Climbing lines, lanyards and friction cords: the standards and the ratings

Regulators, codes of practice and standards bodies each set out what they expect of climbing lines, lanyards and friction cords. The figures below come from regulations, codes of practice and the standards bodies' own descriptions. The codes below put the maker's instructions and the employer's rules for the item in hand first.

Words the sources use

The rating words differ by country, and the same number can mean different things.

Minimum breaking strength (MBS). The strength a new item is built to reach in a test. The UK Industry Code of Practice for tree work at height, published by the Arboricultural Association in May 2020 (the ICoP), says ratings can give minimum or maximum loading, a safe working load (SWL) or a working load limit (WLL).
Safe working load (SWL). HSE says all lifting equipment, including accessories, must be clearly marked with its safe working load, the maximum load the equipment can safely lift.
Termination. A splice, eye or knot at the end of a line. The ICoP says a new climbing rope has an MBS of 15 kN with a termination and 22 kN without one.
Rating against body mass. The ICoP says each item should be rated relative to the mass of the operator, including any equipment worn.

New Zealand's arboriculture code uses the word in its own way. It says the safe working load of a climbing rope and equipment is 10 percent of the breaking or tensile strength of the rope, and that knots can weaken a rope by up to 50 percent of its breaking strength.

United States

OSHA 1910.140

OSHA's rule 29 CFR 1910.140 covers performance, care and use criteria for all personal fall protection systems. OSHA's tree care inspection memo of June 24, 2021 says the criteria in that rule apply to systems used while climbing, changing locations and working at height in trees. The rule is addressed to employers. Figures it gives:

Lanyards and vertical lifelines must have a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN).
D-rings, snaphooks and carabiners must sustain a minimum tensile load of 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN), and their gates must withstand 3,600 pounds (16 kN) without separating from the nose by more than 0.125 inches (3.175 mm).
Snaphooks and carabiners must be the automatic locking type that needs at least two separate, consecutive movements to open.
Lifelines must not be made of natural fiber rope, and polypropylene rope must contain an ultraviolet light inhibitor.
A competent or qualified person must inspect each knot in a lanyard or vertical lifeline before an employee uses it.
Systems are used only for fall protection, not for hoisting equipment or materials.
A system or component subjected to impact loading is removed from service until a competent person inspects it.
Systems are inspected before initial use during each workshift for mildew, wear, damage and other deterioration.

The rule defines a lanyard as a flexible line of rope, wire rope or strap, generally with a connector at each end, for connecting a body belt or body harness to a deceleration device, lifeline or anchorage. It defines a rope grab as a deceleration device that travels on a lifeline and engages it by friction to arrest a fall.

ANSI Z133

The International Society of Arboriculture says the ANSI Z133-2026 standard, Safety and Health Requirements for Arboricultural Operations, became available on May 27, 2026, and that the digital version is a free download for individual use; the ISA release page says so. OSHA's tree care memo quotes the earlier Z133-2017 clause on testing the anchor point with a load of approximately twice the weight of the climber before climbing starts.

ISA also posted the second public review draft of the revision in January 2024. That is a draft and the published standard may differ. Its section 8.1.5 on climbing lines and work-positioning lanyards listed a minimum diameter of 0.44 inches (11 mm), a synthetic fiber construction with an exception for steel core lanyards, a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds (22.24 kN) without terminations when new, and a maximum working elongation of 7 percent at a load of 500 pounds (2.22 kN). Its section 8.1.6 set the same 5,000 pound figure for hitch cord and loops.

OSHA's page on tree care standards lists ANSI Z133 among voluntary standards that may apply to the industry, and says compliance with ANSI standards does not ensure compliance with OSHA policy. The Cordage Institute, a rope trade body, lists CI-2200, a standard on performance and test methods for arborist climbing ropes, in its publications catalogue with a June 2019 date.

Canada

Workplace safety law is provincial. Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Code, Part 39, applies to arboriculture work at height where the worker depends on the tree for support, and Part 9 sets equipment standards by manufacture date. Part 9 is addressed to employers.

Item	Alberta text, made on or after March 31, 2023	Section
Lanyard	Approved to CSA Z259.11-17, ANSI/ASSE Z359.1-2007 or EN 354:2002	142.2
Adjustable work-positioning lanyard	Approved to CSA Z259.11-17 or EN 358:2000	148
Life safety rope	Approved to NFPA 1983 or EN 1891:1998 as Type A rope, or meets listed CSA or ANSI requirements	147
Carabiner or snap hook	Self-closing, self-locking, opened by at least 2 deliberate actions, marked with breaking strength and maker	143

For a life safety rope in a fall protection system, section 147 also says it reaches within 1.2 metres of the ground or another safe lower surface, is free of knots or splices through the travel portion except a stopper knot at its lower end, and carries one worker at a time unless the maker's specifications, or specifications certified by a professional engineer, allow more. Section 796 says the Prusik and similar knots rule in section 150.3 does not apply to arboriculture activities covered by Part 39.

The Standards Council of Canada's notice describes CSA Z259.11-17 as covering the performance, design, testing, marking and instructions of personal energy absorbers and lanyards, including lineman's pole straps and integrally connected lanyards and energy absorbers.

British Columbia's OHS Regulation, section 11.5, says fall protection equipment must meet, and be used in accordance with, an applicable CSA or ANSI standard in effect when it was made. The BC rope access rules in Part 34 list EN 354:2010 for lanyards and Cordage Institute CI 1801-07 for static kernmantle life safety rope; they are rope access rules, not tree care rules.

United Kingdom

HSE's tree work pages point to the ICoP. Its text on equipment says:

Each item is clearly identifiable and carries enough information for traceability back to the manufacturer.
Splices in rope are formed only by the manufacturer or with their consent against validated performance criteria.
Manufacturer information explains the meaning of any markings or symbols and gives the safe useful life of the equipment.
An adjustable lanyard is preferred because it can minimise slack.
A temporary anchor device has an MBS of at least 18 kN.

The ICoP's list of standards includes BS EN 1891 (low stretch kernmantel ropes), BS EN 354 (lanyards) and BS EN 358 (belts and lanyards for work positioning or restraint).

HSE's page on lifting equipment in arboriculture lists rope access and work positioning systems, ropes, karabiners, harnesses and strops as lifting equipment, because the term load includes a person. Regulation 7 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) says accessories for lifting are marked so that the characteristics needed for their safe use can be identified, and regulation 9 sets thorough examination of equipment for lifting persons and of lifting accessories at least every 6 months unless a scheme says otherwise. The guide on looking after a line and saddle covers the examination intervals. HSE's climbing operations page says rope access and positioning should only be used with at least two separately anchored lines, with a single rope allowed if a risk assessment shows a second line would entail higher risk and appropriate measures are taken.

Australia

The tree work code of practice from SafeWork NSW, in force from March 27, 2026, applies in New South Wales. Other states and territories have their own codes. It says:

Static ropes are only used for access, and dynamic ropes are selected for traversing and working within the tree.
Adjustable lanyards should have a maximum length stop as an integral part, and wire or wire core lanyards should not be used in an electrical environment.
Lanyard webbing should be retired if there are any visible cuts, and worn or cut rope lanyards are permanently removed from service.
Stopper knots and barrel knots can creep or loosen under load.

The code points to AS/NZS 1891.4:2025, Personal equipment for work at height, selection, use and maintenance. The Standards Australia store describes it as specifying requirements and recommendations for selection, safe use and maintenance of industrial fall-arrest systems and devices, and describes AS 1891.5:2020 as covering the materials, design, manufacture, testing and labelling of lanyard assemblies and pole straps. The same store lists AS 4142.3-1993, on man-made fibre rope for static life rescue lines, as withdrawn.

New Zealand

WorkSafe New Zealand publishes the Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Arboriculture. WorkSafe notes it was written under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and has not been updated for the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, though it may still contain relevant information. Its climbing equipment section says:

Climbing lines have a breaking strain of 22 kN when new, are designed for tree climbing, and are free of joining splices or knots. Spliced eyes and end splices follow the rope maker's instructions.
Friction hitches and work-positioning lanyards used in a climbing system meet the minimum strength standards for arborist climbing lines.
Friction hitches are tied with cordage of at least 70 percent of the diameter of the climbing line.
Lanyards have an effective means to stop the friction hitch or device slipping off the end.
A friction device is stamped or marked to the appropriate standard and rated to a minimum of 22 kN.
All ancillary equipment such as carabiners, descenders, rings and webbing is rated to a minimum of 22 kN.
Carabiners and snap hooks are auto-locking and need a minimum of three distinct movements to open.
No climbing equipment is marked for identification, for example by engraving.

Side by side

Place	Line or lanyard strength	Locking connector
United States, OSHA	5,000 pounds (22.2 kN) lanyards and lifelines	2 consecutive movements
Alberta	Approved to listed CSA, ANSI or EN standards	2 deliberate actions
United Kingdom, ICoP	22 kN without termination, 15 kN with	No count given
New South Wales	Standards referred to, no figure	No count given
New Zealand	22 kN climbing lines and ancillary kit	3 distinct movements

The guide on saddles and harnesses covers the body-support side of the same standards, and rigging words covers the vocabulary of rigging rope.