Spotlight Rigging By Mike Riggs
The Proper Way to Set Up
Four-Leg Rigging
E
arly in my career as a crane and rig-
ging trainer and a course developer,
I was taught a new (to me) approach
regarding four-leg rigging systems.
It required that when a rigger uses
four-leg rigging, he or she must down-
rate the system to a capacity based on
just two legs supporting the load.
That was deemed necessary because
people believed that even though the
load might start with four supporting
legs, there would be a point between
liftoff and landing where only two legs
would support the load.
A common demonstration often
used to help students visualize the idea
is having four students hold up a table,
one student supporting each corner. As
the table is moved, the elevation of each
corner changes. That change causes a
shift in load capacity for each corner
throughout the table’s movement.
That idea and the demonstration
are incorrect.
Let’s look deeper into the use of
four-leg rigging and see what really
happens during load movement.
Equal and Unequal Loading
It is true that rigging a four-leg sling
system incorrectly can create a case in
which only two of the slings support
the entire load, while the other two
slings only help balance it. When that
happens, the two slings that support
the load are always diagonal from
each other.
The possibility of that phenomenon
leads many riggers to re-rate a four-leg
system as if only two legs will support
the total weight of the load.
Here are conditions that can cause
uneven loading in a four-leg rigging
system:
A rigid load combined with any of
Mike Riggs is founder and president of Rigging Institute, which provides rigging application and inspection
programs suited to individuals involved in today’s hoisting and rigging industry. He can be reached at
mriggs@rigginginstitute.com.
32 CRANE HOT LINE®
the following:
a. Sling legs of alloy chain, wire
rope, or high-performance
fiber roundslings that are not
of equal length.
b. Sling attachment points that
are not equal distance from
the center of gravity (CG).
c. Different sized connecting
hardware.
d. Incorrect placement of slings
on the hook or the load.
We should teach riggers how to rig
a load properly to prevent this prob-
lem, not to adjust ratings based on the
assumption that it will happen.
Once a load is suspended, each sling
leg’s share of the load (the percentage
of the load weight each sling holds)
does not change. It stays the same
throughout the entire lift.
The only change in loading comes
from dynamic loading. By observation,
a rigger can determine, with some accu-
racy, the loading condition of the sling
legs as they are being loaded.
• If all four legs show tension
equally, each leg will be lifting an
equal 25% share of the load.
• If two legs that are diagonal of
each other begin showing tension
sooner than the other two slings,
those two slings will each be lift-
ing more than a 25% of the load.
• If possible, a rigger should touch
each leg to feel for tension in the
slings before the load is lifted
from the ground. When two of
the slings are not sharing the
load, there will be no tension.
• If you don’t start with two legs
unloaded your will never have
two legs unloaded.
Once the slings are loaded, the only
change in sling tension will come from
dynamic forces as the load is moved.
Because the horizontal angle of each
sling is less than 90°, horizontal force
will not change the load on it.
Similarly, if the rigging starts with
two supporting legs and two balanc-
ing legs, that condition will not change
during the lift. Each sling leg will con-
tinue to support the same share of the
load it had at the beginning.
Ensuring Equal Loading
If the sling, hardware, or attachment
points require load sharing as near to
25% as possible, use the following
methods to ensure equal loading:
1. Chain hoists
2. Turnbuckles
3. Adjustable hitches
4. Two slings of equal lengths attached
to one end of the load and one
sling twice that length attached
in an inverted basket hitch on the
other end. For example, two 10-ft.
slings rigged in a straight-line hitch
at one end and one 20-ft. sling
rigged in an inverted basket hitch
on the other end.
5. Four slings and attaching hard-
ware of equal lengths correctly
attached to the load and a
lifting hook
6. Placing slings of unequal lengths
on load and hook so that they
diagonally equalize length as
closely as possible
7. Use of two, two-leg bridle setups
rather than a four-leg bridle or
four individual legs attached to
the crane hook
How Conservative to Be?
How conservative should a rigger
be when choosing the capacity for four-
leg rigging?
When a four-leg system is rigged
correctly, two legs should never carry
the whole load.
March 2018 • www.cranehotline.com
 Four-Leg Rigging Set-Up

When some details of the load are

unknown, a competent rigger should
select a four-leg system in which the
capacity of three legs can support
the load.
Another consideration is each leg’s
rated capacity compared to the calcu-
lated loading on it.
For example, if each leg must
support 5.78 tons (Fig. 1) and the min-
imum size of sling required to support
5.78 tons is a 7/8” wire rope sling (see
Table 1) that has a capacity of 7.6 tons,
the design factor based on sling loading
is 6.57:1.
In the same case, selecting a sling
one size higher (a 1” wire rope sling
with 9.8-ton capacity), increases the
design factor to 8.47:1. In that solu- Table 1
tion, even if each sling doesn’t share the
load equally, there is plenty of capacity load, the other two stay unloaded hook is large enough and the load
to support the difference. 3. Sling loading increases from is heavy enough to cause the sling
Selecting rigging one size larger dynamic loading, not a change in to adjust
than required is a practical and safe the share of load Now, why is the table demonstra-
way to maintain a 5:1 design factor on 4. The share of load will change only tion not valid? The table demonstration
each leg. when the load’s center of gravity accurately illustrates share of load for
Here is what we learned from four moves closer to or farther from something supported on rollers, skates,
tests of sling loading. the attachment points or air bearings.
You can see a video at https://www. 5. The horizontal load force created It is not accurate for a suspended
youtube.com/watch?v=kllHev5f14A. by sling angle prevents changes to load because it does not factor in the
1. After all sling legs are loaded, they the share of load horizontal load force created by sling
stay loaded 6. An inverted basket hitch will not angle. For horizontal load force calcu-
2. When only two slings carry the adjust unless the D/d ratio at the lations see Table 2.

Fig. 1 Table 2

www.cranehotline.com • March 2018 CRANE HOT LINE® 33