Creating Lanyards to OSHA Safety Standards
In 1970, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act and created the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA). Since then, OSHA has worked hard to create safe working conditions for all
Americans. Organized under the Department of Labor, OSHA works to establish and enforce standards that ensure
everyone has a safe workplace.
OSHA safety standards cover everything from the proper protection from, and handling of hazardous materials,
to the responsibilities of employers in providing for the safety and comfort of their employees. Part of what
gets covered in OSHA guidelines is the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE). And while our safety
lanyards are not a primary piece of PPE, that doesn’t mean they don’t need to meet safety standards.
Most PPE is needed to help with handling hazardous chemicals, or to offer fall protection, or otherwise
mitigate the potential hazards of working on any job. But when it comes to safety lanyards, they’re less about
protecting someone from a specific incident and more about making sure someone in an emergency situation won’t
have that situation made worse because they’re wearing a lanyard.
Different Types of Safety Lanyards
Before placing your order for safety lanyards, it might be helpful to know what we are and aren’t talking
about. One type of safety lanyard is a shock absorbing lanyard. This piece of PPE is attached to an anchor
point and to a person working high off the ground. The lanyard is deigned to absorb the impact force created
by a person falling and then stopping suddenly when the safety lanyard pulls tight.
When we talk about safety lanyards, we are not talking about shock absorbing lanyards. When you come to
Signature Lanyards looking for safety lanyards, we’re talking mostly about two different types of lanyards:
reflective color lanyards and breakaway lanyards.
Reflective color lanyards are just like any other polyester lanyard, but they have reflective material added
to them. This reflective material can either be added to the center of the flat lanyard or two strips of it
can be added down the length of the edges of the lanyard, leaving the center open.
If you’re worried about getting your company name and logo imprinted on a reflective lanyard, don’t be. An
imprinted design can be added directly onto the reflective material through the same silkscreen process we use
on all of our imprinted lanyards. Which means you can either have the reflective strip added to the center
with a custom design imprinted over top of it, or to the sides of the lanyard with your imprinted design
resting between the two strips.
Breakaway lanyards make use of a special, upgraded attachment option to make sure that if they ever get
snagged on something, the lanyard doesn’t tighten around the wearer’s neck. The breakaway release can be added
to the lanyard so that the lanyard can be attached like a necklace instead of put on over the head. This is
particularly helpful when the wearer is also wearing a hard hat.
However, the breakaway release can also be added to the lanyard closer to the badge holder itself. This way,
the lanyard can still be put on over the wearer’s head, but if the person’s ID or badge holder gets caught in
something, it will still breakaway from the rest of the lanyard without putting the wearer in any added
danger.
You can also double up on the protection and get two breakaway clips added in both of these positions on the
lanyard. This way, your employees are protected from any situation in which their lanyard might get caught on
something.
Whether you’re looking for lanyards with reflective strips added to increase night time visibility, or you’re
looking for lanyards with safety clips, or even both at once, we’ve got you covered.
Ordering Breakaway Lanyards
Workplaces seeking to adhere to OSHA standards aren’t the only customers who can benefit from ordering
breakaway lanyards. School lanyards, particularly schools with smaller children, can also make use of this
type of safety lanyard. As children run and play on playground equipment or horse around with each other,
lanyards can get caught or pulled. If a school lanyard is part of your school uniform, consider getting
breakaway lanyards made.
All of the lanyards created by Signature Lanyards are made of the highest quality, and they are all backed by
our 100% quality guarantee. That means that if you see any production or factory error on your lanyards, we
will replace them free of charge. All orders also benefit from free next-day shipping within the U.S., and the
best customer service you’ll find anywhere online.
Contact us today to get started on your order of custom safety lanyards. Our artists will have your first
free proof of artwork completed within 48 hours. From there, all revisions are completed free of charge, so
make as many changes to your lanyard design as you need. When you partner with us, you don’t pay a dime until
you’re ready to order, so contact us today and see what our team can do for you.
