The two things that most often go wrong in fall protection, addressed in one lanyard. **Anti-cut rope** handles the sharp edge that would sever a conventional line under load. The **Y forked twin tail** handles the transfer between anchor points, which is when a single-tail user has to disconnect and is briefly unprotected.
Both problems belong to the same work: steel erection, structural steelwork, tower and mast climbing, where the operative moves constantly between anchor points and every one of those points sits on something with an edge on it.
Key Features
- Anti-cut rope: Constructed to withstand contact with sharp edges under fall arrest load.
- Y forked twin tail: One tail stays clipped while the other moves, giving continuous attachment during transfers.
- 45 mm shock absorber: Wider than the 35 mm on the single tail versions, reflecting the twin configuration.
- Max user 140 kg including tools.
- Karabiner and two scaffold hooks fitted: Ready to use, with 50 mm class hooks for tube and structural members.
- BS EN 355 plus VG 11.063.
Technical Specifications
| Property |
Value |
| Product Code |
FA 30 610 15 |
| Length |
1.5 m |
| Configuration |
Y forked twin tail |
| Rope |
11 mm anti-cut polyamide kernmantle |
| Shock Absorber Width |
45 mm |
| Fittings |
Karabiner one end, two scaffold hooks |
| Maximum User Weight |
140 kg including equipment |
| Conformity |
BS EN 355, VG 11.063 |
BS EN 355 | VG 11.063 | Anti-Cut Rope | Category III PPE
Conforms to BS EN 355 for energy absorbing lanyards together with VG 11.063, using anti-cut rope construction. Anti-cut construction reduces but does not eliminate edge risk; edge protection should still be used where a sharp edge is identified. Category III PPE under Regulation (EU) 2016/425. Inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months and immediate withdrawal after arresting a fall.
Suitable Applications
This is the specification for structural steelwork: erection, connection, bracing and dismantling, where the operative moves constantly between anchor points and every anchor is a steel member with an edge. It also suits tower and mast climbing, bridge work and any leading edge application involving movement. It is the most expensive lanyard in the standard range at £77.40 cost, and the case for it is that it covers the two failure modes that matter most on that particular work.
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 Lanyard
- Keep one tail attached at all times: Clip the second before releasing the first.
- Never clip the spare tail back to the harness: In a fall it becomes a direct load path bypassing the shock absorber.
- Still protect identified edges: Anti-cut reduces risk rather than removing it.
- Calculate fall clearance: 1.5 m plus absorber deployment plus user height plus margin.
- Anchor as high as practicable.
- Inspect both tails after edge contact.
Warning: Never clip the unused tail back onto the harness; it transmits arrest forces directly to the user without the shock absorber acting. Anti-cut construction does not make sharp edges safe.
Safety Information
- For use only by trained and competent persons within a safe system of work.
- Maximum user weight 140 kg including tools and equipment.
- Never clip the unused tail back to the harness.
- Use edge protection in addition where a sharp edge is identified.
- Calculate fall clearance including shock absorber deployment.
- Inspect both tails for damage after any edge contact.
- Withdraw immediately after arresting a fall or any sign of absorber deployment.
- Inspection by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
Inspection and Maintenance
Both tails need checking independently. Run each full length through your hands feeling for soft spots and diameter changes, and inspect each sheath for cuts, abrasion, glazing and staining, with particular attention to sections that have contacted structure. Check the shock absorber pack for deployment, tearing or an opened cover. Examine the karabiner and both scaffold hooks for gate operation, positive locking and throat wear, since scaffold hooks used on structural steel wear quickly at the throat.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is this the most expensive lanyard in the range?
Anti-cut rope, twin tail construction and a 45 mm absorber. It addresses both the sharp edge and the transfer gap, which are the two things that most often go wrong on structural steelwork. If your work involves both, no cheaper lanyard covers them.
Q: Do I need anti-cut on a Y forked lanyard?
If you are moving between anchor points on steelwork, yes. Every transfer is an opportunity for the rope to lie across an edge, and you are doing it dozens of times a day. The combination is not two features bolted together, it is one answer to one type of work.
Q: Why is the absorber wider at 45mm?
The twin tail configuration and higher 140 kg rating call for a larger absorber than the 35 mm used on the single tail versions. It reflects the arrest energy the lanyard is designed to handle.
