DGFASLI & Factories Act Compliance Explained
Lifting gear in India is examined under one of three legal regimes, and each names a different authority to recognise the competent person who examines it. In a factory that is the state Chief Inspector of Factories, under the Factories Act, 1948. At a port it is the Chief Inspector of Dock Safety — which is DGFASLI — under the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1990. On a construction site it is the Central Government, under the BOCW Central Rules, 1998. Knowing which regime your site falls under tells you who may examine your gear, how often, and which paperwork your inspector will ask to see.
Why This Framework Exists
If you operate lifting equipment in an Indian factory, port or construction site, there is a statutory framework governing when it must be examined and by whom — and it is one that is often explained loosely, with the three regimes run together. This guide separates them: what DGFASLI is and where it is the recognising authority, what the Factories Act requires and at what intervals, and how the certificates and registers fit together. Get it right and certification becomes routine paperwork; get it wrong and an inspector can stop your lifting operations.
What DGFASLI Is
DGFASLI — the Directorate General, Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes — is an organisation under India's Ministry of Labour & Employment. Its role differs by regime. For dock work it is the enforcing authority: it acts as the Chief Inspector of Dock Safety under the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1990, and a competent person for dock work is one recognised under regulation 2(d) of those Regulations. For factories its role is advisory and coordinating: the Factories Act, 1948 places recognition of competent persons with the state Chief Inspector of Factories, under section 2(ca). That distinction matters when you read a certificate or a tender clause — "DGFASLI" in a factory context describes a testing service, not the authority that recognises the examiner.
| Regime | Who recognises the competent person |
|---|---|
| Factories Act, 1948 — s.2(ca) | The state Chief Inspector of Factories |
| Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Regulations, 1990 — reg. 2(d) | The Chief Inspector of Dock Safety — this is DGFASLI |
| BOCW Central Rules, 1998 — r.2(j) | The Central Government |
The Core Legal Requirement: Factories Act, 1948
The Factories Act, 1948 splits the duty across two sections. Section 28 covers hoists and lifts — a car or platform running in a hoistway — which must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once in every period of six months (s.28(1)(a)(iv)). Section 29 covers every other lifting machine and every chain, rope and lifting tackle, which must be thoroughly examined by a competent person at least once in every period of twelve months, or at such intervals as the Chief Inspector may specify in writing (s.29(1)(a)(iii)). The interval comes from the central Act; what each state's Factories Rules add is the register, the form it is kept in and the pre-use test requirement.
The word "hoist" is the trap. A chain block, lever hoist, electric chain hoist or wire-rope hoist is a lifting machine under section 29 — twelve months. A goods lift is a hoist or lift under section 28 — six months. A reader who applies twelve months to a goods lift is out of compliance, so name the section whenever you quote an interval.
Ports and Docks: A Parallel Framework
Ports and docks sit under a separate framework: the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 and its Regulations of 1990, which govern lifting appliances and loose gear used in cargo handling. Under regulation 41 every lifting appliance is tested and examined by a competent person before first use and after any alteration or repair liable to affect its strength or stability, retested at least once every five years and thoroughly examined at least once every twelve months. Under regulation 47 loose gear — shackles, slings, hooks and the like — is tested before it is taken into use, retested at least once every five years and thoroughly examined at least once every twelve months. The register and certificate forms are prescribed by the Regulations themselves, and DGFASLI's Inspectorates of Dock Safety enforce them at the major ports.
| Aspect | Factories (Factories Act, 1948) | Ports & docks (Dock Workers Act, 1986 + Regulations, 1990) |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Lifting machines, hoists and lifts, chains, ropes and lifting tackle in factories | Lifting appliances and loose gear in cargo handling at ports |
| Who recognises the examiner | State Chief Inspector of Factories (s.2(ca)) | Chief Inspector of Dock Safety — DGFASLI (reg. 2(d)) |
| When | Lifting machines, chains, ropes, lifting tackle: at least every 12 months (s.29). Hoists and lifts: at least every 6 months (s.28). Pre-use test per the state's rules. | Lifting appliances: tested before first use and at least every 5 years, thoroughly examined at least every 12 months (reg. 41). Loose gear: tested before use, retested at least every 5 years, examined at least every 12 months (reg. 47). |
| Records | The register and form the state's Factories Rules prescribe | The register and certificate forms the Regulations prescribe |
| Enforcement | State factory inspectorate | DGFASLI's Inspectorates of Dock Safety |
Construction Sites: The Third Regime
Building and construction work is governed by neither of the above but by the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Central Rules, 1998, under which a competent person is one approved by the Central Government (r.2(j)). Construction sites that borrow gear from a factory register still have to keep the construction-site paperwork, so tell us which regime a piece of gear will work under when you send it for testing.
Who Counts as a Competent Person
Each regime defines the competent person by who recognises them, not just by skill: a person or body with the qualifications, training, experience and equipment to assess a lifting appliance, recognised by the authority that regime names. A certificate from an examiner outside that recognition does not satisfy the statute, however thorough the inspection was. When you engage a test house it is entirely reasonable — and good practice — to ask under which regime its examiners are recognised before accepting its certificates.
Certificates and Registers
Every regime has the same three pieces of paper in some form: a register that lists every item with its examination history and next-due date, a certificate of test and examination when an item first enters service or returns after repair, and a report of each periodic thorough examination. The register is the document an inspector usually asks to see first, because it shows whether anything has slipped past its due date.
Form numbers are where buyers most often go wrong. They are set by the rules that apply to the site — each state's Factories Rules number their forms differently, and the dock and construction regimes have their own series — so the same document can carry a different number in two states. Sealinkers issues Form 5 and Form 11 certificates as standard, and our Form 5 and Form 11 guide walks through what each records. If your inspector or surveyor asks for a different form, tell us the form and the regime and we certify to it. Our load testing guide covers the proof-load test behind the paperwork.
Why This Matters Beyond Compliance
Beyond the legal exposure of operating with an expired or missing certificate, industrial insurance covering lifting operations commonly requires valid, in-date certification as a condition of cover — an accident involving uncertified gear can put a claim in doubt, on top of any regulatory penalty. Client audits increasingly check the lifting register too, and marine and offshore work routinely needs certificates witnessed by a class society such as IRS, ABS, LRS or BV alongside the statutory ones. Treating certification as a paperwork afterthought is one of the more expensive mistakes a facility can make.
How Sealinkers Fits In
Sealinkers has operated an in-house test house in Darukhana, Mumbai since 1977. We provide DGFASLI testing, carry out proof-load, tensile and NDT testing on our 1,200 T proof-load test bed, and issue Form 5 and Form 11 certificates in our own name — for gear we have supplied and for third-party lifting equipment alike. Where marine certification is needed we test to IRS, ABS, LRS or BV witnessing. From decades of register work for clients, the most common compliance failure we see is not a failed test — it is gear that was never entered in the register, so nobody tracked its due date. See our proof-load testing page and inspection and certification page for the full scope.
- Know which regime each site falls under — Factories Act, Dock Workers Regulations or BOCW Central Rules — and therefore who recognises your examiner.
- Every lifting machine and piece of loose gear entered in the statutory register with its examination history and next-due date.
- Hoists and lifts on a six-month cycle (s.28); every other lifting machine, chain, rope and lifting tackle at least every twelve months (s.29).
- An initial test certificate on file for every item's entry into service, and a report for every periodic examination since — in the form your inspector asks for.
- No item in service past its examination due date — track dates centrally, not on the certificates themselves.
- Examiner's recognition checked against the regime before accepting certificates.
- Certificates match the physical gear: identification, WLL and standard all agree with the markings.
- Insurance policy conditions on certification read and satisfied — before an incident, not after.
Lifting gear with an expired or missing certificate, or one from an examiner the regime does not recognise, is not "probably fine" — it is statutorily out of service, an inspector can take it out of use, and an incident involving it can jeopardise your insurance cover. If a certificate has lapsed, quarantine the gear and have it re-examined before it lifts anything again; never backdate, self-certify or accept certificates from unverified issuers.
Frequently asked questions
Does DGFASLI recognise the competent person for factory work?
No. Under section 2(ca) of the Factories Act, 1948 the competent person for a factory is recognised by the state Chief Inspector of Factories. DGFASLI is the recognising authority for dock work, as Chief Inspector of Dock Safety under regulation 2(d) of the Dock Workers Regulations, 1990. On construction sites the Central Government approves the competent person under the BOCW Central Rules, 1998.
How often must lifting gear in a factory be examined?
Hoists and lifts at least once every six months under section 28. Every other lifting machine — chain blocks, lever hoists, electric hoists, cranes, winches — and every chain, rope and piece of lifting tackle at least once every twelve months under section 29, or at a shorter interval if the Chief Inspector specifies one in writing.
What are Form 5 and Form 11?
They are the certificates Sealinkers issues as standard for initial and periodic test and examination. Form numbering is set by the rules that apply to your site and differs between states and between regimes, so tell us which form your inspector or surveyor asks for and we certify to it. Our Form 5 and Form 11 guide covers what they record.
What happens if my certificate expires while the gear is still in good condition?
Condition does not substitute for certification: once the certificate lapses, the item is out of statutory service until a competent person re-examines it. The practical cost of a lapse is usually small — a re-examination — while the cost of using gear on an expired certificate can include enforcement action and an insurance dispute.
Do ports and docks use the same paperwork as factories?
No. Cargo-handling gear at ports falls under the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 and its 1990 Regulations, which prescribe their own register and certificate forms and their own test and examination intervals (regulations 41 and 47). The structure mirrors the factory framework — competent person, periodic examination, register — but the paperwork is specific to the dock regime.
How does class-society certification (IRS/ABS/LRS/BV) relate to statutory certification?
They answer different questions: the statutory certificate satisfies Indian law, while class-society witnessing satisfies a marine or offshore client's classification requirements. Marine projects often need both, which is why testing once with the society's surveyor present saves a round of duplicate testing.
For testing, certification or advice on staying compliant — for chain slings from our chain sling range, Gunnebo components, hoists, or third-party gear of any make — contact Sealinkers for a quote.
Related Guides
Ready to put this into practice?
Every item ships certified, and our in-house test house backs it with the paperwork.
Sealinkers Engineering
Rigging & Lifting Engineering Team
Sealinkers has supplied and certified rigging, lifting and mooring equipment from Darukhana, Mumbai since 1977. These guides are written and checked by the engineers who specify this gear and proof-load it on our own test bed.
- in-house test house — proof-load bed from 1 to 1,200 tonnes
- Proof-load testing and certification in-house since 1977, Darukhana, Mumbai
- Class-society interfaces: IRS, ABS, LRS and BV
