Near-Miss: Shackle Configuration

These flashes summarize the key matters and incidents, allowing wider dissemination of lessons learnt form them. The information below has been provided in a good faith by members and should be reviewed  individually by recipients, who will determine it’s relevance to their own operations.

Near-Miss: Shackle Configuration

A member has reported finding shackles for lifting equipment in an unsafe condition. A third-Party lifting inspector was re-certifying lifting equipment when a one ton lifting shackle was discovered which had lost it’s pin , and the missing been had been replaced with a standard bolt and nut which was not certified for lifting operation

Additionally, the shackle was found to be pinched due to excessive pressure being applied when tightening the nut due to the bolt having thread along it’s entire length. It was not clear whether or not this shackle had been used for lifting but the potential for injury to personnel or damage to assets was high.

The following lessons were learnt:

• Lifting equipment should be fit for purpose and certified by competent authority for use;
• Replacement or repair of lifting equipment invalidates certifications;
• Lifting equipment should be reviewed regularly for non-compliance and any non-compliant items then out of service;
• Where damage is evident or pins/bolts are missing the equipment  should be removed from service and either destroyed or new parts ordered;
• If new parts are ordered , the lifting equipment should be re-tested with a certificate issued prior to return to service;
• Lifting equipment should follow the current color coding;
• Lifting equipment color codes should be well communicated and displayed;
• Identifying and reporting faults in lifting equipment is a regulatory requirement in many places and should be seen as a first line of defense.

HSSE World Safety Flash