Industrial Rope Access

Industrial rope access started to evolve in the late seventies/early eighties and owes many of its techniques and equipment to caving and pot holing. However caving and pot holing relies on the single rope technique, whereas industrial rope access relies on a twin rope technique. This is a much safer way to work as you always have a back-up rope should your working rope fail.

 

The Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA)

IRATA was formed, in the late 1980’s, by the leading companies involved in industrial rope access at the time. Safety is paramount in our industry and since its formation IRATA International, as it is now known, its member companies have worked assiduously to improve safety in the industry. The Association's main aim is to promote the development of rope access techniques, and to ensure its members work in a safe and effective manner. 

Rope Access has and is continuing to grow as a major technique for Working at Height, due to the cost effectiveness and high safety record. The IRATA safety record is unmatched by any other means of working at height leading to Rope Access being used in the construction industry, window cleaning, building maintenance, geotechnical, offshore, wind turbines and many more applications worldwide. The IRATA certification scheme, is the only rope access qualification accepted internationally.

 

Construction Industry

The UK construction industry is very varied and the types of work you could be undertaking are vast. The work tends to be less specialized as in the offshore industry and as such is less trade skill orientated.

 

Geotechnical

You will have seen large expanses of mesh hung down the sides of railway and motorway embankments. These will, more than likely, have been installed using rope access methods.

 

Building Maintenance & Window Cleaning

Windows will always need cleaning & buildings always need maintained whether the task is small or large rope access can be suitable. Therefore, there are an ever-increasing number of companies providing local services.

 

Offshore

There is currently an unprecedented amount of maintenance work being carried out on our aging fleet of offshore oil and gas installations. Many of the large decommissioning projects currently underway require large scale lifting operations to be carried out by rope access teams.

 

Wind Turbines / Renewable Energy

The continuing growth of the Renewable Energy industry has created a new boom for rope access.

 

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

One of the most popular fields for industrial rope access. It allows suitably qualified technicians to carry out essential inspections, whether the job is On-shore or Off-shore.