Why is Rope access the solution for your at height project

Copyright (c) 2010 Filton Kingswood

With health & safety being one of the drivers of modern business, there is an increasing demand for regular structural inspection and early repair. Rope Access is leading the way, providing a safe and cost effective solution when dealing with tall structures.

When you add these tall and unusually shaped buildings to other structures such as onshore and offshore wind turbines, oil rigs, radio masts and bridges, it becomes clear that worldwide we have created a range of maintenance challenges.

Rope access can be the cost effective solution to these challenges. Rope access works by permanently attaching the technician to the building using two separate ropes anchored to two different points. This ensures the safety of the rope access technician and allows them to access any point on the structure. With the freedom of movement provided by the dual tethering technique it is easy to see how rope access allows work to be performed anywhere on a structure, even if that structure has a challenging shape.

As far as training goes, rope access technicians have generally undergone IRATA rope access training before taking up their jobs. IRATA is the global industry body for rope access workers. Key elements of IRATA training include team work and health & safety. This has resulted in an accident rate which is far lower than in comparable industries with only one fatality in the last decade.

As far as training goes, rope access technicians have generally undergone IRATA rope access training before taking up their jobs. IRATA is the global industry body for rope access workers. Key elements of IRATA training include team work and health & safety. This has resulted in an accident rate which is far lower than in comparable industries with only one fatality in the last decade. IRATA's training follows strict rules and trainees have to pass written and practical exams before being certified at the basic level. Subsequent qualifications require a minimum of a year's high rope work plus further training and exams.

Key elements of IRATA training include team work and health & safety. This has resulted in an accident rate which is far lower than in comparable industries with only one fatality in the last two decades.

Whilst the list of applications for rope access is ever growing, rope access projects can mainly be divided into five broad areas. These are surveying, painting & cleaning, maintenance & repair, installation & engineering and geotechnical.

Surveying - With the need for risk prevention solutions increasingly coming to the fore, the ability to regularly survey structures for potential risks is taking increasing priority. Rope access allows quick, thorough and safe building inspections. This can lead to early identification and fixing of potential problems and therefore to reduced downtime and increased safety. Structural surveying using rope access techniques is used for a range of applications, including oil platforms, shipping, buildings, wind turbines and cliffs.

Painting and cleaning - Rope access techniques can be used to provide solutions as diverse as high rise window cleaning, bridge cleaning, and even statue cleaning. It is vital for structures which incorporate delicate equipment to be cleaned regularly to prevent a build up of dirt from damaging the mechanisms. Rope access also allows high rise painting to be carried out on a flexible schedule and with minimal disruption to normal operations

Maintenance & repair - is essential if you are to minimise disruption from faults. Because rope access technicians require no scaffolding or other bulky ground equipment, they are extremely cost effective. This means that regular maintenance can be undertaken on tall structures. Rope access technicians can be quickly deployed so that any faults that develop can be quickly repaired, minimising disruption and increasing safety.

Installation & engineering - Rope access technicians tend to have other skills including electrical, engineering and technical. They are therefore invaluable in installing and maintaining equipment such as satellite dishes, microwave antennae and radio masts.

Geotechnical - Whether we are looking at man made cliffs at the sides of roads or natural cliffs overlooking the sea, sooner or later the question of stability arises. Authorities have a duty of care to review and make recommendations on the stability of cliffs and steep drops. Rope access techniques are invaluable in both the review and in carrying out stability measures. These could include netting, spraying concrete, anchoring rocks or soil fixing.

Rope access work is extremely cost effective. Because there is no need for scaffolding, teams can be deployed quickly. Faults can therefore be corrected at an early stage and with minimal disruption. Not only will you save the cost of scaffolding, because of the way the technicians and tools are tethered man hours are reduced thus saving further costs. In addition the level of training required by IRATA means that the rope access contractors are highly skilled and this reduces accidents and increases speed.

So there you have it, rope access, the solution to working with all tall structures, whatever the architects dream up.