A bag that passed inspection at delivery can still fail in service: loops that do not match the lifting equipment, damage missed between fills, or reuse beyond the design life. Three points decide whether it stays safe.
Match Loops to Lifting Equipment
Loop length must clear the spreader or hook. Fork tines should not be driven through the loops into the bag body, and a bag should not be lifted on a single tine.
Read the Rating Correctly
The marked figure is the maximum gross mass — product plus bag, not net payload. The safety factor is the ratio between design or test load and rated load. Specifications quote ratios such as 5:1 and 6:1, but which applies is fixed by the design basis: EN ISO 21898 for non-dangerous goods, or the UN design-type approval for dangerous goods. Take the figure from the label and the design certificate.
For dangerous goods, ADR 6.5.2.1.1 requires the mark to show the UN symbol, IBC type code, packing group letter, month and year of manufacture, authorising state, manufacturer identification and maximum permissible gross mass, in that sequence with characters at least 12 mm high. The mark is issued per design type (ADR 6.5.4.3) and certifies conformity to that tested design (ADR 6.5.2.3) — not the history of the individual bag.
Note also that the periodic inspection regime in ADR 6.5.4.4.1 covers metal, rigid plastics and composite IBCs; flexible IBCs are not listed there.
Pre-Use Inspection
- Fabric: cuts, punctures, open weave, abrasion, stiffening or staining.
- Seams: broken stitching at the base, body seams or loop attachments.
- Loops: cuts, fraying, flattening, or deformation from a previous lift.
- Liner: punctures, creases at fold lines, detached suspension points.
- Closures: filling and discharge ties that no longer seal.
- Marking: label legible, load rating and date or batch readable.
Take any bag that fails a check out of service rather than saving it for lighter duty.
Storage and UV
Polypropylene degrades under prolonged sunlight, and the effect accumulates. UV stabilisation extends outdoor life but does not make a bag weatherproof — and a black bag is not automatically UV resistant. EN ISO 21898 Annex A sets out an evaluation of UV resistance, so a supplier should be able to name the method behind a UV claim.
Store indoors, dry, off the floor, away from heat and solvent stores. Rotate stock first-in, first-out so bag history stays known.
Reuse and Retirement
Reuse is a design decision, not an inspection outcome. Settle trip count, product changeover, cleaning method and liner policy at the quotation stage.
Retire the bag when fabric is torn or worn through, any loop is cut or deformed, seams are open, it has been overloaded or dropped, it has held an unidentified chemical, the label is illegible, or the specified trip count is exceeded.
A bag with no readable rating is an unrated bag.
What to Specify
Standards Referenced
EN ISO 21898 (FIBCs for non-dangerous goods, including Annex A on UV resistance); ADR Chapter 6.5, clauses 6.5.2.1.1, 6.5.2.3, 6.5.4.3, 6.5.4.4.1 and 6.5.6 (clause numbering as in ADR 2017). Modal rules differ between ADR, RID, ADN and the IMDG Code — confirm the text that applies to your shipment.
Wanhefeng FIBC Capability
Hebei Wanhefeng Package Co., Ltd. produces FIBCs with corner and cross-corner lifting belts, one-loop and two-loop designs, sling bags, baffle bags, UV-stabilised fabric options and inner liners. Send your handling details and product data for review before the specification is fixed.
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