Some of the people who wear a safety lanyard are soldiers and officers to secure their weapons to their body especially when in the battle field. In addition, it is also an important tool for people who are working in higher areas or where water is in the near vicinity. Some examples of the people who are using these lanyards are the divers and the navy officers who are working closely near the water.
Types of Safety Lanyards
There are three known types of safety lanyards based on the materials they are made up of.
- Rope lanyard - most basic type of lanyard used in different industries. Its purpose is solely focused on restraint. It can be used for a lot of purposes because of its elastic properties.
- Web lanyard - while elastic, can only be ideal to be used for restraining and avoiding fall from less than two feet.
- Steel lanyard - great to be used in an environment with ruthlessly high temperature. This type of safety lanyard is made to resist corrosion and heat. It would however need to be used together with conjunction devices for it to function.
How to Properly Inspect Safety Lanyards
Inspecting lanyards will take looking closely at it from one end to another. Check the circumference of the lanyard by forming it in a circle shape. But make sure to closely inspect the hardware of the safety lanyard. Primarily, check the snaps. It should be free from corrosion, cracks and distortion. Try to test the flexibility of the material. And when considering the protective plastic cover of the lanyard, check for any loose strand or cut stands. Make sure that the edges do not have cracks, distortion or sharp edges.
Besides for the general way of inspecting a safety lanyard, there are also specific ways to inspect a specific kind of lanyard. For rope lanyard, rotate it first and check if there are broken, fuzzy or worn out fibers. If the lanyard is worn out, it can easily be noticeable since the diameter will change. The lanyard should be smooth all throughout.
For web lanyards, bend it over from all different directions and check for any break or cut which may be caused by the bending. This will easily show if the quality of the lanyard is poor or if it is already worn out from too much use.
And finally, when inspecting steel lanyards, rotate it to watch out of frayed and cut areas. This safety lanyard should be used with a shock-absorbing devices so check out for one when inspecting.