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Dogging (DG) practice questions

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Question 1Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which UK legislation is the primary Act that sets out the general framework of health and safety duties for employers and others at work?

  1. The Road Traffic Act 1988
  2. The Consumer Protection Act 1987
  3. The Factories Act 1961
  4. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 Correct answer.

Explanation

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the cornerstone statute that imposes general duties on employers, the self-employed, and those in control of premises. It established the framework under which more specific regulations, such as those covering work at height or lifting operations, operate. Other listed Acts address narrower areas and do not provide the overarching duty of care in workplaces.

Question 2Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, what must an employer do before deciding on control measures for a workplace risk?

  1. Replace all employees with contractors
  2. Purchase additional public liability insurance
  3. Notify the local authority of every risk
  4. Carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment Correct answer.

Explanation

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to workers and others arising from their undertaking. This assessment is the basis for deciding what preventive and protective measures are needed. Notification, insurance, and staffing changes do not substitute for this statutory duty.

Question 3Safety, Legislation, and Standards

In the hierarchy of control, which measure should be considered first to eliminate a hazard?

  1. Display warning signs
  2. Provide personal protective equipment
  3. Eliminate the hazard entirely Correct answer.
  4. Introduce job rotation

Explanation

The hierarchy of control places elimination at the top because removing the hazard removes the risk at source. Personal protective equipment, signage, and administrative measures such as rotation are lower-order controls that rely on human behaviour or only reduce exposure. Employers should work down the hierarchy, using lower-order measures only when higher ones are not reasonably practicable.

Question 4Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the main purpose of a permit-to-work system for high-risk activities?

  1. To formally authorise and record control measures before work starts Correct answer.
  2. To transfer legal duties to the individual worker
  3. To replace the need for any risk assessment
  4. To reduce the cost of insurance premiums

Explanation

A permit-to-work is a formal documented system that authorises specific high-risk work once specified precautions are confirmed in place. It records who authorised the work, what controls apply, and when the work may proceed. It supplements rather than replaces risk assessment and does not transfer legal duties away from the employer.

Question 5Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which document typically sets out the arrangements, responsibilities, and procedures an organisation uses to manage health and safety?

  1. The health and safety policy Correct answer.
  2. The holiday rota
  3. The purchase order
  4. The employment contract

Explanation

A written health and safety policy states the organisation's commitment and describes the arrangements, responsibilities, and procedures for managing safety. Employers with five or more employees must have such a policy in writing under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Contracts, purchase orders, and rotas serve different administrative purposes.

Question 6Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What does the term 'reasonably practicable' mean when judging whether a control measure must be implemented?

  1. Following only written industry guidance
  2. Doing whatever is cheapest at the time
  3. Weighing the risk against the cost and effort of the control Correct answer.
  4. Acting only after an accident has occurred

Explanation

'Reasonably practicable' requires balancing the magnitude of the risk against the time, trouble, and cost of the measures needed to control it. A gross disproportion between cost and benefit may justify not adopting a measure. It is not a simple cost test and does not depend solely on guidance or on accidents having occurred.

Question 7Safety, Legislation, and Standards

An employer identifies a risk that could harm visiting members of the public. Which duty applies under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974?

  1. No duty until a complaint is made
  2. A duty owed only to employees on the payroll
  3. A duty limited to contractors working on site
  4. A duty to protect persons not in their employment who may be affected Correct answer.

Explanation

Section 3 of the Act places a duty on employers to conduct their undertaking so that persons not in their employment, such as visitors and the public, are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. The duty is owed regardless of whether a complaint has been made. It is broader than duties owed only to employees or contractors.

Question 8Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which of the following best describes the role of a safety representative appointed by recognised trade unions?

  1. Taking over the employer's legal duties for safety
  2. Consulting with the employer on health and safety matters affecting the workforce Correct answer.
  3. Issuing prohibition notices to the employer
  4. Setting the national legal limits for exposure

Explanation

Safety representatives consult with employers on matters affecting workers' health and safety, investigate complaints, and represent the workforce. They do not assume the employer's legal duties, cannot issue enforcement notices, and do not set legal exposure limits. Enforcement and standard-setting rest with regulators and legislation.

Question 9Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Under reporting requirements for workplace incidents, which type of event is generally reportable to the enforcing authority?

  1. A minor paper cut treated with a plaster
  2. A near miss with no risk to anyone
  3. A specified serious injury to a worker Correct answer.
  4. Routine wear of personal protective equipment

Explanation

Reporting regimes require specified serious injuries, certain dangerous occurrences, and specified occupational diseases to be reported to the enforcing authority. Minor injuries requiring only simple first aid are not reportable. Near misses are only reportable if they fall within the defined list of dangerous occurrences.

Question 10Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the primary purpose of an enforcing authority's improvement notice?

  1. To award compensation to injured workers
  2. To stop all work immediately until further notice
  3. To prosecute the employer in court
  4. To require remedial action to correct a legal contravention within a set period Correct answer.

Explanation

An improvement notice requires the recipient to remedy a contravention of health and safety law within a specified period. It is distinct from a prohibition notice, which halts activities posing a risk of serious personal injury. Prosecution and compensation are separate legal processes.

Question 11Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which factor most directly determines whether an employer must provide health surveillance for workers?

  1. Whether workers have requested a gym membership
  2. Whether the risk assessment identifies a residual risk of a specific work-related health condition Correct answer.
  3. Whether the company has more than ten staff
  4. Whether the site operates at night

Explanation

Health surveillance is required where the risk assessment shows that workers remain exposed to a specific health hazard and there are valid techniques to detect effects early. It is risk-driven rather than based on headcount, staff preferences, or shift patterns. It forms part of the wider system of preventive measures.

Question 12Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Why does the law require employers to consult workers on health and safety arrangements?

  1. To avoid the need for written risk assessments
  2. To shift liability for accidents onto the workforce
  3. To draw on workers' practical knowledge and improve the effectiveness of controls Correct answer.
  4. To satisfy insurers without any safety benefit

Explanation

Consultation gives workers a voice and uses their practical knowledge of the work to identify hazards and shape effective controls. It supports, but does not replace, the employer's duty to assess and manage risk. Liability remains with the employer and cannot be shifted to workers through consultation.

Question 13Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A worker is exposed to a hazardous substance. According to the hierarchy of control, which approach should be preferred over relying on respiratory protective equipment?

  1. Issuing tighter-fitting masks without training
  2. Relying on workers to report symptoms
  3. Substituting the substance with a less hazardous alternative Correct answer.
  4. Reducing the frequency of air monitoring

Explanation

Substitution removes or reduces the hazard at source and ranks above personal protective equipment in the hierarchy of control. Respiratory protective equipment should be a last resort after elimination, substitution, and engineering controls have been considered. Simply changing mask fit, monitoring frequency, or relying on symptom reporting does not remove the hazard.

Question 14Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the function of a method statement in planning a high-risk task?

  1. Recording the company's annual profit
  2. Describing the sequence of work and the controls to be followed Correct answer.
  3. Listing employees' holiday entitlement
  4. Providing the company's marketing plan

Explanation

A method statement describes how a task will be carried out safely, including the sequence of work, plant and equipment, and the control measures identified by the risk assessment. It is a practical planning document for the work team. Financial, leave, and marketing records are unrelated to safe work planning.

Question 15Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which principle should guide an employer when selecting control measures for a significant risk?

  1. Adapt the work to the individual and give collective measures priority over individual ones Correct answer.
  2. Rely mainly on individual behaviour and discipline
  3. Apply controls only to the most experienced staff
  4. Delay controls until the next annual review

Explanation

Principles of prevention include adapting work to the individual, giving collective protective measures priority over individual ones, and combating risks at source. These principles aim to reduce reliance on human behaviour. Delaying controls or applying them selectively undermines the preventive approach.

Question 16Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What does the term 'competent person' mean in the context of health and safety law?

  1. Any employee who volunteers for a task
  2. A person holding any university degree
  3. The most senior manager on site regardless of knowledge
  4. Someone with sufficient training, experience, and knowledge for the task Correct answer.

Explanation

A competent person has enough training, experience, and knowledge, together with other qualities as necessary, to undertake the assigned health and safety task properly. Competence is task-specific and is not conferred by seniority or by holding an unrelated qualification. Employers must ensure such competence when appointing people to assist them.

Question 17Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the main legal effect of a prohibition notice served by an inspector?

  1. It grants the employer an exemption from the law
  2. It requires the activity posing a risk of serious personal injury to stop Correct answer.
  3. It imposes a fine set by the inspector
  4. It requires a written risk assessment within 28 days

Explanation

A prohibition notice directs that an activity presenting a risk of serious personal injury must stop, either immediately or after a specified time. It may remain in force until the inspector is satisfied that the risk has been addressed. It is not a mechanism for fines, exemptions, or deadlines for producing risk assessments.

Question 18Safety, Legislation, and Standards

An employer wishes to rely on a generic risk assessment prepared for a similar site elsewhere. What must the employer do to meet legal requirements?

  1. Adapt the assessment to the specific hazards and circumstances of their own workplace Correct answer.
  2. Adopt it unchanged because it was professionally prepared
  3. Replace it with a verbal briefing only
  4. File it without sharing it with workers

Explanation

A risk assessment must be suitable and sufficient for the particular undertaking, so a generic assessment must be reviewed and adapted to reflect the actual hazards, workforce, and conditions at the site. Adopting it unchanged may leave site-specific risks unaddressed. Workers should be informed of the significant findings.

Question 19Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Why is the principle of 'combating risks at source' important in the hierarchy of prevention?

  1. It removes the need to review controls
  2. It removes or reduces the hazard where it arises rather than relying on exposure limits Correct answer.
  3. It transfers responsibility to equipment suppliers
  4. It allows higher exposure limits to be used

Explanation

Combating risks at source means tackling the hazard where it originates, for example by enclosing a process or substituting a material, rather than depending on workers to avoid exposure. This approach is more reliable because it does not rely on human behaviour. It does not permit higher exposure limits and does not remove the need to review controls.

Question 20Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A contractor and a host employer share a workplace. How should health and safety responsibilities be handled?

  1. Only the host employer holds any duty for the shared area
  2. They should cooperate and coordinate their activities, sharing relevant risk information Correct answer.
  3. Only the contractor holds any duty for the shared area
  4. Duties cancel out where two employers are present

Explanation

Where employers share a workplace, each has duties and they must cooperate and coordinate to ensure risks are controlled, sharing information about hazards and controls. Duties are not extinguished or held by one party alone. Effective coordination prevents gaps and conflicting controls.

Question 21Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which statement best reflects the legal position on an employer's duty to provide information and training to workers?

  1. It is satisfied by a single induction on the first day of employment
  2. It may be replaced by displaying posters in the canteen
  3. It applies only to managers and supervisors
  4. It must be provided in a form and language that workers can understand and be repeated as needed Correct answer.

Explanation

Information and training must be comprehensible to the workers receiving it and kept up to date, with refresher training where risks or procedures change. A one-off induction or posters alone do not ensure understanding. The duty covers all workers exposed to risk, not just managers.

Question 22Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the purpose of the statutory requirement to record significant findings of a risk assessment?

  1. To transfer duties to the enforcing authority
  2. To replace the need for worker training
  3. To provide evidence that hazards were identified and controls decided Correct answer.
  4. To create a marketing record for clients

Explanation

Recording significant findings provides a documented basis showing that hazards were identified and control measures decided, supporting review and communication. It does not replace training or shift duties to the regulator. Records also help demonstrate compliance if challenged.

Question 23Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which of these is a recognised source of authoritative health and safety guidance in the UK?

  1. Suppliers' sales brochures
  2. Anonymous internet forums
  3. Unverified social media posts
  4. Approved codes of practice and guidance published by the regulator Correct answer.

Explanation

Approved codes of practice and guidance published by the health and safety regulator provide authoritative interpretation of legal duties. They describe what compliance typically looks like and can be used as evidence. Anonymous forums, sales brochures, and social media are not reliable sources.

Question 24Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Why must an employer review a risk assessment after introducing new machinery?

  1. Reviews are only needed when staff numbers change
  2. New equipment can introduce new hazards or change existing risks Correct answer.
  3. The law requires annual reviews regardless of change
  4. Machinery suppliers conduct all reviews for the employer

Explanation

Introducing new machinery can create new hazards such as moving parts, noise, or energy sources, and can alter existing risks, so the assessment must be reviewed and updated. Review is triggered by significant change, not only by staff numbers or a fixed annual cycle. Suppliers provide information, but the employer remains responsible for the assessment.

Question 25Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What does 'consultation' with workers on health and safety require in practice?

  1. Informing workers of decisions only after they are implemented
  2. Providing information and giving workers the opportunity to express views before decisions are made Correct answer.
  3. Asking workers to sign a disclaimer
  4. Delegating all safety decisions to workers

Explanation

Consultation means giving workers information and the opportunity to express their views, with those views taken into account before decisions are finalised. Informing staff only after the event is not consultation. It also does not mean delegating the employer's decision-making duties to workers.

Question 26Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which piece of UK legislation places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees at work?

  1. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
  2. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
  3. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 Correct answer.
  4. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Explanation

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the foundational statute, and section 2 sets the broad general duty owed to employees. The other instruments are made under that Act and deal with specific hazards or specific management duties rather than the overarching duty.

Question 27Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, when must an employer record the significant findings of a risk assessment?

  1. Whenever the employer has five or more employees Correct answer.
  2. Only when the workplace employs more than 250 people
  3. Only when a enforcing authority requests the record
  4. Whenever any worker requests a written copy

Explanation

The Management Regulations require significant findings to be recorded where the employer employs five or more employees. Smaller employers still must assess risks but are not required by that provision to record the findings in writing.

Question 28Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the main purpose of the Health and Safety Executive's approved codes of practice?

  1. To provide practical guidance that carries special legal status in proceedings Correct answer.
  2. To replace the need for any site-specific risk assessment
  3. To create new criminal offences that apply to all industries
  4. To set the maximum fines that courts may impose for breaches

Explanation

Approved codes of practice give practical guidance on how to comply with the law and have special legal status: failure to follow them is not itself an offence, but it can be used as evidence of contravention. Employers may still achieve compliance by other means that are equally effective.

Question 29Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which document typically sets out an employer's arrangements for managing health and safety, including responsibilities and procedures?

  1. The accident book
  2. The COSHH assessment
  3. The equipment inspection log
  4. The health and safety policy Correct answer.

Explanation

A written health and safety policy states the employer's intentions and sets out the organisation and arrangements for putting them into effect. Where five or more employees are employed, the policy must be in writing.

Question 30Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A small construction firm wants to demonstrate that its safety management arrangements are proportionate to its risks. Which approach best reflects the legal expectation?

  1. Focus resources on the significant risks the firm actually creates Correct answer.
  2. Purchase the most expensive protective equipment available
  3. Adopt a full documented system copied from a large contractor
  4. Rely on workers to raise concerns informally as they arise

Explanation

Health and safety law requires risk to be managed in proportion to what the work actually involves, so effort should be directed at the significant risks the firm creates. Copying a large organisation's paperwork or spending indiscriminately does not demonstrate proportionate management.

Question 31Safety, Legislation, and Standards

An inspector finds a serious risk of personal injury that cannot be immediately controlled. Which enforcement action is most appropriate?

  1. Prosecuting the employer in the magistrates' court
  2. Serving a prohibition notice stopping the activity Correct answer.
  3. Writing an informal letter requesting action
  4. Issuing an improvement notice with a compliance date

Explanation

A prohibition notice is used where an inspector believes there is a risk of serious personal injury; it stops the activity, either immediately or after a specified period. Improvement notices and informal letters are used where the risk does not justify immediate prohibition.

Question 32Safety, Legislation, and Standards

An employer is deciding how to control exposure to a hazardous chemical. Which sequence correctly reflects the hierarchy of control?

  1. Introduce a permit to work, then rely on training, then consider substituting the substance
  2. Provide personal protective equipment, then consider ventilation, then eliminate the substance
  3. Rely on personal protective equipment, then introduce a safe system of work, then eliminate the substance
  4. Eliminate the substance, then control exposure at source, then provide personal protective equipment as a last resort Correct answer.

Explanation

The hierarchy of control starts with eliminating the hazard, then controlling exposure at source through engineering and organisational measures, and uses personal protective equipment only when other measures cannot adequately control the risk. PPE depends on correct use and is the least reliable measure.

Question 33Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A worker suffers a specified injury at work and is taken to hospital. What is the employer's main duty under RIDDOR?

  1. Record the event only in the accident book
  2. Wait until the worker returns to work before deciding whether to report
  3. Notify the enforcing authority without delay and follow up in writing Correct answer.
  4. Report the event only if the worker takes more than seven days off

Explanation

Specified injuries must be reported to the enforcing authority without delay, usually by telephone, and followed up with a written report. Recording in the accident book alone does not satisfy the reporting duty.

Question 34Safety, Legislation, and Standards

What is the purpose of the statutory duty on employers to consult employees on health and safety matters?

  1. To replace the need for a competent safety adviser
  2. To transfer legal responsibility for safety onto the workforce
  3. To enable workers to contribute to decisions that affect their safety Correct answer.
  4. To satisfy insurers before a policy can be issued

Explanation

Consultation gives workers a voice in decisions about the risks they face and how those risks are controlled. It does not shift legal responsibility, which remains with the employer.

Question 35Safety, Legislation, and Standards

An employer plans to introduce a new piece of machinery into an existing process. What is the most appropriate legal step before it is used?

  1. Update the risk assessment to cover the new equipment and its risks Correct answer.
  2. Wait for the first inspection after installation to identify problems
  3. Ask the supplier to accept responsibility for any resulting injury
  4. Rely on the manufacturer's manual as the complete safety assessment

Explanation

Introducing new equipment changes the risks, so the existing risk assessment must be reviewed and updated before use. The employer's duty to assess and control risk cannot be delegated to the supplier.

Question 36Safety, Legislation, and Standards

Which statement best describes the legal position on an employer's duty to provide health and safety training to workers?

  1. Training must be provided free of charge and during working time Correct answer.
  2. Training is required only for workers in designated high-risk roles
  3. Training is required only after an accident has occurred
  4. Training may be charged to workers who request it

Explanation

Health and safety training must be provided without cost to the worker and during normal working hours, and it must be repeated as necessary to keep it relevant. Charging workers or restricting training to certain roles does not meet the duty.

Question 37Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A host employer shares a site with a contractor. Which arrangement best reflects the law on shared responsibilities?

  1. Both parties must cooperate and coordinate their safety measures Correct answer.
  2. The contractor alone is responsible because it controls the work task
  3. The host employer takes over all duties for the contractor's workers
  4. Each party manages only its own staff and need not communicate with the other

Explanation

Where duties are shared, employers and self-employed persons must cooperate and coordinate their activities so that each can comply with their obligations. Neither party can simply ignore the risks created by the other.

Question 38Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A worker is exposed to a hazardous substance that could be inhaled. According to the hierarchy of control, which approach should be considered first?

  1. Substitute the substance with a less hazardous alternative Correct answer.
  2. Introduce health surveillance to detect early effects
  3. Provide a suitable respirator and train the worker to use it
  4. Rotate workers so exposure time is reduced

Explanation

Eliminating or substituting the hazardous substance removes the risk at source and sits at the top of the hierarchy. PPE, worker rotation and health surveillance are lower-order measures used when the risk cannot be removed or adequately controlled otherwise.

Question 39Safety, Legislation, and Standards

An inspector issues an improvement notice. What is the key legal consequence if the employer fails to comply by the stated date?

  1. The notice lapses and the matter is closed
  2. The enforcing authority must fund the remedial work
  3. The employer commits an offence and may be prosecuted Correct answer.
  4. The notice automatically converts into a prohibition notice

Explanation

Failing to comply with an improvement notice is an offence, and the employer may be prosecuted. The notice remains in force until the required work is completed or the notice is withdrawn or appealed successfully.

Question 40Safety, Legislation, and Standards

A company argues that because a risk is very unlikely, it need take no action at all. How should this be assessed under the principle of reducing risk so far as is reasonably practicable?

  1. Likelihood is irrelevant; every identified risk must be eliminated entirely
  2. A low-probability risk can always be disregarded without further thought
  3. The employer must weigh the risk against the time, trouble and cost of control Correct answer.
  4. Only risks that have already caused injury need to be controlled

Explanation

Reasonably practicable requires weighing the magnitude of the risk against the sacrifice needed to control it, in terms of time, trouble and cost. A very unlikely but serious risk may still justify control, and cost is only relevant when it is grossly disproportionate to the risk.

Question 41Rigging and Lifting Equipment

What does the safe working load (SWL) of a lifting sling represent?

  1. The load at which the sling will permanently deform
  2. The mass of the sling itself including fittings
  3. The maximum load the sling may lift under specified conditions Correct answer.
  4. The average load the sling handles in daily service

Explanation

The safe working load is the maximum mass a sling or accessory is rated to lift when used in the configuration and conditions for which it was designed. It already incorporates an appropriate design factor, so it is not a deformation or failure point. Exceeding the SWL removes the safety margin and is prohibited.

Question 42Rigging and Lifting Equipment

A wire rope sling shows several broken outer wires and a patch of heavy corrosion. What is the correct action?

  1. Shorten it by cutting out the damaged section
  2. Reduce its rating by half and continue using it
  3. Withdraw it from service and refer it for inspection Correct answer.
  4. Return it to service if the SWL tag is still readable

Explanation

Broken wires and heavy corrosion are recognised rejection criteria for wire rope slings because they reduce strength and indicate progressive deterioration. The equipment must be taken out of service and quarantined for competent inspection. Field modification or self-downgrading of capacity is not permitted.

Question 43Rigging and Lifting Equipment

What is the primary purpose of a swivel in a lifting assembly?

  1. To absorb shock loads during lifting
  2. To increase the rated capacity of the assembly
  3. To lock the load against any rotation
  4. To allow rotation without twisting the sling or load Correct answer.

Explanation

A swivel permits the load or sling to rotate relative to the lifting line, preventing the build-up of torsional twist that could damage rope or spin the load. It does not add strength or absorb dynamic forces. Its function is rotational freedom under load.

Question 44Rigging and Lifting Equipment

Before a shackle is used in a lifting assembly, which feature confirms it is suitable for lifting?

  1. A body that has been welded to repair a crack
  2. A coat of fresh paint over the markings
  3. A load rating marked on the body and a correct pin fitted Correct answer.
  4. A pin secured only by a split pin through the thread

Explanation

Lifting shackles must carry a clear rated marking and be assembled with the correct pin for that shackle. Markings allow verification of capacity, and the correct pin ensures the assembly holds together under load. Welded repairs or improvised retention are unacceptable.

Question 45Rigging and Lifting Equipment

Why must synthetic webbing slings be protected from sharp edges on a load?

  1. Sharp edges make the sling colour fade quickly
  2. Edge contact only affects the appearance of the label
  3. Cut fibres reduce strength and can lead to sudden failure Correct answer.
  4. Sharp edges increase the sling's rated capacity

Explanation

Webbing slings rely on intact synthetic fibres to carry load, and a sharp edge can sever or nick fibres, causing a local loss of strength that may propagate to failure. Edge protectors or sleeving should be used wherever contact is possible. The damage is structural, not cosmetic.

Question 46Rigging and Lifting Equipment

What does the term 'sling angle' refer to when assessing a two-leg sling?

  1. The angle of the crane boom to the ground
  2. The angle between a sling leg and the vertical Correct answer.
  3. The angle of the hook opening
  4. The angle between the two legs of the sling

Explanation

In lifting practice the sling angle is usually measured between a leg and the vertical, because the vertical component of leg tension supports the load. As this angle increases, leg tension rises sharply for the same load. Confusing it with the included angle between legs leads to dangerous capacity errors.

Question 47Rigging and Lifting Equipment

Which item is classed as lifting equipment that must be examined and inspected at intervals?

  1. A chain sling used for hoisting loads Correct answer.
  2. A hand brush kept in the workshop
  3. A floor marking showing a walkway
  4. A wooden pallet used only for storage

Explanation

Chain slings are lifting accessories and fall under thorough examination and inspection regimes because their failure can cause injury or death. Storage pallets, cleaning tools and floor markings are not lifting equipment. Regular examination detects wear, cracks and deformation before use.

Question 48Rigging and Lifting Equipment

What is the main reason for using a lifting beam rather than a simple multi-leg sling on a long load?

  1. To keep sling legs vertical and avoid crushing the load Correct answer.
  2. To remove the need for any rated marking
  3. To increase the total weight that the crane must lift
  4. To allow the load to swing more freely

Explanation

A spreader or lifting beam holds the sling legs apart and closer to vertical, reducing horizontal compression on the load and preventing crushing or buckling. It also lowers leg tension compared with angled legs. The beam itself adds weight, so it does not reduce the crane load.

Question 49Rigging and Lifting Equipment

A two-leg sling supports a load of 4 tonnes with each leg at 30 degrees to the vertical. Which statement about the leg tension is correct?

  1. Each leg carries exactly 2 tonnes
  2. Each leg carries more than 2 tonnes Correct answer.
  3. Each leg carries 4 tonnes
  4. Each leg carries less than 2 tonnes

Explanation

For a symmetrical two-leg sling, the vertical share per leg is half the load, but the actual tension equals that share divided by the cosine of the angle to the vertical. At 30 degrees the cosine is about 0.866, so each leg carries roughly 2.3 tonnes, which exceeds the simple half-load figure.

Question 50Rigging and Lifting Equipment

Why does increasing the angle of sling legs from the vertical reduce the safe working load of the assembly?

  1. Gravity acts less strongly on angled loads
  2. Leg tension rises for a given load as the angle increases Correct answer.
  3. The sling material becomes weaker when angled
  4. The hook automatically derates itself when angled

Explanation

As sling legs move away from vertical, a larger proportion of leg tension acts horizontally and does not support the load. To provide the same vertical support, the tension in each leg must increase, so the assembly reaches its rated limit at a lower load. This is why wide sling angles are avoided.