Industrial rope access includes a huge expanse of potential applications for carrying out work at height. Often used onshore as a cost effective alternative to scaffolding or cherry pickers, the onshore applications of rope access range between building and facade maintenance tasks such as gutter cleaning, maintenance and repair, window cleaning at height, external vegetation removal, roofing and rooftop work, stonework and pointing in difficult access areas, painting and cleaning at height, bird and pest control including the installation of high level netting, banner and sign installation, through to multiple industrial and construction uses, work on bridges, glazing solutions and maintenance on towers, Geotechnical work, in addition to inspection and testing purposes. Similarly in the offshore sector, which in the united kingdom and Scotland is generally on North Sea Oil Platforms, rope access allows work at height to be completed in areas that other work at height alternatives wouldn't have the ability to reach, and a safe and efficient mode of working at height for virtually any required scenario.
Rope access techniques originated from caving and climbing techniques and were developed and adapted into safe access options for industrial purposes several decades ago. The continuing evolution of these techniques has allowed industrial rope usage of maintain the lowest instance of access in the complete access sector. In Scotland and across the UK, all aspects of work at height should be undertaken in line with British Standard BS7985 (2002) and the Work at Height regulations (2005).
There are various factors that make industrial rope access so ideal for just work at height tasks. Firstly enough time taken up to install access systems is minimal. Get more info on the structures that work is being carried out on, as well as on the environment (including traffic flow and pedestrian access) can be kept to the very least. Work can be carried out safely in almost any scenario, and there is no height limit at which technicians can operate safely. This makes industrial rope access a great tool for carrying out tasks in difficult to reach situations and locations.
Rope access technicians work with a variety of gear to allow them to perform the tasks required of them safely. Obviously ropes are one of the most important, both the working and safety lines used should be low-stretch kernmantle type, between 10 and 11mm diameter. Descenders, Ascenders, Fall arrest devices, Harness, Pulleys, Carabiners, Cows Tails, Lanyards, Anchors and Rope Protectors may also be all area of the rope access technicians arsenal, enabling them to access difficult to attain areas and carry out the various required maintenance, cleaning, painting or inspection work.
Now that it really is becoming more and more widely known and named a safe, reliable, cost effective and viable just work at height solution, the applications of industrial rope access techniques have an important role to play later on of all work at height scenarios, from domestic maintenance to construction and the petrochemical sectors, not merely in Scotland and across the UK, but also worldwide.
