The 5 Best Lifting Slings for Glasgow
Selecting the right lifting slings is a critical decision in ensuring the safety and efficiency of lifting operations, particularly in Glasgow, where industrial and construction activities are prevalent. With a focus on safety lifting gear in Glasgow, this blog aims to guide you through the nuances of choosing the best lifting slings for your specific needs, considering factors like material, strength, and application suitability.
In Glasgow, where various industries demand robust and reliable lifting solutions, understanding the different types of lifting slings and their applications becomes vital. We delve into the world of lifting slings, from wire ropes to synthetic varieties, outlining their unique properties and suitability for different lifting scenarios. This knowledge is key to making informed decisions about the safest and most effective lifting gear for your Glasgow-based operations.
The safety of workers and the integrity of lifted materials hinge on the quality and appropriateness of the lifting gear used. This blog will provide practical insights and tips on assessing and selecting lifting slings, ensuring they meet the stringent safety standards required in Glasgow’s diverse lifting environments. Whether for construction, shipping, or other industrial uses, the right choice of lifting slings can significantly impact the success and safety of your operations.
How to Choose the Best Lifting Slings for Glasgow
Lifting slings of various varieties allow for the safe lifting, moving, and positioning of heavy equipment. Furthermore, they make attaching loads to hoisting chains easier.
Crosby rigging alloy chains come with various working load limits to meet overhead lifting needs, from hardwearing and strong chains with easy surface damage inspection capabilities to those designed specifically for overhead lifting applications.
This table provides an overview of different types of lifting slings and their features, focusing on their suitability for various lifting applications in Glasgow. Each type offers unique benefits, from the soft material of flat webbing slings to the innovative Tycan chain, ensuring safe and efficient handling of loads in various industrial settings.
| Lifting Sling Type | Description | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Flat webbing slings | Ideal for lifting large, heavy, or awkward loads, it is made from soft polyester material. | load capacity between half and 80 tonnes
Reduced friction for surface protection colour-coded for easy identification Optional wear sleeve for damage protection |
| Crosby Rigging Alloy Chains | Designed for various high-load-strength applications like towing, logging, or binding. | Engineered with heat treatment for durability and fatigue resistance
Suitable for overhead lifting needs Variety of working load limits |
| Round Slings | Highly durable rigging material, perfect for basket, vertical, and choker hitch types. | resistant to abrasion, mildew, and bacteria
load capacity between half a tonne and 80 tonnes colour-coded for easy identification Additional sleeves are available for extra protection. |
| Chains and components | Alloy chains are recommended for overhead lifting due to their durability and high tensile strength. | Variety of lengths and hook types for flexibility
heat-treated to resist corrosion and wear must adhere to the safe working load limit (WLL). |
| Wear Sleeves | Protective sleeves for lifting slings to extend their lifetime and prevent damage. | available in heavy or light-duty versions
essential for maintaining the integrity of slings requires regular inspection for safety. |
| Tycan Chain | Made from Dyneema fibre, it offers the strength of steel chain but is lighter and softer. | Up to eight times lighter than steel chain
non-corrosive, waterproof, and non-conductive suitable for harsh environments like shipyards |
Flat webbing slings
Lifting slings enable safe and rapid lifting of large, heavy, or awkward loads that would be more challenging or impossible to lift by hand. A variety of fittings, such as flat webbing slings, chain slings, and the innovative Dyneema fabric chain known as Tycan, are available.
These slings are specifically designed to safely transport loads between half and 80 tonnes, depending on which model is selected. Their soft polyester material provides increased friction reduction between load and sling for added surface protection, even on newly painted vehicles and machinery. Colour coding makes identification easy, while their resistance against mildew, fungus, and bacteria makes them an invaluable choice for safe lifting operations.
Flat webbing slings can be used in basket, vertical, and choker hitch styles and come equipped with an optional wear sleeve to provide additional protection from damage. It attaches securely with a simple screw-lock attachment system so it can easily be removed or replaced as required.
Before using your sling for every use, it’s essential that it be checked for signs of significant surface damage, such as abrasions and cuts, as this can have a major impact on its safety. Furthermore, avoid running your sling around sharp corners or attaching it to fittings with corners, as these could potentially cause mechanical or chemical damage.
Crosby rigging alloy chains are ideal for various applications that require high load strength and durability, such as those requiring towing, logging, or binding applications. Engineered with heat treatment to prolong service life and combat fatigue resistance, their strength makes them perfect for towing, logging, and binding needs.
Round Slings
Round webbing slings are highly durable rigging materials. Resistant to abrasion, mildew, bacteria, and stretching while providing additional strength without increasing overall sling length. Perfect for basket, vertical, and choker hitch types, as well as having additional sleeves added for additional protection, they’re easy to identify using colour coding so no ambiguity remains during lifting operations and can handle anywhere between half a tonne and 80 tonnes—truly versatile solutions!
Chain Wire Rope Slings can cause significant surface damage when they come in contact with fragile or smooth loads, such as mega yachts or freshly painted products, making this soft type of sling an excellent solution.
Attractively lightweight for ease of rigging and transport. They’re resistant to abrasion and have very low stretch (around 3% at their rated capacity). Furthermore, these slings have independent core yarns that choke tightly but release easily, allowing them to conform easily to load shapes, decreasing damage while prolonging their lifespan.
Before using any sling, it’s essential to inspect its full length for signs of significant abrasion, surface chafing, and cuts, as well as cracked end fittings, loose stitching, or incomplete stitching. Any of these damages could significantly reduce its safe lifting capacity and lower its Safe Working Load Rating rating. We have detailed information available about each safe working load rating on our site.
Chains and components
Industrial synthetic rigging slings offer an alternative that is flexible enough to meet multiple types of loads and applications. Although wire rope and chain are great solutions, they cannot replace their durability, versatility, and affordability in all lifting applications.
Alloy chains are highly recommended for overhead lifting slings due to their durability and high-tensile strength, making them the go-to choice in many applications. Crosby offers top-rated grade 80 rigging alloy chains designed specifically for various uses. These chains are heat treated to protect their steel from corrosion and extreme wear, making them the perfect solution for overhead lifting and towing applications.
As with flat webbing and round slings, chain slings come in an assortment of length options to meet your application. Furthermore, these versatile hooks allow you to secure various points on your load for increased flexibility during movement. Eye hooks, clevis hooks, and slip hooks all work with chain slings for increased versatility when attaching them.
When purchasing a chain sling, it is crucial to take note of its safe working load limit (WLL). This refers to the maximum weight you can lift using it without damaging it; selecting one with a higher WLL could prevent overloading of equipment or accidents occurring that put workers lives at risk.
When using a chain sling, it is also vitally important to adhere to certain dos and don’ts. Never drag it across rough surfaces or against other objects; avoid pulling any load out from underneath when resting on the ground; and also ensure the sling is always hanging correctly.
Wear Sleeves
Wear sleeves are available in various applications and environments to protect lifting slings from damage. Heavy or light-duty versions may offer different levels of protection depending on your equipment and load, making wear sleeves an essential part of rigging supplies that can extend their lifetime.
Before every use, whether using polyester webbing slings or chain wire rope slings, it is crucial that they are checked thoroughly to ensure their safety for lifting. Inspect for signs of wear, such as holes or cuts in the fabric, stitched seams too close to edges or excessive wear in relation to manufacturer specifications; these could indicate a lack of durability leading to potential failure and may have catastrophic consequences.
If your sling shows any of these symptoms, it is imperative to replace it as soon as possible and trust its next lifting operation to a qualified staff member. Always abide by label and marking plate instructions; never overload slings; keep away from sunlight, chemicals, and environmental pollutants to protect slings against damage.
Lifting Gear Direct offers all types of slings, from flat web slings and round webbing slings to one-way lifting slings, endless slings, pump lifting chains in various sizes, as well as accessories and components (wear sleeves for all our sling types) for your lifting requirements. Please get in touch today so we can start helping meet them! We look forward to hearing from you!
Tycan Chain
Industrial synthetic rigging slings offer an ideal alternative to chain and wire rope slings for lifting applications, easily attached to equipment or loads for transport, with protection from wear-and-tear associated with lifting processes. Available in various widths and lengths to meet most lifting requirements.
Green Pin Tycan Chain is an innovative chain system constructed using Dyneema fibre, one of the world’s strongest man-made fibres, which offers all the advantages of steel chain but is up to eight times lighter, softer to handle, and easier to transport compared to its counterpart. This means improved handling for staff while fewer knocks, bruises, muscle aches, or strains occur as a result.
As well as being non-corrosive and waterproof, the material is non-conductive and non-corrosive, providing safe use in oily, greasy, or wet environments such as shipyards, where harsh chemicals are often employed. Dredging operations would find this solution particularly suitable.
Wear sleeves are available to protect chains from scratches, abrasions, and impact damage. They offer a simple yet effective solution for safeguarding against damage to the chain from everyday use, with heavy and light-duty options to help safeguard your investment.
Crosby rigging alloy chains are specifically tailored to overhead lifting applications, thanks to their special heat treatment and design. As OSHA-rated chains for use in overhead lifting applications, Crosby chains come equipped with the capacity for various uses—slings, tethering, and binding are among them—while they come in an assortment of diameters and load limits to meet this challenge.