Research

At Lyon Equipment’s Dent offices we have a dedicated test laboratory for research into the performance of textile items and hardware under load. At our training centre at Tebay we have a long pull-test rig, used during training courses to demonstrate to candidates the affects of wear on tear on metal and textile items of personal protective equipment.

 

Quality Control
The test laboratory forms an important part of our product quality control system – each batch of wire used in making our flexible ladders and wire strops is tested in the laboratory to make sure it conforms to the stated breaking load.  Webbing slings and lanyards made in our sewing room in Dent are regularly tested to guarantee that the claimed strength has been achieved.

New Product Development
Custom made ladders and sewn products are tested in the laboratory to make sure they conform to the customer’s requirements.

Customers Tests
We can undertake static strength tests of ropes, slings, connectors and rope adjustment devices for customers wishing to see the affects of wear, age or contamination.  Please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   for further details.

Research
We also undertake research projects into subjects of interest to the rope access industry. These include:

> HSE report - an investigation into the performance of PPE (personal protective equipment) for work at height including fall arrest lanyards, ascenders, descenders, back up devices and knots.

>Energy absorbing properties of cows tails used in rope access

If you have suggestions for future projects we would be pleased to hear from you. Please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   with your details.

Test and Research Personnel

Graham Lyon - Technical Manager
• Member of Institution of Civil Engineers
• Member of Institute of Quality Assurance
• 30 years' experience in civil engineering

Dusty Spencer - Technical Assistant
• City and Guilds in Electrical Installation
• Former fault analysis engineer in the petrochemical industry
• Over 30 years' experience in climbing and caving, including cave leader instruction

Lyon equipment's dedicated test laboratory for research into the performance of textile items and hardware under load

Test Equipment
Lloyd LR 50K Test Frame
This computer controlled machine allows us to load specimens with great precision, and provides a variety of useful information.
Used for research programmes, batch testing of Lyon products for Quality Assurance.

Long Pull Rig
Based at Tebay, our original test rig, this has limited control and output options.  It is useful however for testing longer or more extensible specimens.  A very useful resource for our Competent Person PPE Inspection courses the affects of wear and tear, chemical or misuse have on slings, lanyards, and many other types of PPE used for work at height.

Kistler Piezoelectric Load Cell and Console

Dynamic test data can be obtained with this device because of its extremely high sampling rate, giving us the ability to measure impact forces during drop tests.