Working at height in a potentially explosive atmosphere adds a requirement that most fall protection ignores: the equipment must not generate a static discharge. Polyester webbing rubbing against clothing and steelwork accumulates charge readily, and in a fuel tank, sewer or process vessel that is an ignition source. This lanyard uses anti-static webbing certified to EN 1149-1 and complies with the ATEX Directive, alongside the shock absorbing performance required by BS EN 355. Y-forked with two tails, so the user stays attached to one anchor while transferring to the next.
Key Features
- Anti-static webbing to EN 1149-1: The reason this lanyard exists. Standard polyester webbing accumulates static charge; this does not, which is what permits its use where a spark cannot be tolerated.
- ATEX compliant: Meets the ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU together with ISO 80079-36, ISO 80079-37 and VG 11.063 for equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres.
- Y-forked twin tail: Two legs, so one stays clipped while the other moves. Continuous attachment when transferring between anchor points, which is when unprotected falls happen.
- Integral shock absorber: 45 mm shock absorber limits arrest forces to the level BS EN 355 requires.
- Supplied with connectors: Fitted with a karabiner at the harness end and scaffold hooks on the tails, ready to use.
- 1.5 m length: The standard working length, keeping fall distance manageable.
- Maximum user weight 100 kg: Including tools and equipment.
Technical Specifications
| Property |
Value |
| Product Code |
FA 30 403 15 |
| Length |
1.5 m |
| Configuration |
Y-forked, twin tail |
| Webbing Width |
45 mm |
| Shock Absorber Width |
45 mm |
| Webbing Material |
Anti-static polyester |
| Maximum User Weight |
100 kg including equipment |
| Fittings |
Karabiner and scaffold hooks |
| Conformity |
BS EN 355, ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU, EN 1149-1, ISO 80079-36, ISO 80079-37, VG 11.063 |
BS EN 355 | ATEX 2014/34/EU | EN 1149-1 Anti-Static | Category III PPE
Conforms to BS EN 355 for energy absorbing lanyards, the ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU for equipment in potentially explosive atmospheres, and EN 1149-1 for electrostatic properties, together with ISO 80079-36, ISO 80079-37 and VG 11.063. Category III personal protective equipment under Regulation (EU) 2016/425. Requires inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months and immediate withdrawal after arresting a fall.
Suitable Applications
This lanyard is specified where an explosive atmosphere may be present and work at height is required: petrochemical and refinery work, fuel storage and tank farms, sewer and wastewater treatment, grain silos and dust-generating processes, chemical plant, and gas distribution. In all of these a standard lanyard is not merely inferior but prohibited, since the risk assessment identifies static discharge as an ignition source. The Y-fork also suits the confined and complex steelwork typical of process plant, where anchor points are frequent and transfers between them constant.
More About This Product
The lanyard is where most fall protection systems are specified wrongly, and almost always in the same direction: a restraint lanyard used where fall arrest was needed.
It happens because the two look alike, cost similarly, hang in the same place in the store and are both described as lanyards. The difference is a folded pack of stitched webbing — the shock absorber — and on some designs it is tucked inside a cover where it is not obvious at a glance. A restraint lanyard is engineered on the assumption that it will never take a fall, and if it does, the forces reaching the body are far beyond what the human frame tolerates.
Fall Clearance: The Calculation Nobody Does
Ask most people how much clearance a 2 metre shock absorbing lanyard needs and they will say two metres. The real figure is a great deal more, and the gap between those two numbers is where people get hurt.
The calculation stacks up as follows. Lanyard length — as marked on the lanyard. Shock absorber deployment — the pack tears progressively and extends significantly. The figure for your specific lanyard is on its own label and must be read from there. The user's height below the attachment point — the dorsal D-ring is at shoulder height, so add roughly 1.5 m to reach the feet. A safety margin — because the calculation assumes ideal conditions and reality rarely provides them.
Added together these come to considerably more than the lanyard length, frequently more than double it. On a low working platform a shock absorbing lanyard may not prevent the ground being reached at all.
Where the clearance is not available, the answer is a retractable block, which arrests in a far shorter distance, or a restraint system where a fall is prevented rather than arrested.
How to Use the ATEX Lanyard
- Confirm ATEX equipment is required: Where your risk assessment identifies a potentially explosive atmosphere, all equipment entering it must be suitable, not just this lanyard.
- Calculate fall clearance: Lanyard length, shock absorber deployment, user height and a safety margin. A 1.5 m lanyard needs considerably more than 1.5 m of clearance.
- Attach the karabiner to the harness dorsal D-ring: Not to a side or front attachment unless the harness specifies otherwise.
- Keep one tail attached at all times: That is the purpose of the Y-fork. Clip the second before releasing the first.
- Never clip the spare tail back to the harness: A tail clipped to the harness transmits full arrest forces directly to the user in a fall, bypassing the shock absorber.
- Check the shock absorber is undeployed: Any sign of deployment means the lanyard has arrested a fall and must be withdrawn.
Warning: Never clip the unused tail back onto the harness. In a fall, that tail transmits arrest forces directly to the user without the shock absorber acting. Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall or if the shock absorber shows any sign of deployment. Maximum user weight 100 kg including tools.
Safety Information
- For use only by trained and competent persons within a safe system of work.
- Maximum user weight 100 kg including tools and equipment.
- Calculate fall clearance including shock absorber deployment before use.
- Never clip the unused tail back to the harness.
- Attach to the harness dorsal D-ring.
- Inspect webbing, stitching, shock absorber and connectors before every use.
- Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall or any sign of shock absorber deployment.
- Where an explosive atmosphere is identified, all equipment must be ATEX suitable.
- Inspection by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
- Store away from direct sunlight, heat sources and chemicals.
Inspection and Maintenance
Inspect as any textile fall protection, with one addition. Check the full length of both tails for cuts, abrasion, fraying, heat damage and chemical staining, examine the stitching at every termination, and check the shock absorber pack for any sign of deployment, tearing or an opened cover. The addition is contamination: anti-static properties depend on the webbing itself, and heavy soiling with oil, paint or process residue may compromise them. In an ATEX environment a lanyard that has become badly contaminated should be withdrawn rather than cleaned and returned to service. Clean with clean water only, never solvents.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What makes a lanyard ATEX suitable?
Anti-static webbing certified to EN 1149-1, together with fittings that will not spark. Standard polyester webbing accumulates static charge as it rubs against clothing and steelwork, and in an explosive atmosphere that discharge is an ignition source. It is not a marginal improvement over a standard lanyard; in an ATEX area a standard lanyard must not be used.
Q: Why must I not clip the spare tail to my harness?
Because in a fall that tail becomes a direct load path from the anchor to your harness, bypassing the shock absorber entirely. The forces transmitted can cause serious injury even though the fall is arrested. Let the unused tail hang, or use a lanyard parking attachment designed to release under load.
Q: How much clearance do I need below?
More than you might expect. Lanyard length, shock absorber deployment, the user's height below the attachment point and a safety margin all add up, and the total is well over the 1.5 m lanyard length. The user instruction manual gives the calculation. Getting it wrong is the most common serious error in fall arrest.
Q: Does the whole system need to be ATEX?
Yes. Specifying an ATEX lanyard and pairing it with a standard harness and non-ATEX connectors defeats the purpose. Where the risk assessment identifies an explosive atmosphere, every item entering it must be suitable.
