Lifting Equipment

Lifting Equipment — Quick Reference

Lifting equipment covers every component of a safe lift: the sling or chain that cradles the load, the connecting hardware that joins it together, and the hoist, block or winch that does the lifting. AIMS Industrial stocks close to 500 lifting and rigging products from Austlift, Beaver, Yoke and Toho, plus specialist ranges from Garrick Herbert, Pacific Hoists and Magswitch — so you can spec a complete, compatible lifting system from one supplier. For more on selection, see our Webbing & Round Slings Guide: WLL Colour Codes, Hitches & AS 1353 Standards.

Compliance: lifting equipment and accessories used in Australian workplaces sit under AS 1418 (cranes, hoists and winches — design), AS 2550 (cranes, hoists and winches — safe use), AS 3775 (chain slings) and AS 4991 (lifting devices). Every load-bearing item should carry a legible Working Load Limit (WLL) marking and be included in a documented periodic inspection regime — see the compliance section below.

Companion collections: Lifting Magnets and Hydraulic Rams & Tools are specialist lifting categories with their own dedicated AIMS pages — jump straight there if that's what you need.

The AIMS Lifting Equipment Range

This is our hub category for lifting and rigging hardware — the page to start from if you're not sure which specific collection you need. Below we've grouped the range by the job each component does in a lift, with the real sub-categories and brands we stock. For deep detail on slings, hooks, magnets or hydraulic tools specifically, follow through to those dedicated collections — this page won't duplicate them line for line.

Chain, Slings & Connecting Hardware

The sling is the part of the lift system in direct contact with the load. Our rigging and lifting slings range covers flat webbing slings, round slings and web-based lifting accessories from Garrick Herbert. For chain-based lifting, lifting chain and link chains include Beaver Grade 80 alloy lifting chain and Austlift and Yoke Grade 80/100 chain connectors, master links and oblong links used to build and join chain sling legs. Shackles — bow and dee pattern, screw pin and bolt type — are the standard way to connect a sling eye to a hook, lifting point or padeye.

Lifting Hooks

Our lifting hooks range spans the styles used to terminate a chain or wire rope leg: clevis sling hooks and grab hooks with safety latches, swivel self-locking hooks with ball-bearing swivels (so the hook rotates freely under load without unloading the safety catch), and eye and foundry hooks from Austlift, Beaver and Yoke. Selecting the right hook type and grade to match the chain it's fitted to is one of the most common rigging mistakes worth double-checking before a lift.

Chain Blocks, Lever Blocks & Winches

For manual mechanical advantage, chain & lever blocks and chain blocks include Austlift chain blocks (such as the W4 model) and Beaver 3S Grade 80 lever blocks, plus lightweight Toho aluminium chain blocks — lever blocks are the tool of choice when a straight vertical pull isn't possible and you need to tension, position or pull a load laterally. Where a powered lift is needed, our hoists range includes Toho single-phase electric chain hoists for repeat production lifting. For horizontal pulling and tensioning rather than vertical lifting, see winches and manual winches, including Pacific Hoists braked hand winches and ratchet tie-downs.

Plate Clamps, Beam Clamps & Trolleys

Steel plate, sheet and structural sections are often lifted without slings at all. Our plate clamps range — vertical, horizontal and universal patterns from Austlift and Garrick Herbert — grips the plate edge directly for vertical lifting or horizontal carrying. Beam clamps and girder clamps mount on the bottom flange of an I-beam to provide a fixed or travelling anchor point, and push trolleys from Austlift and Garrick Herbert mount on the same flange to let a suspended load be traversed manually along a beam or monorail.

Eye Bolts, Rigging Screws & Tensioning Hardware

Fixed lifting points on machinery, dies and fabrications are covered under eye bolts, nuts and screws, including collared eyebolts rated for angular loading. For tensioning rigging, guy wires and load restraint, see rigging screws, turnbuckles and tensioners & accessories (including ratchet tie-downs). Blocks & sheaves — including snatch blocks with a shackle head — change line direction under load, and D-rings provide a compact fixed connection point.

Crane Scales, Dynamometers & Wire Rope Fittings

Where the exact load weight needs to be confirmed in the lift path, our crane scales & dynamometers range covers that. For building and terminating wire rope, our broader wire rope, chain & fittings collection includes wire rope grips (bulldog grips) and aluminium ferrules used to form eyes and end terminations.

Companion Collections — Specialist Lifting Categories

Some lifting product categories are big enough, and different enough in how you select them, to have their own dedicated AIMS collection rather than being covered in depth here:

• Lifting Magnets — permanent and switchable lifting magnets, including Magswitch cordless magnetic lifters, for handling ferrous plate and sheet without slings or clamps.
• Hydraulic Rams & Tools — hydraulic rams and associated tooling for jacking, pressing and load positioning.

See also our brand collections: Austlift, Beaver, Yoke, Toho and Pacific Hoists.

Lifting Equipment Compliance in Australia

• Working Load Limit (WLL): every lifting component must carry a clear, legible WLL marking. The WLL applies to a correctly assembled, undamaged item used in a straight, vertical pull — angular loading (sling or leg angle away from vertical), shock loading and multi-leg configurations all change the effective capacity, so check manufacturer load charts rather than assuming the marked WLL applies unchanged.
• Applicable standards: AS 1418 (cranes, hoists and winches — design) and AS 2550 (cranes, hoists and winches — safe use) govern the lifting appliance itself; AS 3775 covers chain slings specifically; AS 4991 covers lifting devices more broadly. Always check the manufacturer's documentation for the specific standard a given product is rated to — not every accessory is certified to every standard listed here.
• Inspection: lifting equipment should be visually checked before each use and formally inspected at documented intervals by a competent person, consistent with your workplace's safety management system. Any item that is cracked, deformed, corroded, has a damaged safety latch, or shows chain stretch or wear beyond the manufacturer's limit should be removed from service immediately — lifting gear is not field-repairable.
• Compatibility: every component in a lift — sling, connector, hook, shackle — should be matched for grade and WLL. Mixing a higher-grade chain with a lower-grade connector or hook downrates the whole assembly to the weakest link.

This is general guidance, not a substitute for a site-specific risk assessment or the manufacturer's own instructions — where a lift is safety-critical or unusual, get a qualified rigger or engineer to sign it off.

Order Lifting Equipment from AIMS

AIMS Industrial is an Australian-owned supplier based in Sydney, with a support team in Manila keeping response times fast. If you need help specifying WLL, matching grades across a chain sling assembly, or sourcing a lifting arrangement we don't stock off the shelf, our team can help — we'd rather talk it through than have you guess.

• Call us on (02) 9773 0122
• Get in touch via Contact Us
• Send us your specs for a quote request — handy for multi-line or project orders

Frequently Asked Questions

What is classed as lifting equipment?

Lifting equipment is any item used to lift, lower or support a load — slings, chains, shackles, hooks, clamps, hoists, blocks and winches, plus the connecting hardware (master links, connectors, eye bolts) that joins them together. It also includes the accessories used to check a lift is safe, such as crane scales.

What are the main types of lifting equipment?

Broadly: slings (chain, webbing, round, wire rope) that cradle the load; connecting hardware (shackles, hooks, master links, eye bolts) that joins the lift together; mechanical lifting devices (chain blocks, lever blocks, hoists, winches) that provide the lifting or pulling force; and specialist accessories (plate clamps, beam clamps, lifting magnets, crane scales) for particular load types or measurement needs.

What is the Australian standard for lifting equipment?

There isn't a single standard covering everything — AS 1418 and AS 2550 apply to cranes, hoists and winches (design and safe use respectively), AS 3775 applies specifically to chain slings, and AS 4991 covers lifting devices more broadly. Which standard applies depends on the specific item; check the manufacturer's documentation for the item you're using.

How do I know what Working Load Limit I need?

WLL is set by the load you need to lift plus a safety margin for how the lift is rigged — angular loading, multi-leg sling configurations and dynamic loading all reduce the usable capacity below a component's marked WLL. If you're unsure, talk to us or a qualified rigger before assuming a rating — it's a quick conversation and cheaper than getting it wrong.

How often does lifting equipment need to be inspected?

At minimum, before each use (a visual check for damage, wear or a faulty latch) plus periodic formal inspection by a competent person at intervals set by your workplace safety management system — the exact interval depends on how the equipment is used and your site's risk assessment, not a single fixed number across all industries.

Can I mix and match brands within a lifting assembly?

You can, provided every component is correctly rated (matching or exceeding grade and WLL) and physically compatible — but it's worth checking chain, connector and hook grades match before assembling a sling, since the whole assembly is only as strong as its weakest-rated component.

Does AIMS stock lifting magnets and hydraulic rams too?

Yes — those are handled as their own dedicated collections given how differently they're specified: see Lifting Magnets and Hydraulic Rams & Tools.