Wind Turbine To Clean, Who Do You Call

Copyright (c) 2010 Filton Kingswood

The word steeplejack comes from an ordinary man (jack) who climbs church towers (steeples). They generally work by using a combination of ladders and scaffolding to scale tall buildings and carry out surveys and repairs. The origins of the steeplejack techniques are lost in the mists of time but it is possible that whenever tall structures have been built, steeplejacks have been needed. This would put the earliest steeplejacks back at least to ancient Greek times and possibly earlier. Coming forward to more modern times the Bayeux tapestry contains a worker who appears to be a steeplejack.

In the UK, steeplejacks tend to belong to the Association of Technical Lightning & Access Specialists (ATLAS). This association originated in 1945, under a different name, with the aim of helping with the reconstruction of the country after the Second World War.

The most famous steeplejack in Britain is the late Fred Dibnah (1938-2004). Fred became a well known face in 1978 when he was filmed by the BBC for a local news item. Fred Dibnah went on to make many television programmes, covering his love of the industrial revolution and steam engines as well as showing some of the techniques used by him as a steeplejack.

The technique used by steeplejacks of using ladders and scaffolding to access high places is known as Rigg Access. However, steeplejacks don't have the rooftops to themselves. Rope Access technicians also work at height. They work at height without ladders or scaffolding, instead using relying on two ropes attached to separate anchor points.

Rope access technicians tend to belong to the Industrial rope Access Trade Association (IRATA). This global association was formed in 1987 with the aim of increasing safety for all persons working at height.

Because they employ different techniques, steeplejacks and rope access technicians tend to have separate areas of speciality. However, it is true that whilst rope access techniques work for most steeplejack projects, steeplejack techniques tend not to work for most specialist rope access projects. For this reason you will find that some steeplejack companies will also offer rope access as an alternative.

Steeplejacks tend to work mainly on church towers, spires and chimneys. The steeplejack technique is generally not used in tall structures with irregular, slanting or curved surfaces. Rope access techniques tend to be better when dealing with these types of structures. Taking just one of these structures as an example, wind turbines present a specific challenge, both in terms of their overall shape and the need to access the full length of the blades for cleaning. Techniques using ladders or scaffolding on wind turbines would not be appropriate both from a cost and a practical point of view. The Rope Access method of using two ropes for safety and a combination of abseiling, rappelling and climbing techniques enables turbines to be cleaned and serviced quickly and securely.

Taking just one example, the ability to rapidly deploy rope access technicians to clean wind turbines is a vital tool in maintaining wind turbines as a viable cost-effective method of power generation. In winter ice can form on the turbine blades. The weight of the ice can damage both the turning mechanism and the blades and it is therefore vital that ice is cleared as quickly as possible. As well as ice, dirt on turbine blades means more air resistance which cuts down on the amount of power generated.

Because rope access technicians require no scaffolding they can be deployed quickly and as weather permits. They are therefore used in a variety of roles from cleaning and painting to electrical and mechanical repair and inspection work. Steeplejacks tend to come to the fore when long term repair work is required which can be planned and which is not short-time critical. For example, if stabilisation work is required on a church tower, this could involve several weeks of painstaking re-pointing or stapling work. Here, steeplejacks would be able to set up their scaffolding Rigs and could then work safely over time.

Both ATLAS and IRATA have the long term aim of increasing safety for people working at height.

IRATA has a strict code of regulation, examination and re-testing for all its members. The IRATA rope access training courses are run by certified companies. Progression to the next level of certification is determined by examination, attendance on an IRATA training course and a minimum level of experience at the previous grade.

ATLAS training courses are run by The Steeplejack and Lightning Protection Training Group at the national construction college. Apprentices undertake a mixture of course work at the college and on the job training. This leads to a range of qualifications including NVQs.