HA-001 — LANYARDS HAZARD ALERT

SUMMARY

Some lanyards are made of tubular webbing. This webbing is wrinkled (accordion looking), either at one end (shock absorbing lanyards) or all along its length (stretchable, non trip, shock absorbing lanyards). Such lanyards are particularly susceptible to abrasion damage to the tops of the wrinkles. The breaking strength of these lanyards depends solely on the strength of their outer, tubular webbing and not on the strength of their core. The opposite is true for some of the material handling slings (e.g.,Twin-Path slings) which also have an outer, tubular webbing and a core. In these slings the strength depends on the core while the outer webbing serves as a jacket protecting it.

THE HAZARD

What is it? Lanyards made out of tubular webbing (which is wrinkled) and a core, which have been partially damaged due to their use, are known to fail when arresting a fall of their users because of wear and tear damage to the webbing. Such lanyards should be removed from service, but if they are not, it is probably because their users do not know that the outer webbing determins the strength of the lanyard.

Why does it exist? This hazard exists because the tops of the wrinkles are not protected, while at the same time, some of the users of these lanyards are expecting their strength to be in the core and not in the outer webbing. These uninformed users consider the outer webbing to be a protective jacket as is the case with some of the materials handling slings. In addition, the tops of the wrinkles of the webbing are most exposed to any wear and tear damage, which on straight webbing would have been distributed more evenly along the lanyard’s length. All fall arresting lanyards may fail if damaged, however the peculiarity of the tubular, wrinkled webbing ones lies in the feeling of false security among users. They are unaware that the strength of these lanyards, unlike some similarly looking materials handling slings, is in the outer webbing and not in the core.

Where can you experience it? This hazard exists in all fall arrest systems (FAS) with used, partially damaged, un-inspected lanyards of this type. However, it is more frequent in the construction industry and in mining where the conditions of use cause these lanyards to become damaged faster than in other applications. The risk of failure of these used lanyards is also greater when the free fall energy exceeds the nominal rated capacity of the lanyard. The overall rated capacity of a shock absorber or a shock absorbing lanyard is defined as the amount of energy which these devices can absorb without exceeding standardized maximum arrest force (MAF) and standardized extension (SAE).

Who is affected by it and when? The most affected are the untrained or poorly trained users of FAS who do not know what to look for when performing before-use inspection, or do not perform such inspection at all.

HOW TO ELIMINATE IT OR MINIMIZE ITS CONSEQUENCES?

1. Remove the damaged lanyards from use and replace them with the new ones.
2. Train all FAS users in before-use inspection of all system components. During this training, put the emphasis on the crucial difference between the fall arresting lanyards and some materials handling slings which may look fairly similar.
3. Perform thorough periodic inspections of fall protection equipment by qualified inspectors.
4. Make sure that in your FASs, the nominal rated capacity of shock absorbing lanyards is not exceeded.
5. Follow User’s Instructions from lanyard manufacturers.
6. Provide proper training in fall protection to all users of FASs.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COMMENTS

Lanyards consisting of a core, either shock absorbing or just stretching (the so called non-trip lanyards) or both are becoming ever more popular due to their benefits of lowering the shock load, minimizing tripping and relatively low cost. Their characteristic feature, which distinguishes them from other lanyards are wrinkles in the outer web tube. In general the users’ knowledge of how these lanyards work is very poor. Most of the FAS users have better training in materials handling than in fall protection. Until other measures are developed, a proper training in fall protection with the emphasis on the before-use inspection of equipment seems to be the best way to minimize this hazard. When properly used by trained personnel these lanyards are very safe.

REFERENCES

1. Accident investigation - non-arrested fall of a steel erector. Ontario, December 1997.
2. Stop Work Order - Construction Site, Toronto, July 2000,
3. "Qualified Inspector of Fall Protection Equipment" Seminar, Sulowski, A.C., Toronto, ON, 1998
4. "Fall Arrest Systems - Practical Essentials", Sulowski, A.C., CSA-International, Toronto, ON, 2000
5. "The Fundamentals of Fall Protection" Seminar, CSA International, Toronto, ON, 1999.
6. ANSI Z359.1-1992 (R1999) American National Standard safety requirements for personal fall arrest systems, subsystems and components. American National Standards Institute Inc., New York, NY, and American Society of Safety Engineers, Des Plaines, IL.
7. CSA Z259.11-05 Energy absorbers and lanyards.