Health and Safety Executive/Local Authorities Enforcement Liaison Committee (HELA)

To: Directors of Environmental Health/Chief Environmental Health Officers of London, Metropolitan, District and Unitary Authorities and Chief Executives of County Councils.

For the attention of:

This circular gives advice to local authority enforcement officers

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The attached operational circular (OC 282/29) is equally relevant to both HSE/LA enforcement officers.

Inspection of energy-absorbing lanyards made from webbing

Health and Safety Executive	Operational Circular
Field Operations Directorate	u OC 282/29

Review Date	19/10/2011	Open Government Status	Open
Version No & Date	LA Version 3/02	Author Unit/Section	FOD Safety Unit

Inspection of energy-absorbing lanyards made from webbing

This OC advises inspectors on appropriate action with regard to inspection regimes for energy-absorbing lanyards, used as part of personal protective equipment for protection against falls from height, where they are made from webbing and rope. It does not cover non-energy-absorbing lanyards or other equipment such as harnesses attached to the lanyard and anchor points, although many of the principles can be applied to non-energy-absorbing lanyards and safety harnesses used as protection against falls from height. It does not cover other provision and use requirements.

Introduction

1 An energy-absorbing lanyard (hereafter referred to as a lanyard) is a line for connecting a full body harness to an anchorage point with an inbuilt device that reduces the impact of a fall.

2 There is a wide range of possible causes of degradation of synthetic fibres used in webbing and rope lanyards (including abuse, general wear and tear, edge/surface damage, ultraviolet light, dirt, grit, chemicals).

3 BS EN 365:1993 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. General requirements for instructions for use and for marking (under revision) gives general requirements for periodic inspection, instructions for use and marking of PPE against falls from a height. To counter the causes of degradation described in para 2, the British Standard states that components should be examined 'at least twelve monthly'. This is sometimes taken to be 'annually', although manufacturers of textile products usually recommend inspection more frequently than this.

4 Recent research by Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) involving synthetic fibre webbing and rope lanyards has confirmed the range of causes of degradation and highlighted that there is no well-defined boundary (eg usable life) separating those lanyards which are safe and those which are not. Therefore lanyards need to be subject to an effective inspection regime, to maintain their safety for use as protection against falls. The paragraphs below give recommendations for the frequency and type of inspection which may be needed.

Inspection regime

5 The inspection regime recommended in this OC has been discussed with representatives of manufacturers, suppliers, installers and major users via British Standards Institution Technical Committee PH/5 (Industrial safety belts and harnesses) and the Personal Safety Manufacturers Association Height and Access Committee.

6 Dutyholders should establish a regime for the inspection of lanyards which should include:

1. the lanyards to be inspected;
2. the frequency and type of inspection (pre-use checks, detailed inspection and where appropriate interim inspection);
3. who will carry out the inspections;
4. action to be taken on finding defective lanyards;
5. training of users; and
6. competent persons to carry out the inspections.

Dutyholders should also consult manufacturer's instructions.

7 It is essential that the person carrying out any inspection is sufficiently independent and impartial to allow them to make objective decisions, and has appropriate and genuine authority to discard defective lanyards. This does not mean that competent persons must necessarily be employed from an external company, although many manufacturers and/or suppliers offer inspection services and training in the inspection of their products.

8 Dutyholders may wish to provide additional lanyards to use as replacements in the event that defective lanyards have to be taken out of use.

9 Special consideration may need to be given to lanyards which are on hire, to ensure that they are subject to detailed inspections (and interim inspections if appropriate) within the period specified in the regime. Hirers should be informed of any use or damage which may affect the safety of the equipment (eg use with chemicals).

Scope of the inspection regime

10 Lanyards should be subject to:

1. pre-use checks;
2. detailed inspections; and
3. (as appropriate) interim inspections

to identify defects or damage affecting safety.

Pre-use checks

11 These should be carried out each time before the lanyard is used. These checks are essential and may be best done by the person who will use the equipment. The person doing the checks must be competent to do them.

12 Pre-use checks should be tactile and visual. The whole lanyard should be subject to the check, by passing it slowly through the hands (eg to detect softening or hardening of fibres, ingress of contaminants). A visual check should be undertaken in good light and will normally take a few minutes.

Detailed inspections

13 These are more-formal in-depth inspections which are carried out periodically at minimum intervals specified in the dutyholder's inspection regime. The inspection regime should be drawn up by a competent person. Detailed inspections should be recorded. It is recommended that there is a detailed inspection at least every 6 months. For frequently-used lanyards it is suggested that this is increased to at least every 3 months, particularly when used in arduous environments (eg demolition, steel erection, scaffolding, steel skeletal masts/towers with edges and protrusions).

Interim inspections

14 These are also in-depth inspections and may be appropriate in addition to pre-use checks and detailed inspections. Interim inspections may be needed between detailed inspections because the dutyholder's risk assessment has identified a risk that could result in significant deterioration, affecting the safety of the lanyard before the next detailed inspection is due. The need for and frequency of interim inspections will depend on use. Examples of situations where interim inspections may be appropriate include:

1. risks from transient arduous working environments involving paints, chemicals or grit blasting operations; or
2. acidic or alkaline environments if the type of fabric the lanyard is made from cannot be determined (some fabrics offer low resistance to acids or alkalis).

Interim inspections should be recorded.

Examples of defects and damage

15 The following defects and damage have the potential to result in the degradation and/or weakening of the lanyard:

1. a knot in the lanyard, other than those intended by the manufacturer;
2. surface abrasion across the face of the webbing and at the webbing loops, particularly if localised;
3. abrasion at the edges, particularly if localised;
4. cuts to the webbing, rope or stitching, particularly at the edges (eg where the lanyard may have been choke-hitched around steel work);
5. chemical attack which can result in local weakening and softening - often indicated by flaking of the surface. There may also be a change to the colour of the fibres;
6. heat or friction damage indicated by fibres with a glazed appearance which may feel harder than surrounding fibres;
7. damaged or deformed fittings (eg karabiners, screwlink connectors, scaffold hooks);
8. UV-degradation which is difficult to identify, particularly visually, but there may be some loss of colour (if dyed) and a powdery surface;
9. partially deployed energy absorber (eg short pull-out of tear webbing);
10. contamination (eg with dirt, grit, sand etc) which may result in internal or external abrasion.

Other factors

16 Any lanyard that has been used to arrest a fall should never be reused. It should be withdrawn from service immediately and destroyed.

17 All lanyards should be indelibly and permanently marked (BS EN 365:1993). They should be uniquely identifiable so that they can be easily associated with their respective inspection documentation.

Action by dutyholders

18 Lanyards should be withdrawn from use and passed to a competent person for a detailed inspection to decide whether they should continue to be used or destroyed if:

1. there is no evidence that a lanyard has been inspected by a competent person within the last 6 months;
2. identification is not evident;
3. a lanyard is still in use and marked to the old British Standard, BS 1397: 1979 Specification for industrial safety belts, harnesses and safety lanyards (ie pre CE-marking);
4. after a pre-use check or interim inspection, a lanyard is thought to be defective, or if there is any doubt about its safety.

Action by inspectors

19 In cases where there is doubt about the frequency of inspections specified in an inspection regime, inspectors should consult specialist group (SG) construction specialist inspectors. Local authority enforcement officers can access HSE specialist group inspectors via the ELO.

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