5.9.12 Good Slinging Practices
The following are the basic precautions which must be taken:
• All hooks must be of sufficient size to permit the load to be taken on the bed and not the tip,
• Where less than the full numbers of legs of a sling are in use, the SWL will be reduced accordingly. All unused legs of the sling must be hooked back to the eye. This will prevent the hook swinging where it may strike personnel or get caught up. Slings should generally be selected so that all legs are used,
• The hook must be placed over the center of gravity of the load to avoid the load swinging: it is important that, loads are not lifted when persons are between that load and a fixed object,
• The slinger must ensure that the slings do not pass directly over sharp edges such that they may be damaged. To that end, packing is often required to provide a suitable radius around which the sling may be safely placed.