Does ASME B30.26 require inspection records?

Not for shackles, adjustable hardware, compression hardware, links, rings and swivels, or rigging blocks. Some owners and authorities do: New York City requires records B30.26 calls for to be signed and dated, and the US Bureau of Reclamation keeps inspection records until the next periodic inspection. The checklist and log give you that record either way.

What does OSHA require for rigging hardware?

On construction sites, 29 CFR 1926.251(a)(1) requires rigging equipment to be inspected before use on each shift and as necessary during use, with defective equipment removed from service, and 1926.251(a)(2) requires the manufacturer's safe working load marking. In general industry, 1910.184 covers slings, with their fastenings and attachments inspected each day before use. OSHA has not incorporated ASME B30.26 by reference.

When does a shackle fail inspection?

When its markings are missing or illegible, it shows heat damage, weld spatter or arc strikes, excessive pitting or corrosion, bending, twisting, cracking or other deformation, excessive nicks or gouges, a 10% reduction at any point around the body or pin, incomplete pin engagement, excessive thread damage, or unauthorized welding. It goes back into service only when a qualified person approves.

Can I use the multi-item log instead of a record for each item?

Yes, for items that pass. The log takes one row per item with ticks for markings, removal criteria and wear. Any item that fails comes out of service and is written up on the single-item record, so the qualified person's decision and the repair or disposal are on file.

Can I move from this checklist to digital inspections?

Yes. Core holds every shackle, eyebolt and link on the client's register next to the slings and hooks they're used with, sets each item's periodic interval from its service class, and lets a technician inspect a batch of identical hardware in one pass with multi-inspect, opening only the items with findings. Failed items are flagged out of service and routed to a review queue, and clients see their register in their own portal.

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Rigging Hardware Inspection Checklist (ASME B30.26)

Every check ASME B30.26 sets for shackles, eyebolts, eye nuts, turnbuckles, swivel hoist rings, wire rope clips, wedge sockets, links, rings, swivels and rigging blocks, on this page: markings, the removal criteria every chapter shares, the 10% rule, and the checks by hardware type. The PDF and Word versions add the measurement table, the qualified person's sign-off and a multi-item log for inspecting a whole site's hardware in one visit.

PDF & Word (.docx)Single-item record + multi-item logASME B30.26-2026 and OSHA 1926.251

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What's in the downloads

The same checks as the page, laid out as a record a designated person fills in and a qualified person signs, plus a log for inspecting many items on one visit.

Item identification: ID, site, client, manufacturer, size, rated load, hardware type and B30.26 chapter, the service class that sets the periodic interval, and the inspection type
Section A, identification and markings, including shackle body and pin marks, alloy eyebolt grade and swivel hoist ring torque value
Section B, the removal criteria every chapter shares, with the 10% rule
Section C, checks by hardware type, from pin engagement on shackles to sheave wobble on blocks
Section D, measurements against the catalog dimension with the percentage reduction
Section E, deficiencies with the qualified person's hazard decision, then sign-off and return-to-service approval
Multi-item periodic log: 16 rows for a site visit, with markings, criteria and wear ticks per item
Standards reference page: ASME B30.26-2026, B30.9, B30.10 and B30.20, 29 CFR 1926.251(a), (c) and (f), 1910.184, 1926.1404 and 1926.1425
PDF for the clipboard; Word version to add your logo, item IDs and site name

Preview of Rigging Hardware Inspection Checklist document

The rigging hardware inspection checklist, item by item

The first two groups apply to every piece of hardware. Then work through the group for the type in front of you. Measure against the manufacturer's catalog dimension, and take anything that fails out of service.

Identification and markingsEvery item

Manufacturer's name or trademark legible. A country-of-origin stamp alone is not a manufacturer's mark
Rated load or size legible, as the chapter requires
Shackles: body marked with name or trademark, rated load and size; pin with name or trademark, and grade, material type or load rating
Eyebolts: grade marked on alloy eyebolts, and the manufacturer's rating chart to hand if the rated load is not marked
Swivel hoist rings: rated load and torque value marked
Markings match the register entry and the item's ID

Removal criteriaEvery item

No heat damage, including weld spatter or arc strikes
No excessive pitting or corrosion
No bent, twisted, distorted, stretched, elongated, cracked or broken load-bearing components
No excessive nicks or gouges
No 10% reduction of the original or catalog dimension at any point
No excessive thread damage or wear, on threaded hardware
No evidence of unauthorized welding or modification
No other condition that causes doubt about continued use

Shackles26-1

Pin fully engaged and seated. Incomplete pin engagement means removal
No 10% reduction at any point around the body or pin
Replacement pin meets or exceeds the original manufacturer's specification

Eyebolts, eye nuts and turnbuckles26-2

Threads clean and undamaged; turnbuckle end fittings undamaged
Eyebolt suits the load: non-shoulder eyebolts in-line only; shoulder eyebolts for angular loads, shoulder flush and tight, eye in the plane of the pull, load reduced to the manufacturer's table
Thread engagement at least 1.5 times the bolt diameter in a tapped blind hole in steel; a nut under the load in a thin through-hole

Swivel hoist rings26-2

Rotates and pivots freely
Torqued to the manufacturer's value, bushing flange in full contact with the load surface, no spacers or washers under it
Working load limit covers the sling tension at the rigging angle

Wire rope clips and wedge sockets26-3

Correct number and spacing of clips for the rope size, from the manufacturer's table or OSHA Table H-2
U-bolt on the dead end, saddle on the live end, clips tightened to the manufacturer's torque
No signs of rope slippage, and the wire rope at the termination undamaged
No unauthorized replacement components, and assembled correctly
Wedge socket tail at least 6 rope diameters and not less than 6 in, per the manufacturer
Clips not used to form an eye in a sling (29 CFR 1926.251(c))

Links, master links, rings and swivels26-4

Swivel rotates freely when unloaded
No loose or missing nuts, bolts, cotter pins, snap rings or other fasteners and retaining devices

Rigging blocks26-5

No loose or missing fasteners
No sheave misalignment or wobble
No excessive sheave groove corrugation or wear
Hook on the block inspected to ASME B30.10

Load-indicating devices26-6

Calibration current to the manufacturer's interval
Inspected to the manufacturer's instructions

If anything fails, the hardware comes out of service

Tag it out and keep it out of use. A qualified person decides whether the deficiency is a hazard, and the hardware goes back into service only with their approval. Repaired or modified hardware gets an initial inspection before it is used again. On construction sites, 29 CFR 1926.251(a)(1) also requires defective rigging equipment to be removed from service.

Who uses this checklist

Anyone who has to show that rigging hardware was inspected at the right interval, and that what was found was dealt with by the right person.

Rigging inspection companies

Periodic inspections across a client's whole stock of shackles, eyebolts and links, one row per item on the log, with failures written up on the record.

Construction contractors

1926.251(a)(1) requires rigging equipment to be inspected before use on each shift. The checklist covers what to look for.

Plant maintenance and rigging lofts

Initial inspection of new and repaired hardware before it goes into the loft, and the periodic inspection by service class.

Riggers and crane crews

The frequent, before-use visual check, with the removal criteria in front of them.

Compliance guide

What ASME B30.26 asks for

ASME B30.26-2026 was issued on February 26, 2026 and takes effect on February 26, 2027. It revises B30.26-2015 (R2020) with the same chapter structure.

Three inspections

An initial inspection by a designated person before first use of new, altered, modified or repaired hardware. A frequent visual inspection before use. A periodic, complete inspection by a designated person, never more than a year apart. Hardware in semi-permanent or inaccessible locations gets periodic inspections in place of frequent ones.

The 10% rule

Hardware with a 10% reduction of its original or catalog dimension at any point comes out of service. For shackles the rule applies around the body and the pin. Recording the measurement at each periodic inspection shows how fast an item is wearing.

Records

B30.26 does not require written records of initial, frequent or periodic inspections for shackles, adjustable hardware, compression hardware, links, rings and swivels, or rigging blocks. Owners and authorities often do, and a dated periodic record is the only way to show the interval was kept.

Hooks, slings and lifters are separate volumes

Hooks are inspected to ASME B30.10, slings to B30.9 and spreader bars and lifting beams to B30.20, even when they share a lift with B30.26 hardware.

Periodic inspection by service class

The periodic interval never exceeds one year. Frequency of use, severity of service, the nature of the lifts and experience with similar hardware move it shorter.

Service	Interval	Applies to
Normal	Yearly	Shackles, adjustable hardware, compression hardware, links, rings, swivels, rigging blocks
Severe	Monthly to quarterly	The shorter end for heavier use or harsher conditions
Special	As a qualified person recommends	Set and documented by the qualified person

Frequently asked questions

A visual check before use, and a complete periodic inspection by a designated person at least once a year: yearly in normal service, monthly to quarterly in severe service, and as a qualified person recommends in special service. New, altered, modified or repaired hardware also gets an initial inspection before first use.

Related resources

More free templates and resources for inspection professionals.

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