What Is a Slinger Signaller? Role, Training and Tickets

A slinger signaller gets loads on and off a crane hook safely. They pick the slings or chains, attach the load and check it before it leaves the ground. Then they guide the crane operator with hand signals or a radio. The job exists because the person in the cab often can't see the load, the landing spot or the people near it.

HSE's code of practice for lifting, L113, says the crane shouldn't move until the person attaching the load, or another authorised person, has given the word. No law names a card for that job, but sites want proof you can make the call. That proof comes from a practical assessment, so an online course is where you start, not where you finish.

What a slinger signaller does on a lift

Before the lift, you work out what the load weighs and where its centre of gravity sits. Then you choose a sling, chain or other accessory that suits it. Under regulation 7 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, known as LOLER, lifting accessories must be marked with their safe working load. HSE says to use only gear that carries that mark and isn't overdue for examination.

A competent person gives lifting accessories a thorough examination at least every six months, or to an examination scheme. In between, HSE says proper checks before use are normally enough, and those checks are yours.

HSE also warns that the load in each leg of a sling goes up as the angle between the legs widens. Sharp edges need packing so they don't cut the sling. L113 says a pallet of bricks should be held together with metal strapping or plastic sheeting before it goes up.

You give the go-ahead once you're standing somewhere safe. At the landing, boards under the load stop the sling getting trapped when you release it.

HSE says the people doing a routine lift, such as the slinger or crane operator, can plan it themselves. A complex lift, such as two cranes on one load, needs a written plan from someone with specific training and experience.

Slinger signaller or slinger banksman?

Sites use banksman, signaller and slinger banksman loosely. Even L113 says the person directing a lift may be called a signaller or a banksman. The difference that matters is the slinging. A vehicle banksman guides lorries and plant and never rigs a load. A slinger signaller rigs it, then directs the crane.

Both jobs use the same coded hand signals. Banksman vs traffic marshal unpicks the job titles and covers the vehicle side. If guiding vehicles is your work, the matching training is the traffic marshal and banksman course from The Builders Academy.

An excavator lowering a pipe on a chain is doing a lifting operation too. Excavator banksman training explains where digging stops and lifting starts.

What the law asks of a slinger signaller

Regulation 8 of LOLER says every lifting operation has to be "properly planned by a competent person", "appropriately supervised" and "carried out in a safe manner".

L113 spells out what competence means for the person attaching loads, usually the slinger. They should get information, instruction and practical experience with lifting accessories, covering slinging methods, rating multi-leg slings, reading the markings and derating gear for bad conditions such as poor weather.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, known as PUWER, apply too, because most lifting gear is also work equipment. Regulation 9 says anyone who uses work equipment, or supervises its use, must have adequate training.

HSE's guidance on lifting operations in construction says the crane supervisor directs the lift to the method statement and should have the authority to stop it. The same page makes training and competence a must for crane operators, slingers and anyone directing a lift.

None of these rules names a card. They ask for competence, training, a plan and supervision. Which card counts as proof is up to the site.

Slinger signaller hand signals

The standard hand signals in Great Britain are in Schedule 1 of the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. Part IX gives 14 signals in four groups. Part VIII gives spoken code words for radio work, and most of them match a hand signal.

Group	Signal	How you give it	Spoken code word
General	Start	Both arms out level to the sides, palms forward	Start
General	Stop	Right arm straight up, palm forward	Stop
General	End	Hands clasped together in front of your chest	End
Vertical	Raise	Right arm up, palm forward, turning a slow circle	Raise
Vertical	Lower	Right arm down, palm in, turning a slow circle	Lower
Vertical	Vertical distance	Show the distance between your hands	None given
Horizontal	Move forwards	Arms bent, palms up, forearms drawing slowly in	Forwards
Horizontal	Move backwards	Arms bent, palms down, forearms pushing slowly out	Backwards
Horizontal	Right	Right arm out level, palm down, small slow moves to your right	Right
Horizontal	Left	Left arm out level, palm down, small slow moves to your left	Left
Horizontal	Horizontal distance	Show the distance between your hands	None given
Danger	Danger (emergency stop)	Both arms straight up, palms forward	Danger
Danger	Quick	Make every movement faster	Quickly
Danger	Slow	Make every movement slower	None given

From Schedule 1, Parts VIII and IX, of the 1996 Regulations, in plain words. Accurate as of October 2026.

Stop and danger differ by one arm, so practise them until you can't mix them up.

The schedule allows small variations if they're just as clear, but it has no signal for slewing a crane or moving its jib. L113 also accepts the crane code of practice, BS 7121, so agree the code with the operator before the first lift.

The tickets sites ask for

There's no single slinger signaller ticket. These are the routes you'll see named on adverts.

Route	How you're assessed	What you get	How long it lasts
CPCS A40 Slinger/Signaller	Health, safety and environment test, then CPCS theory and practical tests at an approved centre	Red Trained Operator card	2 years, while you work towards an NVQ or SVQ
CPCS upgrade	Red card plus an NVQ or SVQ with the right units	Blue Competent Operator card	5 years, renewable
NPORS N402 Slinger/Signaller	NPORS test with an accredited provider, plus a health, safety and environment test within two years	Trained Operator card with the CSCS logo, then a Competent Operator card after the NVQ or SVQ	2 years, then 5 years
EUSR Slinger Signaller	Two days face to face, with a practical assessment and a multiple-choice test	EUSR registration	3 years, renewed by retaking it
NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Controlling Lifting Operations (Slinger/Signaller)	A portfolio of evidence from your own work, judged by an assessor	The slinger signaller NVQ	Not a card

From CPCS, NPORS and EUSR scheme pages and the Ofqual register. Accurate as of October 2026.

Every route has an assessor check what you can do with lifting gear, at a test centre or on your own site. The NVQ is built to be done in a workplace, so you need to be in work to take it.

If an advert names a scheme or category code, such as A40 or N402, that's the one to get. If it only says "slinger signaller ticket", ask which schemes the site accepts.

Where an online slinger signaller course fits

Our Lifting Operations (Slinger Signaller) Awareness Online Course is a CPD awareness course, not a ticket. It isn't a CPCS, NPORS or EUSR card. On its own, it doesn't qualify you to sling loads on site.

You can do it on your phone in about two hours. It goes through who does what on a lift, the law, the main risks, slinging methods, using the equipment safely, communication, lift planning and risk assessment. You finish with a test, and a pass gets you a CPD e-certificate.

It suits a labourer or banksman who works near lifts, someone who wants the theory before a practical assessment, or a site manager whose team needs the basics. What it can't give you is the practical experience L113 counts as part of slinging competence.

Slinger signaller jobs and where they lead

Pay varies by site, region and contract, so check each advert. Banksman jobs explains how to read an advert before you apply, and the same checks work for lifting jobs.

The role can also be a way into the cab. The National Careers Service lists slinger-signaller work as one route into crane driving, after extra training.

Before your first lift

Learn the 14 signals until you don't have to think about them, and find out which card your site will ask to see. If you want the theory first, The Builders Academy's lifting operations awareness course takes about two hours on your phone. On the day, the crane won't move until you say the load is ready, and you'll know why.

Frequently asked questions