What is Rope Access
Rope Access is a safe method of working at height where ropes and associated equipment are used to gain access to and from the work position, and to be supported there.
Rope access technicians descend, ascend, and traverse ropes for access and work while suspended by their harness. Sometimes a work seat may be used.
The support of the rope is intended to eliminate the likelihood of a fall altogether, but a back-up fall arrest system is used in case of the unlikely failure of the primary means of support. The system is usually achieved by using two ropes – a working line and a safety line.
Application And Benefits of Rope Access to other Access Solutions
Industries, Offshore Platforms, Construction Sites Refineries and so on all offer challenges for maintenance and repair workers. The structures, piping, vessels and tanks that are critical components of these facilities can be hard to access and are often dangerous to work with.
And just like other access solutions, the primary objective when using rope access methods is to carry out the work efficiently, with minimal accidents, incidents or dangerous occurrences.
But Rope Access provides more benefits over some of the other access solutions.
The main advantage of using rope access methods mainly lies in the safety and speed with which workers can get to or from difficult locations in order to carry out their work, often with minimal impact on other operations, surrounding areas and the environment.
Some other benefits include
- The reduction of the combination of the total man-hours and perceived level of risk for a particular task (man-at-risk hours) when compared with other means of access and their associated risks and costs.
- Rope Access can provide a practical and cost-effective solution for visual inspections, non-destructive testing, coating applications, safety equipment repairs, structural repairs, and maintenance and other specialized services compared to other access solutions like traditional scaffolding.