# Lanyards, do I really need them?



## Conner Jones

Hey guys,

So I have been advised by a professor of mine that if I find myself working over head in any union venue I will need to have a lanyard attached to all of my hand tools. I was wondering if this is a real rule that any of you have encountered, and if so how do you get around it? 

Do I really need to buy one of these 
https://www.pnta.com/scenic/tools/dirty-rigger-lanyard-with-single-carabiner/
for every tool I own, or can I just use some tie line and call it good? 
As usual I ask because I am just trying to be prepared.


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## Russell Reed

We just use tie line with carabiners. Works perfectly


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## Amiers

Yes. You “should”. Reaction time of something falling off you isn’t enough to call out and potentially hit someone.

Most people don’t.

Me personally even on the ground my wrench is tied to me.


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## josh88

Whether its a union house or not, anything going up with you that could be dropped should be removed from your pockets or tethered to you. On top of that, there are lots of places that will require head protection if there are people in the air working above them as an added measure. 

I have an elastic tether like that with carabiners on each end that someone gave me but tie line works, old coiled phone cords crimped to carabiners, there are tons of options.


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## Ben Stiegler

Ask yourself ... what if I was the guy below ... what level of caution would I want people above me to use?

I was once nearly slain by a strike crew member losing his grip on a large-lensed Leko. It hit the back of a seat a foot away from my head, and crimped itself into a boomerang shape in a split second. Even a roll of gaff tape dropped 20’ can do major damage. Please make safety your middle name, and prostheletize it relentlessly where ever you work.


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## SteveB

Where's my issue of "Follow Spot Monthly". One of the issues has the 30ft lanyard, yuk, yuk,


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## Jay Ashworth

I'm glad the light missed you, Ben, so that I can tell you the word you were after is "proselytize". 

All seriousness aside, I don't think it matters so much *how* you tether the wrench to you, as long as you do.


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## Van

"is there a way to get around it" 
Why would you want to? Having all your tools for working at height tethered is for the safety of the guy below you and for your financial health.


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## TheaterEd

Van said:


> Why would you want to?



I'd like to give OP the benefit of the doubt and interpret this as him trying to get around Buying a lanyard for each of his individual tools. Thus, Tie-line on a carabiner should be fine for most of your tools, but I like to have one nicer lanyard for my wrench. 

I personally think ground crew electricians should have their wrenches tethered as well to prevent any wrenches flying out on top of the electrics.


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## JJBerman

Also look at other tool lanyards, not all of them are $20.
A quick Amazon search revealed many options below $20, some for below $10.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...eld-keywords=tool+lanyard&tag=controlbooth-20


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## Conner Jones

JJBerman said:


> Also look at other tool lanyards, not all of them are $20.
> A quick Amazon search revealed many options below $20, some for below $10.
> https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=tools&field-keywords=tool+lanyard&tag=controlbooth-20



Thanks all for your comments. 

Honestly, I was just trying to not pay $20 for each tool I want to carry with me. I went ahead and bought a good lanyard on amazon and a value pack of carabiners. (I already have tie line) 
I find people get real particular about union rules like this, which is why I asked. Glad to hear the cheap solution is a passable one.


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## gafftapegreenia

This isn’t a “union” rule, it’s OSHA code, which they are getting increasingly strict about. Unionized jobsites are usually better about following safety codes.


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## Amiers

Conner Jones said:


> Thanks all for your comments.
> 
> Honestly, I was just trying to not pay $20 for each tool I want to carry with me. I went ahead and bought a good lanyard on amazon and a value pack of carabiners. (I already have tie line)
> I find people get real particular about union rules like this, which is why I asked. Glad to hear the cheap solution is a passable one.



You goto a few events/expos and you can generally pick a few up as swag and build your inventories of lanyards and every new one just swap out from your tie line.


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## Chase P.

I was once hit on the head by a wrench dropped out of a man lift roughly 20' above me, so I'm now a convert to the lanyard rule. 

Worst part? It was my wrench I loaned to the crew member who dropped it on me. Hard to complain that it should have been tethered when you're the one who should have tethered it!


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## FMEng

Not only a lanyard, but anyone below you should be wearing a hard hat. Every day we learn more about traumatic brain injury and its lasting effects.


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## teqniqal

Not only a hard hat, but a chin strap and/or tether on it, too. Your hard hat is worthless after falling 10 feet or more (cut it in half and throw it away!), and you are no longer in compliance with the hard hat rule once it falls off your head. We spend an inordinate amount of time bent-over working on tasks below us, a chin strapped hard hat really makes sense. You only get one head, _protect it_. Yes, you can buy a $5 hard hat at the el-cheapo tool store, or you can invest in a good quality device like the Petzl _Vertex_ or _Alveo_ series product that might just save your life.

If you wear eyeglasses (and/or safety glasses), they should be tethered (back strapped), too.

Good sources for tethers and Dropped Object Prevention Education are:
www.ergodyne.com
www.ty-flot.com
www.dropsonline.org
https://safety.grainger.com/people/dropped-object-prevention
http://www.ehstoday.com/construction/sky-isnt-falling-and-your-tools-shouldnt-either
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=12750


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## egilson1

It’s not just when people are working overhead that you need a hard hat. The reality is it’s needed more often than not. We’ve all been ducking under a batten with fixtures on it and you stand up into the next batten. Or in a driveable lift at the ceiling and you back into a sprinkler head. Head trama can happen in many many ways. 

And I agree, straps are a must. I wear a pretzel hard hat with an eye shield attached to it. I can also add ear muffs to it too. And an intergrated head lamp. 

Let’s keep our noggins safe people!

Ethan


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## jdenora

So I guess you've never accidentally dropped anything in your entire life... ever. I thought not. Get a lanyard. If you google "coiled lanyards" you'll get a bunch of results for under $20. There's a nice one with a brass dog clip on one end. Clip it to the tool of the moment, and if you need to switch tools, holster the first one and clip the coil to the second one. One lanyard for every tool. 

Ask yourself this question: If you were the guy working on the ground, and I was the guy working in the air, would you feel better if I was using a lanyard? If you're fumbling for the right answer, it's an emphatic "Yes."


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## MNicolai

It's overkill, but I use the Ty-Flot Quick-Switch holster and wrist bands. Usually I have a matte knife and a wrench tethered with it. Sometimes a screw driver.

You don't need to do _every_ tool, because most of your tools never leave ground level. When you get into the one-off uses like you need a pipe wrench or a drill at height, at most venues you can call out "loose tool" or "loose hardware" and alert people to not work below you while you're working with untethered goods. Every venue is different though. In an arena situation, nobody at ground level is going to hear you shouting from the rafters. You need to assume at all times they are oblivious to what you are doing above their heads.

The wrist strap I use actually makes focusing and hanging go faster. Instead of holstering the wrench when I'm going down a light position, I just drop it and let it dangle while I work with a light. Then I flick my wrist and catch the wrench in my hand, work on the next light, drop the wrench, work with the light, flick the wrist to get the wrench back into my hand. Surprisingly efficient over holstering the wrench constantly or shoving it in my pocket.

Has the added benefit of not having a coiled leash or a bit of tieline hanging off of you that you can trip over or get tangled by.

My preference is that even people at ground level tether their wrenches. People love to set their untethered wrenches down on top of power raceways for electrics. Inevitably someone forgets their tool and the electric gets flown out with the tool still sitting on it, ready to fall at any moment. Can't forget your wrench on a raceway if it's tethered to you.


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## derekleffew

MNicolai said:


> The wrist strap I use actually makes focusing and hanging go faster. Instead of holstering the wrench when I'm going down a light position, I just drop it and let it dangle while I work with a light. Then I flick my wrist and catch the wrench in my hand, work on the next light, drop the wrench, work with the light, flick the wrist to get the wrench back into my hand. Surprisingly efficient over holstering the wrench constantly or shoving it in my pocket.
> 
> Has the added benefit of not having a coiled leash or a bit of tieline hanging off of you that you can trip over or get tangled by.


Hmm, I work the exact same way but with a 2¢ piece of tieline.


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## Amiers

I think my piece is about 10¢ cause it has white inner threads.


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## JacobRothermel

My $0.02

-- Any tool you take to Height _should_ be tied off to you or your work platform (genie lift, ladder, etc.) in some way. Power tools are always tricky here because any lanyard or tie-off cannot interfere or potentially interfere with the working parts of the tool (tieline caught in a circ saw's arbor is a nightmare and terrifying...)
-- You should limit the number of tools you carry to working at Height to the absolute minimum needed.
-- If you need a large assortment of tools, some kind of alternative should be considered to corral runaway tools (scaffolding with a toe-kick, construction netting, etc.). When I worked on tension grids I would lay out a drop cloth in my immediate area whenever possible to catch hardware I might inadvertently drop...
-- People working under you (no one should be working _directly_ under you...) should know there are people working at Height in the space they are also working. No one should be surprised, ever. This might mean signs, a proctor of some kind, etc.; obviously hard hats. Communication is so essential in any and all work environments it should go at the top of any and every list.

Good luck.


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## teqniqal

jdenora said:


> Clip it to the tool of the moment, and if you need to switch tools, holster the first one and clip the coil to the second one. One lanyard for every tool.



NO. One lanyard for EACH tool taken into the air. Holstered tools can fall unless the holster is locking AND the user fully gets that they have to lock the tool into the holster _before_ transferring the safety line to another tool. (the exception being the Ty-Flot Quick-Switch described by MNicholai). Limit the number of tools in the air to prevent tangles and reduce working weight. Just take what you need - leave the rest on the ground.


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## Leo Mauler

Conner Jones said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> So I have been advised by a professor of mine that if I find myself working over head in any union venue I will need to have a lanyard attached to all of my hand tools. I was wondering if this is a real rule that any of you have encountered, and if so how do you get around it?
> 
> Do I really need to buy one of these
> https://www.pnta.com/scenic/tools/dirty-rigger-lanyard-with-single-carabiner/
> for every tool I own, or can I just use some tie line and call it good?
> As usual I ask because I am just trying to be prepared.


You don't get around this rule. It is great for you because your tools don't fall to the bottom of the ladder/scaffold, and it's *essential* for everyone beneath you. The only thing you can safely get around is the cost. Tie line, or any strong cord, and cheap carabiners, will do fine.


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## venuetech

I use tie line or some other stout 2 or 3mm line. You could get some 1/8” marine grade shock cord 100ft for under 20 bucks just to keep the tangles down. Double check any knots you use.


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## teqniqal

_ANSI/ISEA 121-2018, American National Standard for Dropped Object Prevention Solutions_ — approved on July 2, 2018 — establishes minimum design, performance, and labeling requirements for solutions and testing that mitigate this hazard. Read more here: https://safetyequipment.org/isea-le...ng-workplace-fatalities-from-dropped-objects/

A copy of the standard is only $30 (USD), so get one and understand it.


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