sling acceptance basis and another to explain waiting positions. The first identifies tags, attachment conditions and rejection criteria; the second identifies the load route and exclusion area. Do not combine an unresolved answer into “ready to lift”. Equipment suitability and separation of people are distinct readiness conditions.