Fall Arrest Lanyards: Everything You Need to Know

We get a lot of inquiries regarding fall arrest lanyards at Height Works when we assist customers in repairing old safety gear or installing a new fall protection system, and we need to acquire new harnesses and lanyards to use with it properly. Because of these inquiries, we thought it would be beneficial to provide some fundamental facts about lanyards.

Any personal fall arrest system should have a shock-absorbing lanyard. Shock-absorbing lanyards are made to absorb energy and are used as part of a fall arrest system to connect a work-at-height worker's harness to an anchor. If someone falls, a shock-absorbing lanyard keeps the arresting pressure on their body to 900 lbs or less.

There are several different kinds of shock-absorbing fall arrest lanyards on the market right now for people who work at heights. The type of shock-absorbing lanyard, harness, and connections that make up a person's full personal fall arrest equipment should depend on the work being done and the type of fall protection system being used.

Fall arrest lanyards come in a wide range of styles and lengths, from 6 inches to virtually any length. They also come with practically any hook combination. We have three shock-absorbing lanyards at Height Works and will explain how to utilize them.

1. The Tractel Tracpac Shock-Absorbing Lanyard
People mostly utilize the Tracpac Shock-Absorbing Lanyard for heavy-duty or high-abrasion tasks. You may get this lanyard in lengths of 3, 4, or 6 feet, and it can have one or two arms with a 3/4-inch or 2 1/4-inch self-locking snap hook.

You can now buy the Tracpac one-arm 6 ft. shock-absorbing lanyard with a ¾ in. self-locking snap hook at www.heightworks.ca. This type of fall arrest lanyard is one of the most common ones used to keep people safe from falling while they are working at heights.

Note: The Height Works web store currently only has the most popular version of the 12 different configurations of this lanyard, but all of the other variations are easy to buy.

2. Tractel's Phoenix One Arm Shock-Absorbing Lanyard
People utilize single-leg lanyards like the Phoenix One Arm when there is only one anchor point accessible or needed, such as on boom lifts, scissor lifts, or some roofing jobs. These are cases where the user doesn't need to switch between anchor points because they are operating in a small region.

You may get this Phoenix lanyard in 6-foot lengths with either a 3/4-inch or 2 1/4-inch self-locking snap hook. You can also get it in 30-inch lengths to use with nylon rope fall arrestors and rope grabs. The CSA now says that a fall arrest lanyard used with rope grabs must be 30 inches long and firmly attached to the rope grip.

You can now get the Phoenix One Arm Shock-Absorbing Lanyard with a ¾ in. self-locking snap hook at www.heightworks.ca. People often use this type of lanyard setup when working at heights.

3. The Tractel Phoenix Two Arms Shock-Absorbing Lanyard
When a worker wants to go up or down while staying 100% tied off, they can use double-leg fall arrest lanyards like the Phoenix Two-Arm Shock-Absorbing Lanyard. When climbing on lattice tower structures or scaffolding, the legs leapfrog over each other to ensure constant connection.

You can only get this Phoenix lanyard style in a 6-foot length with a 2 1/4-inch self-locking snap hook. You can find it at www.heightworks.ca.

4. Grillon Adjustable Lanyard for Positioning at Work
Work positioning fall arrest lanyards are used to bear the whole or partial weight of a worker's body so that their hands are free to do their job. You need to utilize these with a second fall arrest system, which is usually a lanyard or vertical lifeline that is attached to an anchorage.

You can utilize the Grillon adjustable lanyard to construct work positioning solutions that work with a fall-arrest system. It is very easy and accurate to change the length to the right one for a comfortable position at the workstation. Depending on the configuration, you can use it in either single or double mode. There are seven lengths of Grillon: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, and 20 m.

You can now buy the Grillon adjustable lanyard for work positioning in a 2 m size at www.heightworks.ca.

Want to know more about fall arrest lanyards? If you need help with work at height, don't be afraid to call Height Works today.