A quick guide to ILO's dock work regulations

Introduction

The United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) provides a set of regulations to ensure the safety and health of dock workers worldwide. Let's take you through the highlights!

Many countries worldwide have ratified or built their regulations on the United Nations International Labor Organization's (ILO) Convention concering Occupational Safety and Health in Dock Work (No. 152), 1979. And we know – the name is a mouthful. Let's just call it ILO 152 from now on.

So, ILO 152 describes how lifting appliances and items of loose gear should be tested, certified, and regularly inspected and that this should be registered in appropriate forms. In addition, a rigging plan showing the arrangement of lifting appliances must be provided. In this guide, we will walk you through the requirements in the articles and the forms. But first, let's explain some of the key terms in the convention:

Key terms and concepts to understand

Competent authority
A minister, government department, or other authority who issues regulations, orders, or other lawful instructions.

Competent person
A person with the knowledge and experience necessary for thorough examinations and tests of lifting appliances and loose gear and who is acceptable to the competent authority. Competent persons are usually certified inspectors and expert controllers.

Inspection
A visual inspection by a responsible person to decide whether the loose gear or sling is whole, undamaged, and safe for continued use.

Lifting appliance
All stationary or mobile appliances used on board ship for suspending, raising, or lowering loads or moving them from one position to another while suspended or supported.

Loose gear
Any gear used to attach a load to a lifting appliance that is not an integral part of either the appliance or load, such as slings, shackles, and chains.

Responsible person
A person appointed by the master of the ship or the equipment owner to be responsible for performing inspections. This person has sufficient knowledge and experience to undertake such inspections.

Rigging plan
A floor plan that illustrates the arrangement of lifting appliances in a physical space. Safe working load (SWL) The maximum load the lifting equipment can safely lift.

Thorough examination
A detailed examination by a competent person, to determine whether the lifting appliance or item of loose gear is safe to use.

The requirements

OK, now that we've got the vocabulary down, let's move to what the relevant articles state:

Every lifting appliance and item of loose gear must be tested in accordance with national laws or regulations by a competent person before being used for the first time and after any substantial alteration or repair that can affect its safety. (Article 22)
Lifting appliances that are a part of a ship's equipment must be retested by a competent person at least once every five years. After every testing, the lifting appliance or item of loose gear must be thoroughly examined and certified as having withstood the test. (Article 22)
Every lifting appliance and item of loose gear must be thoroughly examined and certified by a competent person at least once every 12 months. (Article 23)
Every item of loose gear must be inspected regularly before use by a responsible person. In the case of pre-slung cargoes, the slings shall be inspected as frequently as is reasonably practicable. (Article 24)
There must be kept a record of every lifting appliance and item of loose gear. The records should specify the safe working load (SWL) and dates of tests and thorough examinations with corresponding certificates. However, the regular inspections of items of loose gear (Article 24) only need to be recorded if an issue is discovered. (Article 25)
A rigging plan showing the arrangement of lifting appliances must be provided. For derricks and derrick cranes, the rigging plan should include the position of guy-wires and blocks, the force on the guy-wires, blocks, wire ropes, and booms, the identification mark of individual items, and the arrangements and working range of union purchase. (Article 28)

Form No. 1

is the register of the ship's lifting appliances and cargo-handling gear. Part I of the form registers the testing and thorough examinations described in articles 22 and 23. Part II registers the regular inspections of loose gear described in article 24, where only issues and defects require registration.

Form No. 2

comes in two versions: One is a certificate of test and thorough examination of lifting appliances, while the other is of derricks used in union purchase. Both forms instruct how much the test load should exceed the SWL, and the test details must be registered in the certificate.

Form No. 3

is a certificate of test and thorough examination of loose gear. As in form 2, this certificate instructs how much the test load should exceed the SWL, and the test details must be registered.

Form No. 4

is a certificate of test and thorough examination of wire rope. Here too, the test load's correlation to the SWL is described. In addition, the form requires a detailed register of the rope's specifications and information about the test performed.

Conclusion

ILO 152 might seem very complicated, but mostly it covers the same national laws and requirements that you're probably already used to. What's great about the ILO convention is that it ensures that the same rules and routines are followed in docks worldwide, making it easier for ships and vessels to know what applies. And it really doesn't have to be that complicated: Onix offers a user-friendly and thorough way to instantly issue ILO certificates and manage data related to lifting appliances and items of loose gear.