Crane Load Testing and Certification in Bangladesh: What DIFE Requires
The certificate is the by-product; the test is what finds the cracked hook and the slipping brake. Here is what DIFE requires for cranes and lifting gear, how often, and what the examination actually covers.
A crane certificate is not the point of a load test. The test is the point — loading the machine beyond its rated capacity under controlled conditions, to find the hairline crack in a hook or the worn brake lining before it finds the operator standing underneath. The certificate is simply the evidence that it was done.
Who has to test, and how often
Cranes, hoists, lifts and lifting gear used in factories and establishments in Bangladesh fall under the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 and the rules made under it, enforced by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE). Equipment must be examined and load tested periodically by a DIFE-enlisted inspection body — not by your own maintenance team, however capable they are, and not by an uncertified third party.
Annual examination is the standard cycle for most lifting equipment. Some categories, and equipment in severe service, call for a shorter interval; the inspecting engineer confirms the correct cycle for your specific machine and duty on the first visit.
What is actually covered
- Overhead (EOT), gantry, jib, mobile and tower cranes
- Chain blocks, electric hoists and winches
- Passenger and goods lifts
- Loose lifting gear — slings, shackles, chains, hooks, eye bolts, lifting beams and spreader bars
- Forklifts and man-lifts used for load handling
Loose gear is the item most often forgotten. A crane with a valid certificate lifting on an uncertified sling is still an uncertified lift, and auditors check the gear register as readily as the crane file.
What happens during the test
A proof load test applies a load above the safe working load, held under engineer supervision, with the structure and mechanism observed throughout. The exact overload factor follows the applicable standard and the manufacturer’s design rating — your inspecting engineer confirms it before the lift rather than applying a single number to every machine.
Around the load test itself sits the examination that finds most defects:
| Check | What it is looking for |
|---|---|
| Hook and shackle inspection (often with NDT) | Cracks, throat opening, wear beyond limit — failures that are invisible under normal use |
| Wire rope examination | Broken wires, corrosion, deformation, reduction in diameter |
| Brake performance | Whether the brake holds the rated load without creep |
| Limit switches and interlocks | Over-travel and over-hoist protection actually operating |
| Structural and weld condition | Cracking at connections, distortion, corrosion of the girder or boom |
| Deflection under load | Whether the structure returns to position after the load is removed |
The load cells matter as much as the load
A proof load test performed with uncalibrated load cells or an uncalibrated dynamometer undermines the very evidence you are paying for. If the instrument measuring the applied load cannot itself be traced to a standard, the number on the certificate means little. Ask the inspection body how its test equipment is calibrated and by whom — a lab that also holds ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation can answer that question with a certificate rather than a claim.
The certificate is what you show the auditor. The test is what keeps the load off the operator. Buy the second and the first comes with it.
What the certificate should contain
- Equipment identification — type, capacity, serial or asset number, location
- The safe working load and the proof load actually applied
- The standard or procedure followed
- Findings from the examination, not just a pass statement
- Any defects found, with a clear corrective recommendation
- Next due date, and the name and enlistment of the examining body
Why cranes fail the examination
In our experience the recurring causes are not dramatic: a hook worn past its throat limit, a brake that creeps under load, a limit switch bypassed during a past breakdown and never reinstated, loose gear with no identification or certificate, and corrosion at a connection that has been painted over rather than repaired. Every one of these is cheaper to fix on an inspection day than after an incident.
ION Engineering is a DIFE enlisted inspection body for cranes, hoists, lifts, pressure vessels and loose lifting gear, and carries out the associated NDT and structural inspection in the same visit so your plant stops once, not twice. Send us your equipment list and we will confirm scope, schedule and price.
Need this done in your plant? ION Engineering is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited calibration laboratory serving industry across Bangladesh. Request a quotation or call +88 01713 588601.