In accordance with DNV’s Rules for Certification of Lifting Appliances, Standard for Certification of Offshore Freight Containers as well as governmental authority requirements, all loose gear used for lifting appliances or for lifting operations are to be separately certified by a “competent person/body”. DNV offers such certification services.
For cranes certified by DNV
Loose gear certified by competent person other than from DNV will normally be accepted. Only in a few cases; namely for use on offshore crane's and on crane's to be covered by class (class notations CRANE or Crane Vessel), some of a crane's major loose gear components must be certified by DNV.
Loose gear include
Strictly speaking, loose gear includes only components that may be kept separate from the crane and may be hooked on to a crane's hook, such as:
- Rings
- Shackles
- Slings
- Chains
- Lifting beams, spreaders, skids
- Grabs, etc.
In the day-to-day terminology, however, also a number of lifting gear components not loose, but on the contrary - permanently attached to the wires, are incorporated in the family of loose gear and need to be treated and certified accordingly. These are, for example:
- Balls
- Swivels
- Attachment rings and shackles
- Pins and sheaves
- Hooks
- Hook blocks
- Load cells, etc.
DNV’s Rules covers some basic requirements for certification of loose gear. The detailed design, however, must show documentary evidence of being in compliance with international recognised codes, norms and standards. The following steps are normally necessary for DNV certification of loose gear:
- Design approval.
- Manufacturing survey.
- Load testing.
The DNV product certificate issued is our CG3 Certificate of Test and Thorough Examination of Loose Gear. The certification process and the certificates issued comply with ILO Convention No. 152 which covers safety in lifting operations.
Feedback from external customers indicate that there is a need for clarification particularly regarding procedures for certification and testing, not at least related to damages, repairs, modifications, replacements and associated material quality questions.