Parts of a Safety Harness – Harness and Lanyard Labeled

All 12 parts on the diagram

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Harness 7

Back D-ring It sits between the shoulder blades. A lanyard or lifeline connects to it. Also called the dorsal D-ring.
Shoulder straps They go over the shoulders and cross on the back. With the other straps they spread the force of a fall over the body.
Chest strap It joins the two shoulder straps across the chest.
Side D-rings One at each hip. They are separate from the ring on the back.
Leg straps One goes round the top of each leg.
Buckles They fasten the chest strap and the leg straps. They let the straps be adjusted. Quick-connect buckles are one common kind.
Labels They give information about the harness. It includes the size, the model and the date it was made.

Lanyard 5

Snap hook A hook with a gate that closes by itself. That way it stays on whatever it is hooked to.
Gate It is normally closed. Opening it takes two separate actions, and it shuts again when released.
Webbing The strap the lanyard is made of. A harness is made of the same kind of strap.
Energy absorber It takes up energy during a fall. Also called the shock absorber; the rules call it a deceleration device.
Carabiner A connector with a gate that opens to take another object. It closes again when released.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 29 CFR 1910.140 and 29 CFR 1926.500, read at Cornell LII, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.140 and https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1926.500 (body harness, D-ring, lanyard, snaphook and its gate, carabiner, energy absorber, deceleration device, webbing). (2) A harness maker's user instruction manual, DBI-SALA full body harness, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5676867 (back D-ring between the shoulder blades, side D-rings, shoulder strap, chest strap, leg strap, quick connect and tongue buckles, labels, snap hooks and their gates, carabiners, energy absorbing lanyard). (3) A second maker's catalog, Miller, https://archive.org/details/manualzz-id-908848 (back D-ring, side D-rings, shoulder straps, chest strap, leg straps, quick-connect buckles, labels, shock absorbing lanyard, energy absorbers, snap hook, carabiner). (4) Wikipedia, Safety harness and Fall arrest, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_harness (D-rings at the back, front or sides; straps and buckles; labels and markings; energy absorber). Makers are named here only; the page names none. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's harness is copied and nothing is traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This is the full-body harness worn for work at height, not a climbing or horse harness. The drawings name its parts and those of a lanyard. Names only: fitting, inspection and use are taught by a competent person.

Read the full guide

The parts of a harness, back and front

The harness is drawn twice with no wearer. From behind, the shoulder straps cross under the back D-ring, the ring a lanyard connects to. From the front, the chest strap joins the shoulder straps, a side D-ring sits at each hip, and the leg straps are the two loops at the bottom. Buckles fasten the chest strap and the leg straps. The second view lays out the parts of a lanyard: a snap hook with its gate, the webbing, an energy absorber and a carabiner.

D-ring is the name for any of the D-shaped metal rings; the word in front says where it is.
Snaphook is written as one word in the US rules and as two by most makers.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a safety harness called?

On a full-body harness: the shoulder straps, the chest strap, the leg straps, the back D-ring, the side D-rings, the buckles and the labels. All the straps are made of webbing.

What is the D-ring on the back of a harness for?

The back, or dorsal, D-ring is an attachment point. A lanyard or lifeline connects to it. It sits between the shoulder blades.

What are the parts of a lanyard?

A fall-arrest lanyard is a length of webbing, rope or wire rope with a connector at each end, such as a snap hook or a carabiner. Many have an energy absorber, a pack that takes up energy during a fall.

What is the difference between a snap hook and a carabiner?

Both are connectors with a gate that closes by itself. A snap hook has a hook-shaped body. A carabiner is a closed link, usually oval or trapezoid in shape.