Rope access has a wide variety of benefits and advantages over other means of access, and it is important for building contractors and owners to be aware of these. From its incredible record of safety to its speed and efficiency, rope access stands out as one of the best work at height solutions in the industry. In this post, we take a brief look at these benefits and explain how they can benefit you and your business.
It’s flexible
No building is inaccessible with rope access. Technicians are capable of adapting to a variety of different environments, terrains, conditions and structures due to the flexibility of rope access equipment. This makes it easier to access places that are typically hard to reach via more traditional means of access, namely architectural designs that do not permit easy access for maintenance purposes and confined spaces (such as chimneys and drains). In addition, since no ground space is necessary with rope access, it can be on structures where the ground-level terrain is not stable or level (such as offshore structures and bridges).
It’s safe
Rope access is known for its great safety record as a work at height solution. The industry boasts very low numbers of global casualties and fatalities per year, and it is continually improving on the basis of new safety concerns. This is due to strict rules and regulations outlined in both the relevant legislation and the standardised procedures set and updated by IRATA (The Industrial Rope Access Trade Association). Furthermore, each rope access technician must be trained to a high standard with the relevant IRATA qualifications.
It’s fast
With rope access work, both mobilisation and set-up time are much quicker than other means of access. The rigging itself takes a couple of hours at most, and can often take mere minutes. This means that workers can get started on the task at hand without too much preparation, as well as get to where they need to be very quickly, no matter how obscure or complicated. As such, rope access stands apart from scaffolding which can take days to set up and take down – not ideal when time is a priority!
It’s versatile
Rope access isn’t just suitable for a single purpose, as workers are trained to perform a variety of different functions and jobs. A rope access technician usually specialises in a specific trade (sometimes a number of different trades) on top of their proficiency in rope access, and these skills are used in conjunction to perform specific tasks. A given rope access company will have several workers under their employment who can paint, weld, conduct surveys, and even operate cameras. Whatever the job may be, there will be rope access technicians fit to get it done!
It’s cost effective
With less equipment, less setup time, and less manpower required to perform rope access work, more often than not it incurs fewer costs than other methods of access. The increased level of production that results from the speed and efficiency of rope access makes it great value for money on the whole. A cost effective job is naturally a less stressful one: when you don’t have to worry about spending money on the methods of access itself, you know that the main spend is going towards the task at hand.
It’s undisruptive
One of the main benefits of rope access is that technicians remain out of sight and out of mind. Due to the lack of heavyweight equipment and the set-up-and-go nature of rope access, the work involves a minimal amount of disruption. Indeed, the lack of scaffolding or machinery at ground level eliminates the possibility of encroaching upon public areas and entrances – this means that technicians have no impact on the day-to-day lives of the people in and around a building. The lightweight flexibility of rope access also reduces the risk of damage to a building’s exterior, and removes the need for an ugly facade of scaffolding.
Here at MCL Height Safety, we pride ourselves on sharing our vast array of knowledge about all aspects of the rope access industry. Whether you’re looking for training, consultations, services, or just a bit of friendly advice, we’re here to help. Get in touch!
