The rope version of the restraint lanyard, and the one to choose when the exact length matters. Three lengths are offered because restraint depends entirely on geometry: the right lanyard is the one that lets you work where you need to and stops short of anywhere you could fall from. A 1.8 m lanyard where 1 m would do is not more convenient, it is less safe.
Thimble eyes at both ends rather than soft loops. The thimble is a metal insert that protects the rope splice where a karabiner bears on it, which is the point that would otherwise wear fastest.
Key Features
- Three lengths: 1 m, 1.5 m and 1.8 m, so the lanyard can be matched to the restraint geometry rather than the geometry worked around the lanyard.
- Thimble eyes both ends: Metal inserts protecting the splice from connector wear, which is where an unprotected rope eye fails first.
- 11 mm polyamide kernmantle: Core and sheath construction, handling well and resisting abrasion.
- Resistance 22 kN.
- BS EN 354 certified.
- Inexpensive: £6.23 to £7.61 at cost, so having the right length for each situation is affordable.
Technical Specifications
| Product Code |
Length |
Rope |
Terminations |
Resistance |
Cost |
| FA 40 500 10 |
1 m |
11 mm polyamide |
Thimble eyes both ends |
22 kN |
£6.23 |
| FA 40 500 15 |
1.5 m |
11 mm polyamide |
Thimble eyes both ends |
22 kN |
£6.71 |
| FA 40 500 20 |
1.8 m |
11 mm polyamide |
Thimble eyes both ends |
22 kN |
£7.61 |
Connectors are not included. The FA 40 502 XX range has a scaffold hook fitted at one end.
BS EN 354 | RESTRAINT ONLY — No Energy Absorber | Category III PPE
Conforms to BS EN 354 for lanyards. This lanyard has no energy absorber and is not fall arrest equipment. It must only be used in restraint. Where a fall is possible, a shock absorbing lanyard to BS EN 355 is required. Inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months and immediate withdrawal after any fall or shock loading.
Suitable Applications
The same restraint applications as the webbing version: flat roofs, platforms, open decks and any area where anchor position and lanyard length can keep the user clear of an edge. Rope handles differently from webbing, being rounder in the hand and less prone to twisting flat, which some users prefer. The three lengths make this the range to choose where several restraint positions with different geometries are involved, since matching the length to each is both cheap and safer than using one long lanyard everywhere.
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 Restraint Lanyard
- Choose the length by measurement: Work out what length keeps you clear of every fall position and buy that one, rather than adapting to whatever is in the van.
- Fit connectors at both ends: The thimble eyes take karabiners, which are not supplied.
- Anchor to a rated point.
- Connect to the harness dorsal D-ring.
- Reassess whenever the anchor or work position changes.
- Never use where a fall is possible.
Warning: Restraint lanyard with no energy absorber. It will not safely arrest a fall. Use only where the anchor position and lanyard length make reaching a fall position impossible.
Safety Information
- For use only by trained and competent persons within a safe system of work.
- Restraint use only. No energy absorber.
- The anchor position and lanyard length must prevent reaching any fall position.
- Connectors are not supplied; use certified karabiners at both ends.
- Anchor to a point capable of withstanding the applied forces.
- Inspect rope, thimble eyes and splices before every use.
- Withdraw after any fall or shock loading.
- Inspection by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
Inspection and Maintenance
Run the full length through your hands feeling for soft spots, hard spots and diameter changes that indicate internal damage the sheath may not show. Inspect the sheath for cuts, abrasion, glazing from friction and staining that could indicate chemical contact. Examine both splices and their stitching, and check each thimble is seated properly and undistorted, since a displaced thimble lets the karabiner bear directly on the rope. Polyamide degrades under UV, so where the lanyard is stored matters as much as how it is used.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Rope or webbing restraint lanyard?
Largely preference. Rope is rounder in the hand and does not twist flat; webbing packs smaller and lies flatter against the body. Both meet BS EN 354 at 22 kN. The rope range offers three lengths where the webbing is 1.5 m only, which matters if you need a specific geometry.
Q: Why does the length matter so much?
Because restraint works by geometry alone. The lanyard length plus the anchor position determines how far you can travel, and that must stop short of anywhere you could fall from. Using a longer lanyard than the geometry allows defeats the entire system.
Q: What is a thimble eye?
A metal insert in the rope loop, protecting the splice where a karabiner bears against it. Without one, the connector wears directly on the rope fibres at the highest loaded point. It is a small feature that considerably extends the lanyard's life.
Q: Are karabiners included?
No, both ends are plain thimble eyes. You need two certified connectors. The FA 40 502 XX range has a scaffold hook fitted at one end if you would rather buy it ready to use.
