QUALITY INTL CERTIFICATIONSWebbing Sling Inspection & Discard Criteria (LEEA Standard)
Inspect webbing slings before every shift and have them thoroughly examined at least every six months per LEEA and EN 1492-1 practice. Discard a sling for cuts, stitch damage, chemical or heat attack, UV degradation, heavy abrasion, embedded contamination, or an illegible WLL label. Failed slings must be tagged and quarantined, never returned to service.
How to inspect webbing slings and judge when they must be discarded.
Pre-Use Checks vs Thorough Inspection
Two levels of inspection exist. The pre-use check is done by the sling user, every shift, before the sling goes to the hook: a hands-and-eyes pass along the webbing, eyes, stitches and label. It catches the obvious — a cut, a glaze, a missing tag — before it becomes a dropped load.
The thorough inspection is a formal examination by a competent person, recorded in an inspection register, with the sling assessed against discard criteria. Per LEEA and EN 1492-1 practice it is carried out at least 6-monthly, and many UAE sites align their thorough inspections with the quarterly colour-coding cycle used for lifting gear. Both levels matter: the register proves the regime, while the daily check catches what happened since the last formal examination.
Discard Criteria at a Glance
A webbing sling is condemned when damage reduces its strength or makes its rating unverifiable. The classic discard criteria inspectors apply are surface chafe or abrasion that significantly reduces the fibres, cuts through load-bearing yarns, damage to the stitching at eyes and seams, chemical attack that hardens or weakens the yarn, heat or UV degradation, embedded contamination that cannot be removed, and a label or WLL tag that is missing or unreadable.
Each criterion is judged by what the damage does to the load path, not by its size — a small clean cut can condemn a sling faster than a broad area of light fuzzing. The table below lists the criteria described the way they appear in the field, per LEEA and EN 1492-1 practice.
| Discard Criterion | What It Looks Like | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Surface chafe / abrasion | Webbing face worn fuzzy or thin; weave flattened | Discard when fibres are significantly reduced |
| Cuts | Clean slash across face or edge yarns; deeper yarns exposed | Discard |
| Stitch damage | Broken, cut or loose stitching at eyes or seams | Discard |
| Chemical attack | Local weak spots; yarn hardening, swelling or flaking | Discard |
| Heat / UV degradation | Glazed, melted or brittle patches; bleached, powdery fibres | Discard |
| Contamination | Dirt, grease or grit embedded in the weave | Clean; discard if it cannot be removed |
| Label legibility | WLL tag missing, torn or unreadable | Discard — rating unverifiable |
Cuts, Abrasion and Stitch Damage in Detail
Describing damage in words helps new inspectors recognise it on a busy sling store rack. A cut looks like a clean slash: face yarns severed, sometimes exposing the deeper yarns of a duplex sling. Even one cut across load-bearing yarns condemns the sling. Abrasion shows as a worn, fuzzy patch where the weave loses its crisp surface and starts to look felted under the fingers.
Stitch damage concentrates at the eyes and seams. If the stitching that forms the eye or joins the faces is cut, torn or simply missing stitches, the load path is compromised and the sling is condemned. Between formal examinations, damage like this grows fast on UAE sites, which is exactly why the pre-use check before every shift matters.
Chemical, Heat and UV Damage
Webbing is polyester, and it has enemies. Chemical attack — acids, alkalis and solvents — shows as local weakening of the webbing: the yarn may harden, swell, flake or lose flexibility at the touched area. Sometimes the only clue is a discoloured, stiff patch, which is why inspectors feel along the sling as well as look.
Heat shows as glazed or melted patches where fibres have fused, and severe heat leaves the webbing brittle. Ultraviolet degradation is the quiet one in the Emirates: long sun exposure bleaches colours and leaves yarns weak and powdery. A sling left on a yard rack through a Dubai summer may look merely faded while its strength has dropped significantly — any UV-damaged sling goes to the discard pile.
The Gulf climate makes all three worse. Intense sun accelerates UV degradation; high ambient temperatures cook slings stored in metal containers; abrasive desert dust works into the weave and cuts fibres as the sling flexes under load. Coastal sites in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah add salt-laden humidity, and fast project cycles mean slings get dragged across concrete and steel edges rather than padded and protected. The consequence is that inspection intervals should reflect actual conditions — per LEEA and EN 1492-1 practice, harsher use justifies a tightened regime, so confirm your site's frequency with the inspection body.
Labels, Registers and Quarantine
The label is the sling's identity: WLL, material, manufacturer and traceability. Under discard criteria, a sling with a missing or illegible label is condemned even if the webbing is perfect, because its rating can no longer be verified. Recording each examination in an inspection register — sling ID, date, result, inspector — turns individual checks into an auditable regime that clients and authorities can review.
Failed slings need physical control. Tag or mark the sling so no one can mistake its status, cut it or otherwise disable it where site policy requires, and move it to quarantine away from serviceable gear. UAE sites running the quarterly colour cycle apply the next quarter's tag only to slings that passed; quarantine keeps the failures out of that flow so they cannot be re-issued by mistake.
How a Competent Inspector Works
A thorough inspection follows a repeatable path. The sling is cleaned enough to reveal the webbing, laid out with good light behind it, and examined along its full length — body, eyes, stitches, fittings and label. Fingers follow the eyes and seams, since heat and chemical damage is often felt as stiffness before it is seen.
Each finding is judged against the discard criteria, not against opinion: either the sling meets the criteria for continued service, or it is condemned. The result is recorded in the register against the sling's identity, and the quarterly colour tag is applied only on a pass. QIC (Quality International Certifications), a UAE inspection company since 1998 that performs load testing and lifting equipment inspection, works this way for its clients. Where a judgement is genuinely borderline, confirm with the inspection body rather than down-rating a damaged sling and letting it limp on.
Checklist
- Check the sling body along its full length for cuts and abrasion.
- Inspect the eyes and all stitching for broken or loose threads.
- Feel for stiff, glazed or brittle patches indicating heat or chemical damage.
- Look for bleaching or powdery yarns from UV exposure.
- Confirm the WLL label is present, complete and legible.
- Check that contamination sits on the surface and can be removed.
- Verify the current quarterly inspection tag is in date.
- Remove any suspect sling from service and quarantine it immediately.
- Record every thorough examination in the inspection register.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a webbing sling be discarded?
Discard it for any cut exposing yarns, significant abrasion, stitch damage, chemical attack, heat glazing, UV degradation, embedded contamination, or a missing or illegible WLL label. If any of these is present, the sling's strength or its rating cannot be verified, and quarantine plus replacement is the correct action per inspection practice.
How often must webbing slings be thoroughly inspected?
Per LEEA and EN 1492-1 practice, a competent person should thoroughly inspect webbing slings at least every six months, with a pre-use check by the user before every shift. Many UAE sites align the regime with their quarterly colour-coding cycle. Intervals can be tightened for heavy or harsh use — confirm with the inspection body.
What does the colour of a webbing sling mean?
The body colour identifies the sling's working load limit band under the conventional EN colour code — purple 1 tonne, green 2, yellow 3, grey 4, red 5, brown 6, blue 8 and orange 10 tonnes and above. It is separate from the quarterly inspection colour tag, which only records inspection status.
Can a cut webbing sling be repaired?
In practice, no. A cut severs load-bearing yarns and the sling's strength cannot be restored on site. Repairs to lifting slings, if contemplated at all, are a manufacturer-level question, and most damage of this type simply means discard and replace. Never sew, knot or tape a damaged webbing sling back into service.
How do I inspect a webbing sling before use?
Run hands and eyes along the full length: look for cuts, abrasion, glazed or brittle patches and bleached fibres; check the eyes and stitches; confirm the WLL label is legible and the quarterly tag is current. If anything is doubtful, take the sling out of service and refer it to a competent person.