Frequently Asked Questions

• Tool@rrest is a leading manufacturer of engineered, certificated solutions to prevent dropped tools in the global ‘work at height’ sector – providing a complete system including the securing of tools-in-waiting (tools in the work belt or holster).
• Established in 2009, Tool@rrest is a privately owned company headquartered in the UK.
• Global client reach through 300+ outlets and presence across 4 continents.
• All products are grounded in engineering-based knowledge and involve a level of innovation which is rigorously enforced through an Intellectual Property strategy of patents and branding protection.

• A patented, certified solution allowing existing tool stocks and new hand/power tools up to 2.5kg to be tethered.
• Independently tested to be statistically fail safe (i.e. 0.000000003/million).
• Once Tool@rrested, tools can be securely attached to a lanyard which is anchored to an operative’s tool belt or safety harness, meaning tools never have to be handled when loose.

Tool Tethers

Can be retrofit to new or existing hand tools

Lanyards

o   Patented retractable rotating lanyard (the Retr@ct 360): Capable of securing hand tools up to 2.5kg without entanglement of normal lanyards and compatible with tool belts and harnesses.

o   Wrist lanyards with karabiner or toggle choke tails (Rated for hand tools of up to 2kg)

o   Webbing lanyards (1metre | rated for hand tools of up to 2.5kg)

o   Quick change elasticated lanyards with karabiner or toggle choke tails (rated for hand tools of up to 2.5kg)

o   Wire lanyards (1metre | rated for tools weighing 2.5kg+)

Accessories

o   Power tool wraps (the Wr@p): Secures both battery pack and tool itself up to 2.5kg.

o   Pinned socketry range: Minimising the risk of accidental socket release

o   Lifting buckets (use up to 34kg | complete with internal karabiners)

Tool Kits

o   A new range of standard and bespoke tethered tool kits (tool chests | mobile units | soft bags/pouches).

• Litigation from death or serious injury of colleagues and co-workers.
• Severe equipment damage (not just the dropped tool but everything it hits on the way down).
• Costly downtime / project overruns.
• Reputational damage of both contractor and client.
• Severe and increasing fines and jail terms for negligent firms and individuals.

This is perfectly legal but is in itself is a major cause of incident as such solutions are not replicable with any degree of standardisation nor certifiable and have no mechanism for traceability or inspection.

• Industry leading in terms of safety, applicability and usability
• Statistically fail-safe
• Certified and warranted
• Each tether independently tested over 5,200 times
• Exceeds all current industry standards
• Allows employers and employees to meet their ‘Duty of Care’
• Soft, flexible and durable
• Usable on tools up to 2.5kg in weight
• Individually traceable using the unique tether ID
• Easily inspected
• Retrofitted to new tools or tools already in use, on site and in minutes
• Industrially replicable and standardised across all Retr@fitted tools.

• In line with advice and recommendations of industry bodies such as DROPS, we support a recommendation that no more than 2.5kg should be tethered to the human body and preferably 2.0kg if possible.
• The reason for this is simple.  Higher weights risk severe injury if dropped when attached to your person and can also destabilise the operator, forcing them into a fall-arrest situation (which is likely to be fatal).

• Any tool weighing more than 2.5kgs should be tethered to a fixed, secured and rated connection point and a rated lanyard should be used (which is likely to be a wire lanyard of c. 4mm+ wire rope).

• Yes, we have a number of solutions, the most popular of which is the Wrist Lanyard with the selection of tails to suit different attachment preferences for your tools.

• Depending on where you are working, you should consider using specialist, tested lifting buckets with restraining devices for separate tools built in.  This means the tools will stay secure, even if the bucket turns upside down.

• Yes, we can offer assistance in working with you to create formal Work At Height policies and operational training plans.  A full training programme will be rolled out shortly.
• We can also assist you in understanding your legal and regulatory requirements and help guide you with industry best practice to keep your operators safe.

• Very simply, for your ease of use and flexibility as you only need one lanyard attached to your harness or work belt to handle a number of tools, all of which can be double tethered and never left loose, even when the lanyard is being transferred from one tool to the next.

• All tethers have been designed and independently tested 5,200 times each using what’s called a Weibull statistical model to provide a fail-safe rating for hand tools up to 2.5kg.  Every batch of tethers applied is also tested by Tool@rrest to ensure they match the Tool@rrest certification standards.
• Testing takes the form of tensile testing and drop testing using drops over two metres with 3x the maximum designated weight limit.

• Every product is designed to take impact loads well in excess of the maximum working load.  This ranges from 30% greater to over 5x the stated maximum working limit.  All in line or exceeding Industry Standards and recommendations of industry bodies such as DROPS.
• Where applicable, drop testing is carried out on a batch basis and involves a drop over double the maximum distance possible with the product.  This is backed by a library of testing evidence to ensure the correct development of the products in the first place.

• It means that you would be happy to work around someone using that tethered tool at height (subject to it being used properly of course!).
• Formally, it provides individuals and organisations with the peace of mind that each of your tools is tethered with globally consistent product, using highly replicable and fully trained methods through qualified technicians.
• This eliminates the uncertainly and risk associated with one-off, inconsistent self tethering methods available which will vary from application to application as tools and the person putting the tether on changes.

• Yes. Every tether is supplied with a tether tag. This contains a unique serial number that we can trace back to time/date/location of application, the Certified Retr@fit Agent and even the tether type and tool type/weight.
• The QR code allows our major clients to scan the unique ID number and utilise it as a complete tether management system so tether inspections can be carried out and replacements made as required.
• Other products are all supplied with a similar unique ID that can be traced back to point of manufacture and associated test results to demonstare the consistency of production to Tool@rrest standards.

• Please call us to help you with this. It’s sometimes very simple but also not easy to show all the variations here.  We would be delighted to talk to you and happy to arrange a visit to help you.