Most equipment registers exist to stop things going missing. A lifting equipment register has a harder job: every sling, shackle, chain hoist and eyebolt must be uniquely identifiable, examined on schedule, and provably fit to lift - because the law (LOLER, in the UK) requires it, and because the load is sometimes above someone’s head. A shackle costs less than lunch; the paperwork behind it is what keeps it legal to use. This guide covers building a register that satisfies an inspector and survives daily site life.
What you will learn
- What counts as lifting equipment
- Why lifting registers fall apart
- What to record per item
- Tagging gear that lives on site
- Examinations, checks and quarantine
- Tools that make this easier
- FAQ
What counts as lifting equipment
The register covers more than the crane. Lifting equipment includes hoists, gin wheels, lever blocks, vehicle tail lifts and pull-lifts; lifting accessories - the category people forget - includes slings (chain, wire rope, webbing, round), shackles, eyebolts, plate clamps, spreader beams and lifting magnets. Accessories are cheap, numerous and easy to treat as consumables, which is exactly why they dominate inspection failures. If it connects a load to a lifting machine, it belongs in the register with its own ID.
Why lifting registers fall apart
- Quantity beats discipline. A firm with two hoists and two hundred slings keeps good records on the hoists. The slings live in buckets.
- Condemned gear creeps back. A failed sling thrown in a skip instead of cut up has a way of reappearing on site. In register terms it becomes a zombie asset - written off, still in use.
- Scrapped items stay on paper. The reverse problem: gear long gone still sits in the register, inflating counts and confusing audits - the classic ghost asset.
- Certificates and items live apart. The shackle is on site; its certificate of conformity is in a lever-arch file in the office, filed under the supplier’s name nobody remembers.
- Examination dates pass silently. Nothing about a webbing sling announces that its 6 months are up.
What to record per item
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Unique ID | The stamped, tagged or labelled number that ties the physical item to its paperwork |
| Description | Type, size, length, leg count - “2 m two-leg chain sling” beats “chain sling” |
| Working load limit (WLL) | The number every lift plan is built on; it must be readable on the item and the record |
| Serial / batch number | Links the item to the manufacturer’s certificate of conformity |
| Date of first use | Starts the examination clock |
| Certificate of conformity | The document proving the item was made fit for purpose |
| Last + next thorough examination | The dates that decide whether the item may be used today |
| Status | In service, quarantined, scrapped - and gear marked scrapped stays marked |
The pairing of unique ID and certificate is the heart of it. An unmarked sling with a drawer full of anonymous certificates is, for inspection purposes, an uncertified sling.
Tagging gear that lives on site
Lifting gear gets dragged, loaded, rained on and dropped, so identification has to be planned, not improvised:
- Hard-stamped or engraved IDs on shackles and chain fittings outlast anything adhesive.
- Metal or heavy-duty tags suit chain slings and hoists; webbing slings carry a sewn-in label - record that label’s serial as the ID.
- QR labels work well on hoists, lever blocks and beam clamps with flat housings: one scan with a phone opens the item’s record, examination dates and certificate where the gear actually is. Pick laminated stock and a sheltered spot on the body.
- Colour coding by inspection period is a useful site-level overlay - glanceable proof an item went through the current round - but it supplements the unique ID, never replaces it.
Tip: tag the storage location too. A labelled rack position per hoist makes the end-of-week count a walk past the rack, and an empty hook is a question with a name attached.
Examinations, checks and quarantine
Three layers keep gear legal and safe:
- Pre-use checks by the user - visual, every time. These are not recorded per use, but a fault found must be.
- Thorough examinations by a competent person - as a baseline under LOLER, at least every 6 months for accessories and equipment that lifts people, at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment, or per a written examination scheme, plus after any event that could affect integrity. Attach each report to the item’s record on arrival.
- Quarantine on failure. Status changed, item physically segregated and tagged out, and condemned gear destroyed so it cannot creep back. Record the disposal - an auditable end to the chain of custody matters as much as the start.
Issue and return work like any tool checkout - gear goes out against a named person or site, comes back with a condition note - and the same habits apply across the rest of the van fleet, from torque wrenches to power tools.
Tools that make this easier
A spreadsheet can list two hundred slings; it cannot hold their paperwork. Examination due dates sit in column M while the certificates live in a parallel folder structure that drifts out of sync, and nobody updates a sheet from a laydown area in the rain.
AMPthilly keeps the item, its documents and its history in one place: each piece of gear gets a profile with serial, status and custom fields for WLL and examination dates; certificates of conformity and examination reports attach directly to the record; printable QR labels open that record from any phone browser, where crews can check gear in and out or report a defect with photos; and every status change lands in a permanent audit history. The free plan covers 3 users and 25 assets - enough to pilot a register on your hoists and most-used accessories. See /pricing/ for the full tiers.
FAQ
What is a lifting equipment register? A record of every item of lifting gear with its unique ID, WLL, certificate, examination history and status - proof that you know what you own and that everything in service is fit to lift.
How often does lifting equipment need a thorough examination under LOLER? Baseline: every 6 months for accessories and people-lifting equipment, every 12 months for other lifting equipment, or per a written examination scheme - plus after damage or anything else that could affect integrity.
How should slings and shackles be identified? A unique ID per item - stamped, tagged or sewn-in - recorded against its certificate. Colour coding by inspection period is a useful overlay, not a substitute.
What should happen when an item fails inspection? Out of service immediately: status changed, physically quarantined, and condemned gear destroyed and its disposal recorded.
Do I need to keep examination certificates and reports? Yes - attach them to the item’s record as they arrive and keep the history for the life of the item.
The takeaway
A lifting register earns its keep on the worst day, when someone asks “show me this sling’s paperwork” and the answer takes seconds. Get there with four habits: unique ID on every item including the cheap ones, certificate attached to the record not a drawer, examination dates tracked with the next-due visible, and failed gear quarantined on the record as well as in the cage. Everything else is detail.