Type the label as printed (LC 2500 daN SHF 50 daN STF 350 daN, LC 5000 daN / LC 2 x 10000 daN, blue label 5 t) or pick the label colour. Below, an offered strap can be checked against the one wanted.
On LC, STF and the material alone: the lengths, width, end fittings and condition of the strap are checked separately, and the cargo securing manual, the label and the competent person decide the securing.
A web lashing (ratchet strap) to EN 12195-2 carries a sewn-on label with its lashing capacity LC, the standard hand force SHF and the standard tension force STF in daN, the lengths, the webbing material and the warning that it is not for lifting. The colour of the label gives the material: blue polyester, green polyamide, brown polypropylene. Type the label as printed, such as “LC 2500 daN SHF 50 daN STF 350 daN”, and the reader splits it into its parts, explains each one, converts the forces to kN and kgf, draws the strap with its ratchet and label, checks an offered strap against the one wanted and writes an RFQ line.
A lashing strap secures cargo: it is not a lifting sling and is never used for lifting. For textile lifting slings, use the lifting sling colour reader. This is a reference, not a securing plan: the cargo securing manual, the label and the competent person decide, and the number of straps a load needs is calculated under EN 12195-1, not here. A strap whose label is missing or no longer legible is taken out of use.
LC is the maximum force the strap may carry in direct lashing; it is not the weight of cargo it holds. SHF is the hand force on the ratchet handle, 50 daN on the labels in the sources. STF is the tension in the webbing after the ratchet is worked with that hand force, the figure for tie-down lashing. All three are in daN: 1 daN = 10 N.
Blue for polyester (PES), green for polyamide (PA), brown for polypropylene (PP). The colour shows the material, not the strength: read LC from the label text.
The lengths LGF (the fixed end, with the ratchet) and LGL (the loose end), the elongation at LC in per cent, the warning that the strap is not for lifting, the maker’s name or symbol, a traceability code, the year of manufacture and the standard, EN 12195-2. The label must stay legible: a strap without a legible label is taken out of use.
| Label colour | Material | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | Polyester | PES |
| Green | Polyamide | PA |
| Brown | Polypropylene | PP |
| Marking | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| LC | Lashing capacity: the maximum force in direct lashing. Not the weight of cargo and not the breaking force. | daN |
| 2 x LC | The second LC on some labels, for the strap used in a loop round the load: twice the LC. | daN |
| SHF | Standard hand force on the ratchet handle at which STF is measured; 50 daN on the labels in the sources. | daN |
| STF | Standard tension force: the tension in the webbing after tensioning with SHF; it counts in tie-down lashing. | daN |
| LGF | Length of the fixed end, the part with the ratchet. | as printed |
| LGL | Length of the loose end. | as printed |
| Elongation | Elongation of the webbing at LC; the sources give 7% as the upper figure. | % |
| Material | The webbing material, also shown by the label colour. | PES, PA, PP |
| Not for lifting | The warning: the strap is for securing cargo only. | — |
| Maker | Name or symbol of the maker or supplier. | — |
| Traceability code | The traceability code of the maker or supplier. | — |
| Year of manufacture | The year the strap was made. | — |
| EN 12195-2 | The standard the strap is made to. | — |
Every meaning here is confirmed by at least two independent sources. Left out: a white label colour for other fibres (one source only, and outside the colour list of the standard); breaking force figures (the sources give them for different things: the whole strap or the webbing alone); minimum STF figures set by individual countries; coloured threads in the webbing as a sign of LC; temperature limits by material; the unit of LGF and LGL (the sources give both metres and millimetres).
An information sheet on load securing from the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland; a UK steel maker’s technical sheet on webbing straps and ratchets; the label guides of three strap makers and distributors; a load securing trainer’s guide to labelling and discard; a transport trade article on checking straps; strap data sheets with the LC in a loop; definitions of the kilogram-force in the IEC dictionary and an encyclopaedia. Every meaning and figure is in at least two of them.
LC, the lashing capacity, is the maximum force the strap may carry in direct lashing, a straight pull, given in daN. It is not the weight of cargo the strap holds and not its breaking force. SHF, the standard hand force, is the force on the ratchet handle at which the tension is measured; the labels in the sources give 50 daN. STF, the standard tension force, is the tension in the webbing after the ratchet is worked with that hand force; it is the figure that counts in tie-down lashing over the load.
Some labels give a second, higher LC for the strap used in a loop round the load. It is twice the LC in direct lashing: for example LC 2500 daN in direct lashing and 5000 daN in a loop. When a strap is replaced, compare the LC in direct lashing. Which arrangement may be used is set by the cargo securing manual.
The material of the webbing: blue for polyester (PES), green for polyamide (PA), brown for polypropylene (PP). It shows the material, not the strength. The label also gives the lengths LGF and LGL, the elongation at LC, the warning that the strap is not for lifting, the maker’s name or symbol, a traceability code, the year of manufacture and the standard. A strap whose label is missing or no longer legible is taken out of use. A lashing strap is not a lifting sling: textile lifting slings have their own colour code.
They are units of force: 1 daN = 10 N, 100 daN = 1 kN, and 1 kgf = 9.80665 N, so 1 daN is a little more than 1 kgf. LC 2500 daN is 25 kN, about 2549 kgf. This is unit arithmetic only: it does not turn the LC into a weight the strap may hold or lift.
LC and STF in daN, the lengths of the fixed end and the loose end (LGF and LGL) or the total length, the webbing width, the end fittings (hooks, claw hooks or triangles), two-part or one-part, the quantity, and a photograph of the label of the strap to be replaced. How many straps a load needs is set by the cargo securing manual and EN 12195-1, not by this reader.
A decoding is a check of the label, not a securing plan. Attach a photograph of the strap’s label and give the lengths and end fittings, and Vessel Core checks them before an offer goes back.
