A single-use sling (sometimes called a one-way sling or one-trip sling) is a textile lifting sling that's designed to attach to and accompany one particular load on its journey from the point of manufacture or dispatch to its final destination. After that journey is complete, the sling is removed from service and destroyed rather than re-used.
According to the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) guidance:
- A single-use sling is designed for a specific load and a specific transport journey.
- Single-use slings are not intended for general lifting operations or repeated use on different loads.
- Once a load has reached its destination and unloading is complete, any single-use slings that accompanied said load should be taken out of service and disposed of to prevent further use.
- Single-use slings often have a different design philosophy from reusable lifting slings because their expected service life is limited to a single transport operation.
A practical definition for transport operators would be:
A one-way sling is a low-cost textile sling supplied with a load for lifting and transport purposes, where the sling remains with the load throughout the supply chain and is not intended to be returned to the shipper for future use.