Fixed/Swing Crane Operations Practice Test

Limiting how far you can fall before the restraint engages is the key idea. A full-body harness with a lanyard is a personal fall arrest system, designed to stop a fall, but the system has a safe limit for how far you can fall before it arrests. If the lanyard is six feet or shorter, the free-fall distance stays within what the equipment and its deceleration and anchor setup are designed to safely manage. A longer lanyard would allow a longer free fall before arrest, increasing the chance of striking the work surface, obstacles, or experiencing higher deceleration forces. So the maximum allowable lanyard length to keep the fall distance within safe limits is six feet. Longer lengths would permit a fall exceeding that safe limit.