Fall arrest, fall restraint and work positioning
These three jobs look similar and use different equipment, and choosing the wrong one is the most common mistake made in this category.
A fall arrest lanyard is designed to catch a worker after they have already fallen. It contains an energy absorber, usually a tear stitched webbing pack, that deploys under load and reduces the force transmitted to the body. It needs clearance below the anchor point, because the lanyard, the deployed absorber and the worker's height all add up.
A fall restraint lanyard is designed to stop a worker reaching a fall edge in the first place. It is a fixed or adjustable length line with no energy absorber, because it is not meant to arrest anything. If a restraint lanyard is used where a fall is possible, there is nothing to absorb the impact.
A work positioning lanyard holds a worker in place so both hands are free, typically against a pole or a structure. It supports the worker's weight in normal use and is always used alongside a separate fall arrest system, never instead of one.
If there is any possibility of a free fall, the lanyard needs an energy absorber. If the intention is that a fall never happens, restraint is the safer system because it removes the fall rather than surviving it.
Single leg or twin tail
A single leg lanyard has one line and one connector. It suits work where the anchor point does not change: a fixed anchor, a static line, a single position on a roof.
A twin tail lanyard has two legs from a single energy absorber. The worker clips the second leg to the next anchor before releasing the first, which means they are never disconnected while moving. Any job that involves climbing, traversing a structure, or moving between anchor points needs twin tails. Scaffolders, tower workers and steel erectors work this way as standard.
Twin tail lanyards cost roughly forty to sixty per cent more than the equivalent single, and the cost is worth it wherever the alternative is unclipping at height. A single leg lanyard used on a job that requires repositioning creates exactly the gap the system exists to prevent.
Both types are available elasticated, which keeps the line off the ground and out of the way, and adjustable, which lets one lanyard cover a range of working lengths.
Choosing the right lanyard for the job
Beyond the leg count, four things narrow the choice.
Working environment. Hot works, welding and cutting need a heat resistant lanyard in aramid or Kevlar, because standard polyester webbing will not survive contact with spatter. Electrical work near live conductors needs a dielectric lanyard with no metallic path. Marine, coastal and chemical environments need stainless hardware. Work over structural steel or a roof edge needs a sharp edge rated lanyard, which is tested against a defined edge radius rather than a smooth anchor.
Worker weight. Standard lanyards are rated to 100kg or 120kg including tools. Where the combined weight of worker, harness, tools and equipment exceeds that, a 140kg rated lanyard is required.
Available clearance. An energy absorber needs room to deploy. Where the fall clearance below the anchor is limited, a shorter lanyard or a retractable device is the correct answer, not a standard 2m lanyard.
Connectors. Scaffold hooks open wide enough to take scaffold tube and structural steel. Standard karabiners do not. Check the gate opening against what is actually on site before ordering.
Harnesses, lanyards and anchor points
A lanyard is one part of a three part system, and the three parts have to be specified together. The harness distributes the load across the body, the lanyard absorbs the energy of the fall, and the anchor point holds both. A lanyard bought without checking the rating of the anchor it will hang from is a lanyard bought on trust.
Height Safety Central supplies all three. The harness range covers full body, EWP, rope access and confined space harnesses. The anchor range covers permanent, temporary and roof mounted anchor points. For workers being kitted out from scratch, the harness kits pair a harness with a matched lanyard and carry bag at a lower price than the parts bought separately. For tools being used at height, tool lanyards include tethers for securing tools to the worker.
