Anyone that has ever worked in or visited a large manufacturing facility is likely to have seen several different lanyards while they were there. Lanyards are made of rope or cord and are used in the manufacturing facilities to help control accidents in large machinery. If there is a machine that is used that can be dangerous at times, a lanyard is attached to a kill switch for safety.
The lanyard on the kill switch allows the person that is using the machine to quickly turn the power off to the machine when it is necessary. If something begins to go wrong with the machine, they simply reach over and pull the lanyard. This will often trigger the machine to turn off instantly by flipping a switch or by removing an emergency plug.
In either case, pulling the polyester lanyards could be the only thing that prevents a serious accident from occurring. These lanyards are typically made to be very bright in color so that it is almost impossible to ignore or to pass by without noticing. Anyone that is operating these pieces of machinery should know exactly where the kill switch is and how to activate it and the lanyard will help them to remember it in the case of an emergency.
When you see a lanyard hanging from a piece of machinery, you can be sure that it is attached to a very important part and that it should only be used when necessary. For some machines, when the lanyard is pulled and the kill switch is activated, it takes time and efforts to get the machine back into an operational state. This is why special training is often provided to those that will be using the tools and how to use the lanyard kill switch is one thing that will most definitely be covered.