Safety rope is a valuable piece of PPE safety and fall arrest equipment for working at height or in hazardous fall arrest situations. Safety rope is also known as a lanyard, rope lanyard, lifeline and kernmantle rope, important in not only protecting your safety in a fall situation but to lift and lower heavy safety equipment and people, but also assisting in fall arrest recovery. Safety rope is as important as a harness for your protection ensure you have a safety rope as part of your fall arrest kit and fall recovery kit.
Important considerations when choosing safety rope as fall arrest equipment.
Weight capacity is important ensuring that the rope or lanyard is not used in safety situations where the weight capacity of the rope exceeds the load weight capacity is it used for. This is vital in protecting you, equipment and others from a fall.
The length of the rope, especially important when working at height. You must consider the height you are working at and ensure the length of the rope required exceeds the length of the fall from that height. Safety rope and lanyard length are equally important in a rescue situation ensuring the protection of all involved.
Safety rope diameter. Safety rope is often used with other necessary safety equipment, lanyards, kernmantles, carabiners/karabiners, fall arrest harness, lifelines, slings, fall limiters, tripods, winches, scaffolding hooks, arrest blocks and forklift cages. All of these and many more must be connected correctly to a safety rope, and the diameter of the rope ensures you have a safe anchor and harness point connection.
The safety rope colour is also important when working at height as it can add extra visibility to you and your equipment, especially from a distance, ensuring others are aware of a potential fall hazard ensuring added protection.
Important safety rope and rope lanyard considerations.
- Never overload the weight capacity of the safety rope.
- Use the correct length and diameter of rope for the job.
- If a safety rope or lanyard is damaged replace it immediately
.