All of the following would be reasons for rejecting a synthetic sling for rigging except?

• A. An identification tag on the wrong side of the sling
• B. Visible damage in the fiber
• C. Knots or broken stitches
• D. Excessive loads beyond rating

Answer: (A)

The situation is about recognizing what makes a synthetic sling unsafe and when it should be taken out of service. Synthetic slings must be free from damage and used within their rated capacity. When you inspect, you reject a sling if you find signs that weaken it or exceed its limits: visible damage to the fiber means the core or sheath has been compromised and could fail under load; knots or broken stitches create weak points where the load is not carried evenly by the seam, reducing strength; and applying loads beyond the sling’s rating can cause sudden failure.

Having the identification tag on the wrong side does not inherently weaken the sling. The tag provides important information about the sling, and as long as the tag is still legible and readable, its exact orientation doesn’t compromise safety. If the tag were unreadable or missing, that would be a reason to reject it, but simply being on the opposite side isn’t a fault that requires discarding the sling.