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Rigging Gear Inspection Form Generator

Log the gear you inspected, work through the removal-from-service criteria that OSHA sets for each sling type, record what came out of service and sign the form, then print it or download it as a PDF. Every checkpoint cites the paragraph it comes from, and a blank form prints just as cleanly for filling out by hand at the gang box.

The thorough periodic inspection of alloy steel chain slings may never exceed 12-month intervals.
Designated by the employer, with the authority to take the gear out of service — 1926.251(a)(6), 1926.32(f).
The one record OSHA requires here — 1926.251(b)(6)(ii).
Gear inspected

One line per item. The tag or ID is what makes the record usable a year from now.

#Tag / IDTypeSize / lengthRated capacity on the tagVerdict
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Template for informational purposes only. This document must be reviewed and adapted by a competent or qualified person for your specific jobsite, equipment, and applicable federal, state, and local requirements. It does not constitute legal, engineering, or safety advice and does not by itself establish compliance with OSHA or any other standard. SteelToeTools assumes no liability for its use. Nothing you type is sent to our servers.

How to use this form

  1. 1
    List the gear by tag, not by description. “The green sling” is not a record. A tag or stamped ID is what lets you show, a year later, that the sling on the load was the one you inspected.
  2. 2
    Read the tag before you read the sling. 1926.251(a)(2) is blunt: rigging equipment shall not be used without affixed, legible identification markings showing the recommended safe working load. An unreadable tag is a removal, not a judgment call.
  3. 3
    Work the criteria for the sling types you actually have. Mark whole groups N/A rather than guessing. Every checkpoint carries its paragraph, so the form doubles as the reference for a rigger who has not read Subpart H lately.
  4. 4
    For hooks, shackles and round slings, use the manufacturer's criteria. OSHA sets no dimensional reject limits for that hardware — only the hook throat and twist figures that appear in 1910.184(e)(9)(ii) and (f)(5)(vi) for slings. Group G names the manufacturer and ASME B30.26 instead of inventing a number.
  5. 5
    Log what came out and where it went. Then print or download the PDF and sign it. Plan the lift itself with the sling tension calculator and the load weight estimator, and put the rigging steps in a JHA.

What OSHA requires

Two sentences carry the whole inspection duty. 29 CFR 1926.251(a)(1): “Rigging equipment for material handling shall be inspected prior to use on each shift and as necessary during its use to ensure that it is safe. Defective rigging equipment shall be removed from service.” And 1926.251(a)(6): “Each day before being used, the sling and all fastenings and attachments shall be inspected for damage or defects by a competent person designated by the employer. Additional inspections shall be performed during sling use, where service conditions warrant. Damaged or defective slings shall be immediately removed from service.” The general industry equivalent is 1910.184(d), word for word.

What the standard then does — and what makes an inspection form possible at all — is name the conditions that force a removal, sling type by sling type. Those lists are what group A to F of the form are made of.

Where each sling type's removal-from-service criteria live
Sling typeConstruction (1926)General industry (1910)On this form
Alloy steel chain1926.251(b)(5) and Table H-1 (wear); (b)(6) periodic inspection1910.184(e)(9) — cracked or deformed links, hook throat and twistGroup B
Wire rope1926.251(c)(4)(iv), (c)(14), (c)(16)1910.184(f)(5)(i)–(vii) — the seven-condition listGroup C
Synthetic web1926.251(e)(8)(i)–(v)1910.184(i)(9)(i)–(v) — identical listGroup D
Natural and synthetic fiber rope1926.251(d)(6)(i)–(vi)1910.184(h)(5)(i)–(vi) — identical listGroup E
Metal meshNamed in scope, (a)(5); no reject criteria in 19261910.184(g)(9)(i)–(vii)Group F
Synthetic round slingsNot in the scope list of (a)(5)Not coveredGroup G — manufacturer and ASME B30.9
Hooks, shackles, eye bolts, links1926.251(f)(1)–(2) — markings and manufacturer's recommendations onlyHook throat and twist figures appear in (e)(9)(ii) and (f)(5)(vi)Group G — manufacturer and ASME B30.26

Table H-1 — maximum allowable wear at any point of a chain link

Reproduced from 29 CFR 1926.251. Whenever wear at any point of any link exceeds the figure for that chain size, 1926.251(b)(5) requires the assembly to be removed from service.

29 CFR 1926.251 Table H-1 — Maximum allowable wear at any point of link
Chain size (in)Max. allowable wear (in)Chain size (in)Max. allowable wear (in)
1/43/6413/16
3/85/641-1/87/32
1/27/641-1/41/4
5/89/641-3/89/32
3/45/321-1/25/16
7/811/641-3/411/32

The standard requires the inspection, not a particular form, and sets no retention period for the shift or daily inspection. The one record it does require is the month of the most recent thorough periodic inspection of each alloy steel chain sling, 1926.251(b)(6)(ii). ASME B30.9 and B30.26 are named here and not reproduced; where they or a manufacturer's instructions are stricter than OSHA, the stricter criteria govern the gear you own.

Frequently asked questions

Two different frequencies apply and both are in the standard. 29 CFR 1926.251(a)(1) requires rigging equipment for material handling to be inspected prior to use on each shift and as necessary during its use to ensure that it is safe. 1926.251(a)(6) is more specific for slings: each day before being used, the sling and all fastenings and attachments shall be inspected for damage or defects by a competent person designated by the employer, with additional inspections during sling use where service conditions warrant. On top of that, alloy steel chain slings get a thorough periodic inspection at intervals never greater than once every 12 months, under 1926.251(b)(6)(i).

Not for the shift or daily inspection. Subpart H prescribes no form and no retention period for it. The one record OSHA does require is under 1926.251(b)(6)(ii): the employer shall make and maintain a record of the most recent month in which each alloy steel chain sling was thoroughly inspected, and make that record available for examination. A written sheet for the daily inspection is still the only practical way to show it happened and who made it, which is why most contractors keep one.

29 CFR 1910.184(f)(5) lists it: ten randomly distributed broken wires in one rope lay, or five broken wires in one strand in one rope lay; wear or scraping of one-third the original diameter of outside individual wires; kinking, crushing, bird caging or any other damage resulting in distortion of the wire rope structure; evidence of heat damage; end attachments that are cracked, deformed or worn; hooks opened more than 15 percent of the normal throat opening measured at the narrowest point, or twisted more than 10 degrees from the plane of the unbent hook; and corrosion of the rope or end attachments. The construction rule adds 1926.251(c)(4)(iv): no wire rope shall be used if, in any length of eight diameters, the total number of visible broken wires exceeds 10 percent of the total number of wires.

Immediately, if any of the five conditions in 29 CFR 1926.251(e)(8) are present: acid or caustic burns; melting or charring of any part of the sling surface; snags, punctures, tears or cuts; broken or worn stitches; or distortion of fittings. 1910.184(i)(9) is the identical list for general industry. There is no wear allowance and no severity scale in the standard — the condition is either present or it is not.

Table H-1 of 1926.251 gives a maximum allowable wear at any point of a link by chain size: 3/64 in at 1/4 in chain, 5/64 in at 3/8 in, 7/64 in at 1/2 in, 9/64 in at 5/8 in, 5/32 in at 3/4 in, 11/64 in at 7/8 in, 3/16 in at 1 in, 7/32 in at 1-1/8 in, 1/4 in at 1-1/4 in, 9/32 in at 1-3/8 in, 5/16 in at 1-1/2 in and 11/32 in at 1-3/4 in. Whenever wear at any point of any link exceeds that figure, 1926.251(b)(5) says the assembly shall be removed from service. Separately, 1910.184(e)(9) removes slings with cracked or deformed master links, coupling links or other components, and hooks that are cracked, opened more than 15 percent of the normal throat opening, or twisted more than 10 degrees out of plane.

OSHA does not publish any. 1926.251(f)(1) only requires shackles to carry legible markings and not be loaded beyond the rated capacity shown on them, and (f)(2) says the manufacturer's recommendations shall be followed in determining the safe working loads of hooks — with hooks that have no applicable manufacturer's recommendation tested to twice the intended safe working load before first use, and a record of the dates and results kept. For dimensional reject limits on shackles, eye bolts, turnbuckles, links and rings, the manufacturer's criteria govern, and ASME B30.26 is the industry consensus standard. This form points you there rather than inventing a number.

Not directly. 1926.251(a)(5) lists the sling types the section covers: alloy steel chain, wire rope, metal mesh, natural or synthetic fiber rope of conventional three-strand construction, and synthetic web of nylon, polyester and polypropylene. Round slings are not in that list, so their removal-from-service criteria come from the manufacturer's instructions and from ASME B30.9. The general duty to inspect rigging equipment prior to use on each shift, 1926.251(a)(1), still applies to them, and so does the requirement for legible markings showing the recommended safe working load under (a)(2).

1926.251(a)(6) requires the daily inspection to be made by a competent person designated by the employer. 1926.32(f) defines that person as one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. Both halves matter here: knowing what a broken wire in a strand looks like, and having the authority to cut the tag off a sling and take it out of service on the spot.

1926.251(a)(1) is one sentence: defective rigging equipment shall be removed from service. Removed means gone from the job, not leaned in the corner of the connex — the practice that keeps it gone is to cut the eye or the tag, log it, and get it off the site. This form has a removed-from-service table for exactly that: the tag or ID, the condition found, what was done with it and who did it. A sling that fails on a Tuesday and is back in the basket on Wednesday is the failure mode this record exists to prevent.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated v1