Industrial rope access systems are designed to meet the specific needs of the offshore industry, along with an effective risk management and safe working framework, allowing them to become an integral part of various industries that require working at height.
This is especially crucial for the offshore oil and gas sector, where workers are exposed to greater hazards, even during routine maintenance inspections.
Rope access techniques utilise functional rope work to achieve a safe work position, allowing workers to safely access difficult-to-reach locations.
There are several benefits of rope access methods, such as substantial cost savings, flexible scheduling, and minimal impact on surrounding areas and regular operations.
Rope access can cut costs by an average of 50 per cent when compared to more traditional access and scaffolding methods, as it removes the need for scaffolding or elevated work platforms.
As a high proportion of any maintenance work is labour cost, using rope access together with installed or portable access systems can reduce maintenance tasks by between 20 to 30 per cent.
An advantageous feature of rope access systems is the equipment in the system itself, which comprises less-complex components like harnesses, ascenders/descenders, helmets, lanyards and energy absorbers, as well as rope.
Much of this equipment can be easily assembled and disassembled, reducing the number of hours at risk for technicians working offshore, and substantially improving efficiency.
Utilisation of rope access equipment is often environmentally friendly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the heavy equipment supply chain as well as engine emissions.
Rope access technicians operate under comprehensive training and adherence to the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association’s (IRATA) international code of practice.
IRATA certification requires, among other things, rigorous equipment inspection and tracking, third-party audits to ensure operations meet international rope access standards, and global incident reporting.
While safety is treated as paramount in the rope access sector, continued fatal incidents on offshore rigs has put a focus on the need for improved safety management, training and equipment.
This was highlighted in June when a rope access technician lost his life on Woodside Energy’s North Rankin platform offshore Western Australia, about 135 kilometres northwest of Karratha, while he was carrying out a high-risk task on the outside of the platform.
Australia’s offshore regulator said the incident was a tragic reminder of the risks of work involving the rigging, manipulation and movement of loads, including people and equipment.
In a bulletin, NOPSEMA said: “A concerning trend is observed in industry where an increasing number of incidents can be linked back to insufficient assessment of risks such as stored energy, exclusion zones, line-of-fire and incorrect equipment selection or improper use.
“These risks significantly increase when circumstances change during the execution of the job and nom, or insufficient, risk re-assessment is done.”
Investigations are still underway, with Woodside cooperating with the relevant authorities.
In the wake of the incident, IRATA reiterated the importance of safe systems of work that must be in place when carrying out industrial rope access operations.
IRATA said planning, management, supervision, competence, and the selection and use of fit-for-purpose equipment were all equally important elements required to form a safe system of work.
It added: “The primary objective behind the planning, management, and direct supervision of rope access projects is to create and maintain a work environment that maximises safety and minimises the risk of error, incidents, and injury or loss.
“It is critical that risk assessment is done relevant to each site, the task being performed, the competency of team members, equipment in use and all other related aspects.”
