Rope Access Tips, Tricks & Chats

This week we chat about the new level 3 online exam, Im sure you all have lots of questions and would like to know how it is set up and what's involved. Have a listen and we will break down how it is set up and what you can do to prepare for it.

Hi Everyone, We are back!, we have been on a break for a while, but now we are back. Its time to to have some more tips, tricks and chats. Have a listen on what's been going on and what we have planned for this season.

This week we have a look at which type of karabiners we use. Are you team Ally or Steel? why do some people say you can't use Ally karabiners in heavy industry? That shape karabiners should you use?

This week we carry on with our chats about the connector that keeps us safe, Karabiners. What's your preferred locking system Auto or Screw? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both of them? This week we take a look at why you would choose one over the other.

This week we look at the common pole straps and how we use them in rope access, what the difference and what do you get extra for the money.

This week we chat about the karabiners we use and do they need to be done up? The one on your footloop? how about the one on a pulley in a hauling system? We discuss them all and if its undone is it a discrepancy on assessment day?

So you are keen to get ahead before you turn up for your level 1 course, this week we give you some tips of things to learn and try and understand before you turn up on day one. If you have friends who are thinking of getting into rope access, this is an episode for them.

Time to talk about the elephant in the room on every IRATA course.  Hands up if you have ever suffered from repetitive strain injury (RSI) or occasional overuse syndrome (OOS). Yep that pain in the elbow after a long ascent, long  aid climb or the 6th time you have done the loop rescue this week. We chat about how it happens, advice we have received off of experts of body movement to fix it and ho...

This week we have a look at some of the Powered Ascenders that are available on the market. We chat about what's the difference is between them,  why choose one over another and how we have worked with them.

This week we are having a chat with Mikey Reid, from the outskirts of Aberdeen as a professional boxer and trainer, he got a tip to get a rope ticket, how will a roofers son go with 2 points?  How did that get him to Australia?

Booked in for your IRATA level 1? Or thinking of getting into rope access. This week we cover the things you can practice and look into before the course and some tips of what not to do during the week. 

Seems we still had some unanswered questions about when and how we use the Asap in a rescue situation . If you missed the first part go have a listen only a few weeks back. Let us know how you use the ASAP in rigging of ropes.

This week is 100 weekly episodes, thank you for coming on this journey into all things rope access. We thought now would be a good time to chat about how we ended up on 2 ropes rather than one.  This story might surprise you.

This week we answer one of the questions we have been asked. Can you explain the difference between SWL, MBS and WLL. We take a look at how it all works and explain the difference and where you might come into contact with them.

This week we chat about where the Petzl ASAP is used in hauling and lowering situation. Are we setting ourselves up to fail an Assessment.

This week we look at an near miss where no knots in the ropes was only part of the problem. We hope this chat highlights the posable issues and how we can all avoid them. Stay safe

This week we look at a safety bulletin on strains while working on the ropes. We hope this helps anyone from avoiding injury. we look back on  some  tips from Charles Cooper back in our chat last year. check that out in Ep 61.

This week we are looking at an IRATA safety bulletin about slings slipping on an anchorage. If you are rigging ropes around round or square structure this episode is for you. We include some great lessons learnt and how to avoid a similar situation.

This week we do some basic maths to work out how to best set up a 3-1 pulley system with some basic rope access gear. Using an ID and karabiners is surprisingly inefficient, but how bad is it? 

The gear i use everyday has changed a bit this year. I do a rundown on how my harness is set up. How i use a some new gear and changing the way some gear is used. Also a bonus fast way to pass knots.

This week we chat about working on the ropes and undertaking hot works, cutting, grinding,welding. All of these tasks that introduce a new hazard to our work environment. We chat about what we have seen used and not used on site. As always a few tips for products that might work for you. 

This week we chat about retrievable rigging or pull throughs. We look at the plus sides and down sides of various systems and how we could do it safer. Let us know  your preferred system and why you like it.

This week we take a look at the Skylotec Spark, this may have answered the question I have heard a lot since the Sirius came out, ' can we get one without the panic feature?' well the Spark is exactly that. Have a listen as we run through the features.

This week we chat about the chest ascender, is it half a point or one point?  we discuss the story behind the this urban myth. What about if you attach to a casualty on an ascender, can they be used as a point of attachment?

This week we have a look at rescues on two descenders. Why do we not teach this to Level 1's? Should we be work on two descenders more?