EN 354 sets the requirements for lanyards. A lanyard may be made from rope, webbing or chain, with a fixed or adjustable length.
A critical warning
A lanyard alone is not a fall arrest system. Without an energy absorber an EN 354 lanyard has only two legitimate uses: in a restraint system (which prevents the wearer reaching the fall zone at all) and in work positioning (with EN 358). For fall arrest it must always be combined with an EN 355 absorber.
The length limit
The total length of a lanyard including connectors and absorber must not exceed 2 metres. That limit directly caps the free-fall distance and hence the force generated.
The twin-leg (Y) lanyard
A twin-leg lanyard lets a worker move without ever being disconnected: one leg is clipped to the new anchor before the other is released. One important rule — the free leg must be parked on the harness's dedicated keeper, never on the D-ring, or in a fall it will bypass the absorber.