FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions:

Are the sling capacities listed in the Rigging Handbook too low?

Just because the capacities are different doesn’t mean that they are wrong. The values shown in our Rigging Handbook and the Rigging Notebook are based on OSHA and ASME standards. These are conservative values and should only be used for preliminary planning activities. There are many slings manufactured out of new high strength materials, and these slings may have a higher capacity than the values shown in the book. Please remember that you MUST ALWAYS determine the capacity or Working Load Limit (WLL) of the sling by the identification tag supplied by the manufacturer. Working Load Limit is defined as "the maximum load that may routinely be applied to an assembly or component in straight tension".

I'm confused about the angle of choke (pg 92, Rigging Handbook 2nd ed.)

The rating shown on the tag is the HIGHEST capacity for the hitch. So if the angle of choke is greater than 120 degrees it will have 100% of the WLL shown on the tag. If the choke is “tight”, or less than 30 degrees it will only be 48% of the WLL shown on the tag.

Roundsling Minimum Pin Sizes? (pg 91, Rigging Handbook 2nd ed.)

The sizes shown on page 91 are conservative and at the time the 2nd edition was written these values were taken from industry good practices. However, a new standard was approved (WSTDA-RS-2) that now lists the minimum pin sizes to use.