Rope Access Tips, Tricks & Chats

This week we have a look at the Singing rock and Ocun  harnesses,  Long gone are the days where you only had 1 or 2 options for a harness. We take a closer look at our 2 favourite harnesses and 5 features of both. https://www.5thpoint.com.au/product/singing-rock-expert-3d-speed/ https://www.5thpoint.com.au/product/ocun-thor-access-4q/

Time for a chat with Brecon, how does an ex Commando find out about rope access? Brecon has been in the rope access industry for over 30 years starting with a Q number, now with an extensive Global career. Don't forget  to follow us on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/RopeAccessTTAC/ Follow us on your favourite podcast platform. https://open.spotify.com/show/0SO23cDT4WbmgAM8j8aemX

More products under the spot light with our 5 features series, This week we are back with Petal and the Grillon. I have always been a big fan of the Gillion, back in the 90's before Petal had even made one, i had to take a gri gri and a length of rope to make one.

This week we sit down with Paul Bingham, the brains behind the IRATA safety videos, he walks us through how it went from an idea to the videos we get to share with old and new technicians. He also explains how you could skip level 1, 2 and 3 and go straight to Assessor. here are the links to the videos if you want to take a look. https://irata.org/media/videos/safety-awareness-video-edge-and-rope-...

This week we are back to our 5 features series, its time to get serious with the Sirius. See if you can work out which feature i showed to Skylotec last week that they didn't know about. Let us know on our facebook page which one you think it is.

This week we have the great pleasure of chatting to Alan Forrest. It has been estimated that Alan has helped over 25% of IRATA member companies achieve membership status. Have a listen to how a young man of 18 could turn a summer job into a lifelong career and travel the World. Want to share your story? drop us a line at :- www.rattac.net

This week we start a new batch of episodes on 5 features of products we know and love, starting off with the Petzl ID, some of these features you may know or they might be a surprise to you that you didn't know. let us know if we missed any cool features that you like, drop us a line at  www.rattac.net

Ever wondered how the 3 levels of the IRATA training syllabus came about? I guess if you have a chat with Sandy Allan, IRATA number 003, you would hope he would shed some light on the back story. Having started rope access back in the early 80's Sandy has a tale to tell, you may need a cup of tea or a dram for this one.

The topic of rigging plates and double protection seems to be at the top of the list of hot topics at the moment, We thought we would take the time to explain the back story on the IRATA statement on double protection. We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic, please contact us at  www.rattac.net

This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with my dear friend Jaime Wood, our journey together started long before we knew what rope access even was. Jaime has taken a rope access ticket and traveled and worked in places many of us would say 'i'm all good thanks" too.  He has returned to the passion for educating he had before he started rope access, through training and Assessin...

This week we are going to chat about some of the different types of bags we have used for transporting gear to site and using on the job. Big news this week, we have set up a webpage to make it easier for you to chat to us and we can get information out to you. have a look and let us know what you think. www.rattac.net If you are interested here are links to the bags we chatted about here are some...

Time for a chat with a Sydneysider rope tech, Sarah worked in Sydney through the 2000 Sydney Olympic building boom when rope access was just becoming established in Australia, She chats about what she learnt from some great supervisors and how that has shaped how she works today.

Jackie Dodd is a long time serving level 2 who has worked in the North Sea, Norway and Australia, she is also a NDT expert and legend. If you want to know what its like being the only female on a 150 person oil platform, have a listen.  We also find out why Jackie realised she needed to become an Level 3 as the industry changed and she didn't like what she was seeing.

IRATA have sent out a request for applicants who wish to become an Assessor under the IRATA banner to put an application in. We let you know where they are looking at appointing new Assessors and the requirements you need to meet. Good luck to anyone who is applying.

Time to head to Melbourne, Australia and speak to Nicky Gregoire, Nicky has been hanging on the ropes since the mid 90's. Have a listen and see how the number 9 can get you into rope access and what it's like to do a helicopter exit onto a power station cooling tower.

As we continue Ladies of the rope we have a chat with Laura Mroz . Laura is a Vancouver based Rope tech, who moved from standard construction into rope access, have a listen to the places this crazy industry can take you and what its like to be a female in Rope access. A small car crash could change your life, Laura can confirm this.

Milena Kovatcheva is one of the 8 female instructors under the IRATA system. Milena has been working in Bulgaria and Dubai as an instructor and consultant for many IRATA companies. you will hear the passion in her voice about training and keeping people safe in our great industry. 

We are starting a month of chats with various Ladies in rope access. This week we chat with Leslie the face behind Women in Rope Access Facebook group, we chat about how she got into rope access and the great places she has worked. 

This week we sit down with  'Douggs' Chris Mcdougall. Douggs got into rope access back in the mid 2000's to help fund his passion for sky diving and Base jumping. Douggs is now a professional base jumper offering courses through his company Learn to Base Jump LTBJ for people interested in getting into the sport. He also undertakes safety awareness talks for major building companies...

This week is a nice little episode on how I have my harness set up and why. I chat about what I'm using at the moment and the reasons why.  Some of my chooses may be different to your set up, but i work through the reasons to explain my thoughts. Would be great to hear why you choose certain gear and why, let us know on our Facebook page.

This week we answer another common question we get asked, How can I get involved in IRATA training and work my way towards becoming an instructor and then an Assessor. We work through how the process works for both, from how you get started to the final outcome.

We have been asked the questions, Let's hear Leigh's story? what has he done? where has he been? How did he go from Kent to Australia and become an Assessor and and Auditor for IRATA? With the help of Damian Dean who normally stays away from the mic and looks after the back end of the podcast, Leigh sits down an tells his story. Hope this answers the questions.

This week we had an opportunity to speak to Ben Eke. Ben has been working on the ropes since he was a teenager, He has ran IRATA member companies, became an IRATA Assessor, sat on the Executive Board  at IRATA and the only person to hold the role of Training Manager and IRATA head office.  Have a listen to some stories form London's main Rope access technician and the places that he has seen.

This week we run through how to complete an IRATA logbook correctly. Don't be the Technician who is panicking on the upgrade course to get the logbook uptown date. Listen in to make sure you are completing your logbook correctly. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about completing logbooks correctly. Find us at Rope Access Tips Tricks And Chats on Facebook.

This week we catch up with Mark Lea, with over 20 years of experience in Rope Access, coming from a Arborist background, with Geotechnical expertise, Mark is now a Heath and Safety expert having spent years on the IRATA Health and Safety committee. Sit back and enjoy an in-site into rope access in the UK and  other crazy destinations over the last 20 odd years.