News Archive

Two IRATA member companies and their IRATA committee representative (Main Respondent but together referred to as Respondents) misused IRATA intellectual property for their own financial gain thereby breaching trust, confidentiality, relevant codes of conduct and IRATA policy. The Respondents used current exam questions, identical to those used and created by IRATA, in their own website mock-exam software which was accessible on their website for a fee.

Following multiple revisions and testing by a select group of Assessors, IRATA’s long awaited Assessment App is being tested in the field. The App which is expected to be in full use by late 2021 will significantly speed up candidate assessments and verification. The current paper-based system, which has been with us for close to 30 years has served IRATA well but is in need of an update to improve security and accuracy. IRATA’s real-time “Technician Verification” tool, introduced in 2015, has proved successful in reducing certification fraud, but the new digital system will strengthen the integrity of certification. An IRATA training member commented: “I can’t believe IRATA are asking me to do less administration processing. I’m delighted!”. IRATA are delighted too!

An IRATA Trainer member company was conducting rope access operations whilst not holding IRATA Operator membership. The Respondent admitted their wrongdoing, claiming: “the rope access work in question was undertaken as a one-off favor for a local community organization”. The Respondent confirmed that they would immediately cease operational work until they successfully obtained IRATA Operator membership. The Adjudicating Panel determined as follows:

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in May 2021:

It was necessary for IRATA International to amend and add additional clauses in their Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS). These changes relate to unsuccessful candidate assessments and the required timeframe for candidate training, assessment and reassessment. Full details are below. Also, at the bottom of this article are answers to the most frequently asked questions about the changes made to IRATA’s TACS.

ISO/IEC 17024:2012, Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons (ISO 17024) is the International Standard relating to the conformity assessment for bodies operating certification of persons. Certification bodies that are accredited to this standard have demonstrated an impartial and rigorous quality approach and their clients can have confidence in the personnel certified through such schemes.

IRATA International’s new Membership Requirements’ will come into effect from 1st July 2021.

This means that, on the 30th June 2021, the use of their ‘Membership Audit Checklist [FM-039ENG]’ will become obsolete for member audit purposes and will be replaced by their ‘Stage 1 Audit Form [FM-333ENG]’. From the 1st July 2021, IRATA Members will be audited against the revised standard - the ‘IRATA Membership Requirements [QP-300ENG]’.

As an association we are still recording an unacceptably high number of dropped object incidents. These are objects being dropped onto, or close to, operatives working below and are quite often dislodged by technician’s ropes whilst manoeuvring.

IRATA Associate member, Rope-Sure, the insurance brand established to provide specialist policies to IRATA trained technicians and organisations that are members of IRATA International, has released an updated product along with an online quote and buy facility to support its customers.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in April 2021:

The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on 31 January 2020 has created significant changes to the marking of products offered for sale within the UK.

Whilst a transition period was in place until 31 December 2020, as of 1 January 2021 the new system took effect. With regard to product marking, this change means that the old European ‘CE’ marking system shall no longer be valid and is to be replaced with a new ‘UKCA’ mark.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in March 2021:

Regrettably, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted IRATA International’s well-regarded and much-anticipated annual events, resulting in the cancellation of the ‘IRATA Technical Event and Conference’ (ITEC) and ‘London Work At Height Seminar’ (LWAHS), held at the prestigious London Guildhall in conjunction with the City of London Corporation. Contrasting this with the adverse impact to people and companies globally, IRATA Secretary Rodney Marage commented: “compared to how millions have suffered at the hands of COVID-19, it’s an insignificance for IRATA at worst. We’ll be back!”.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in February 2021:

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in January 2021:

We are receiving many enquiries about the validity of unofficial websites and Uniform Resource Locators (URL) that are offering rope access training or pointing to websites that offer unofficial rope access training. In many cases, this is resulting in training candidates being misled into paying large sums of money for training that is not recognised by IRATA, FISAT, SOFT and ANETVA.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in November 2020:

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in October 2020…

IRATA recognises qualifications obtained from alternative rope access certification schemes where comparative analysis of the syllabus requirements demonstrates a level of equivalency. Approved alternative rope access certification conversion schemes can be found on our website www.irata.org. Please note, to read these documents you will be required to be logged into the members area of the IRATA website.​

An IRATA L1 technician breached the IRATA logbook policy insofar that he self-verified a logbook entry recorded in his IRATA logbook. Further to this, upon inspection of the respondent’s logbook by an IRATA Assessor, the following additional discrepancies were identified:

The long-awaited draft of EN 12841 is now available for public consultation.

EN 12841 “Personal fall protection equipment - Rope access systems - Rope adjustment devices” is an important standard for the rope access industry, applying to rope adjustment devices intended for use in rope access systems.

An IRATA Assessor arrived at a member’s training venue to conduct an assessment whilst under the influence of alcohol. The training venue management determined that he was in no fit state to conduct the assessment and therefore cancelled the planned assessment.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in September 2020…

IRATA International is delighted to announce the appointment of the newly elected Brazil Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Chairwoman, Lúcia Costa Passalacqua.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in August 2020…

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in July 2020…

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in June 2020…

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in May 2020…

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in April 2020…

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in March 2020…

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in February 2020…

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​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in January 2019:

• Mikiwam Coatings Ltd - Operator - Canada
• Jimcol Resources Nigeria Limited - Operator - Nigeria
• Shenzhen Jierui Engineering and Technology Co., Ltd - Operator and Trainer - China
• Skytrax Rope Access Training and NDT Global Services Private Limited - Operator and Trainer - India
• Smart Screening Technology W.L.L - Operator - Bahrain
• DOST Die Oberflächen Schutz Technik GmbH - Operator - Germany

Wishing you all future success,
IRATA International

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in December 2019:

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in November 2019:

As stated in TACS [TC-101] clause 4.13.7:

‘Hours accrued whilst being trained in rope access should be logged, but do not count towards the working hours required to upgrade.’

In order to ensure that there is no confusion between working hours and training hours, please ensure that the hours accrued while being trained in rope access are logged in the Training Section of the logbook.

During IRATA International’s ITEC 2019 in Sydney, Absafe’s Paul Holland gave a presentation titled “Stop the Drops” which captured the attention of attendees, many of whom were astonished by what they witnessed on screen.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in October 2019:

IRATA International will be exhibiting at the A+A International Trade Fair for safety, from the 5 – 8 November 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

On 13^th September 2019 the IMC Golden Shield Excellence Awards 2019, were hosted in the Old Library of the world renowned Lloyd’s of London building. IRATA International were honoured to be awarded the ‘Professional Trade Association - Offshore, Oil & Gas Award’.

It has been brought to our attention that 3M have issued a stop use and recall notice regarding their DBI-SALA® Twin-Leg Nano-Lok™ Edge and the Twin-Leg Nano-Lok™ Wrap Back Self-Retracting Lifelines.​

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in September 2019:

Having provided insurance solutions to the Rope Access industry for the last ten years, I understand the approach that many technicians have to managing the transfer of their workplace risks using an insurance policy. The phrases “just give me the cheapest”, “I only need it for a contract” and “I don’t need that, it’ll never happen to me” have never been so prevalent when speaking with self-employed rope access technicians, meaning the majority of these operators only ever have the most basic insurance coverage, generally for the benefit of third parties.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in August 2019:

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in July 2019:

​IRATA have partnered with the IT service provider who pioneered the computer-based testing industry for decades. The organisation deliver more than 15 million certification and licensure exams annually in every industry from academia and admissions to IT and healthcare. They are the global leaders in developing and delivering high-stakes exams via the world’s most comprehensive network of nearly 20,000 secure test centres in 180 countries. Their leadership in the assessment industry is a result of their collaborative partnerships with a broad range of clients, from leading technology firms to government and regulatory agencies of which are now one.

An IRATA L3 Technician [Respondent] breached an IRATA logbook signing policy by making alterations to previously verified entries recorded in their IRATA logbook.​

It was alleged by an IRATA Level 3 technician [Complainant] that another IRATA Level 3 [Respondent] fraudulently impersonated him by signing technician logbooks entries using the name of the Complainant.​

IRATA International is proud to have been awarded the City of London Work at Height Innovation Award at the recent London Work at Height Seminar (LWAHS) 2019, held at the historic Guildhall, London. The award will become a feature of the annual London Work at Height Seminar; it aims to encourage innovation in the Work at Height sector, with specific regard to reducing risk and exposure to incidents. Provided that the criteria to be considered for the award is met, all organisations and individuals will be eligible to receive the accolade.

IRATA periodically issue safety publications which include ‘Safety Bulletins’, ‘Topic Sheets’, ‘Serious Incident Briefings’ and other occasional urgent safety communications, these are explained in more detail below:

Following another successful London Work at Height Seminar (LWAHS) we are pleased to announce that a compilation of highlights from the day’s events is now available to view on our website.

​IRATA International’s biennial committee elections will commence Friday 13th September and run until Monday 23rd September. Ballots will be conducted for the following committee positions:

Shortly we will be releasing the updated version of the Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS) which incorporates all training and administrative policy amendments to date. A notable inclusion in the latest revision of TACS, is the requirement for training candidates to be shown the ‘IRATA Edge Management Video’ during training.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in June 2019:​

In response to repeat concerning statistics presented to our WASA report regarding dropped objects, IRATA International’s Equipment & Standards Committee has published a new poster ‘PREVENT DROPPED OBJECTS - SOMEONE’S LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT’ which can be downloaded by clicking here.

IRATA International are proud to be holding the 2019 London Work at Height Seminar (LWAHS) at the prestigious Guildhall, London, with the support of ‘The City of London Corporation’.

The LWAHS provides opportunity for the work at height industry to collaborate in the interest of safety awareness, best practice and knowledge sharing; and to demonstrate a variety of our Work at Height methodologies and industry innovations. The event is largely aimed at Local Government Authorities, Procurement Professionals, Health and Safety Professionals, Building & Facilities Managers and all other professionals who have an interest in Working at Height within the City of London; and beyond.

IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in May 2019:

IRATA International will be exhibiting at the Overhead Power Line event and exhibition 2019 (OHLEx 2019) on the 12th June 2019 at Chester Racecourse, Chester, UK CH1 2LY.​

We are delighted to announce our first certified member company in Gran Canaria, Hidramar S.L., recently joined our Association.

We contacted Hidramar S.L.’s Rope Access Technical Authority, Pedro Modesto García Pérez, to ask him about Hidramar S.L.’s experience of becoming an IRATA member company.

We are delighted to announce our first certified member company in Ghana, Southey Contracting Limited, who recently joined our Association.

We contacted Southey Contracting Limited’s Divisional Operations Manager, Rainier Kruisinga, to ask him about Southey Contracting Limited’s experience of becoming an IRATA member company.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in April 2019:

The long-awaited draft of BS 7883 is now available for public consultation.

The draft is a major revision of the 2005 edition and complements BS 8610, EN 795 and CEN/TS 16415.

​In an effort to combat non-IRATA Operator Member companies using the below ‘Trained to IRATA Standards’ logo, and other similar logos used to mislead the general public and their perspective clients, IRATA have enlisted the services of a specialist firm of solicitors in this field.

Further to our ‘IRATA Logbook Signatures’ article (link opens on new page), IRATA rope access technicians are reminded to follow an IRATA logbook (signing) policy at all times. The logbook signing requirements can be summarised as follows:

We are delighted to announce our first member company in Côte d’Ivoire, Global Energy Ventures, who recently joined our Association. We contacted Global Energy Ventures CEO, Ben Stanley, to ask him about Global Energy Ventures’ experience of becoming an IRATA member company.

​IRATA International would like to take this opportunity to welcome its newest members who were appointed in March 2019:

IRATA is delighted to announce that we now have over 500 members internationally spanning across 65 countries and 6 continents.

This milestone could not have been achieved without the tireless efforts of many people and we would like to take this opportunity to thank our Members, Technicians, Assessors, Instructors, Auditors and volunteers for their continued efforts in promoting the Association which has helped to grow IRATA to be the most widely recognised professional global authority in industrial rope access.

Our most recent UK RAC meeting was held on 19 March in Hailsham, East Sussex. The event was kindly hosted by one of our local Associate members, Marlow Ropes.

Jon Mitchel, Marlow Ropes’ Managing Director, welcomed the attendees and gave a history of the company, which was founded in 1807 by Thomas Burfield, where to the present day, Marlow Ropes still manufactures on Burfield’s original site.

IRATA International’s annual Work and Safety Analysis (WASA) is essential reading for rope access managers, rope access safety supervisors, training companies and technicians. It provides some insight into accident causation for anyone working in rope access. WASA 2018 is available as a free download: https://irata.org/uploads/documents/Work_and_Safety_Analysis_2018.pdf. Areas where improvements in safety could be achieved are identified. Importantly, these are dominated by the need to prevent rope damage and severance.

We are delighted to announce our first member company in Latvia, IQTC Management, who recently joined our Association.

The addition of IQTC Management will bring our member companies in the Eastern European RAC region to a total of 33 and will help to improve and promote safety awareness in industrial rope access throughout Eastern Europe.​

Anar Goyushov became the first qualified IRATA instructor in the Azerbaijan/Caspian Region.

Since getting involved in Rope Access in 2007, Anar has personally benefitted from the IRATA system and has embraced its safety culture. He has worked extremely hard to achieve level 3 status and is keen to pass on his knowledge to others in his community. ​

​IRATA Associate Member, Rope Sure has recently renewed their exclusive arrangement with an ‘A rated’ Lloyds syndicate, to provide insurance solutions to IRATA members. Rope Sure are one of the few, established providers of this specialist cover.

The IRATA Chairman, Jonathan Capper, and IRATA General Manager, Rodney Marage, attended the Houses of Parliament for the unveiling of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Working at Height (APPG) report, Staying Alive: ‘Preventing Serious Injury and Fatalities while Working at Height’. The event, was attended by many of the major working at height organisations and a host of MPs passed by to offer their support for this worthy cause.

Our IRATA South East and Far East (SEA & FE) Asia RAC meeting 2018 and an Assessor and Instructors’ Workshop was held on 2 November in Banchang, Thailand. The event was kindly hosted by one of our local members, Dacon Inspection Services Co., Ltd.

IRATA is not an investigating authority. However, as stated in our Bye-laws, we seek to ‘provide a forum for the free and informal exchange of information ’. IRATA member companies must report all accidents and incidents to IRATA within seven days of the event. If an accident is ‘Over-7-days’ (i.e. injury results in 7-days or more away from work) it must be reported to IRATA immediately thereafter. IRATA members are also expected to report their concerns regarding potential issues with rope access equipment. These measures enable an exchange of crucial information that serves the best interest of all members, with the purpose of protecting our health and safety.

An IRATA Level 1 Technician presented a fraudulent IRATA certificate to an IRATA member company in an attempt to obtain a logbook replacement.

We are pleased to confirm that our 2019 IRATA Technical Event and Conference (ITEC), which celebrates IRATA’s 30th year anniversary, will take place from Tuesday, 8th October to Thursday, 10th October 2019

​An article by IRATA on ‘Rope Access for Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Industrial Structures’ has been published in the December issue of the Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings (JPCL).

​An article on IRATA is shortly to be published in Rail Professional’s 2019 Industry Reference Book and Supply Chain Directory. Rail Professional is the UK’s market-leading publisher for the rail sector. The directory is designed as a reference point for all senior professionals working in the rail industry, providing indispensable information for anyone who has to take on the challenges of the modern rail world.

​On 9^th and 10^th October 2018, IRATA was present at the Health and Safety North exhibition at EventCity in Manchester, UK, alongside fellow members of the Access Industry Forum (AIF).

Following the success of this year’s London Work at Height Seminar (LWAHS) 2018, IRATA is pleased to announce that a short promotional video, comprising a compilation of highlights from the days events, is now available to view and download on our website and the LWAHS Facebook page.​

Click here to view the LWAHS (2018) video.

We are excited to announce that following the positive impact of IRATA’s “Edge and Rope Management” safety video, the production of a follow-up film entitled, “The Impact”, is now underway.

An IRATA Technician showed no consideration for the health and safety of his colleagues by acting in an extremely dangerous manner, which led to a serious incident on a work site.

The respondent made the decision to drop his kit bag from a height of approximately 25 meters in a brazen attempt to land it on the back of a utility vehicle in which he and his colleagues were travelling. Regrettably, the bag did not land on the tray of the utility vehicle, but on the cab in which four other rope access technicians were sitting, waiting for the respondent to retrieve his kit. As a result of this act, one of the technicians sustained a back and neck injury.

The National Qualifications Framework governs all education and training in South Africa, it is managed by the South African Qualifications Authority. Adult Vocational Training is regulated through accredited quality assurance functionaries grouped into industry sectors. The local work at height standards are housed within the Service Seta. ​

​Essential reading for rope access managers, supervisors, training companies and technicians; and insightful information for anyone working in rope access, this year’s Work & Safety Analysis (WASA) is now available for free download

The IRATA Technical Event and Conference (ITEC) 2018 and IRATA’s Annual General Meeting were hosted last week in the home town of the IRATA Head Office, which is based in Ashford, Kent, UK.

We were delighted to welcome over 300 of our members’ representatives to this year’s event, many of whom had travelled from around the world to participate, creating a true representation of our international community.

​Our ITEC 2018 Annual Awards ceremony took place prior to dinner at Lympne Castle, with its medieval architecture located in a picturesque setting on the south-east coast of the UK.

​After many years of exceptional service to the rope access industry, particularly with IRATA, Paul Seddon OBE has unfortunately reached the stage of his planned retirement.

Our 2018 ITEC will take place between Monday 10 and Wednesday 12 September at the Ashford International Hotel, Ashford, UK which is based in the home town of IRATA Head Office. ​

​Stretching improves flexibility, which increases the ability of a joint to move through its full range of motion; in other words, how far it can bend, twist and reach.

​The first ever meeting of the Eastern Europe RAC (EERAC) took place on the 22nd of June in Brazov, Romania.

​The British Airways i360 is a moving observation platform situated on Brighton beach on the south coast of the UK. A glass pod designed and built by cable car manufacturer Poma, rises from sea level to 140m where the passengers can enjoy panoramic 360-degree views of the city of Brighton and the surrounding countryside, all whilst enjoying drinks from the onboard bar. At only 3.9m wide, the tower is a monumental feat of engineering in itself and has won numerous awards for its design.​

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the new data protection law that takes effect on May 25, 2018. GDPR embodies the privacy principles of transparency, fairness, and accountability.

IRATA International are proud to be holding the 2018 London Work at Height Seminar (LWAHS) 2018 at the prestigious Guildhall, London, with the support of ‘The City of London Corporation’.

Further IRATA Safety Bulletins and topic sheets have been released aimed at raising awareness of hazards within the rope access industry.

​On 10th – 12th April, IRATA were present at the ‘Health and Safety Exhibition’ at the NEC in Birmingham, alongside fellow members of the Access Industry Forum (AIF). The event was very well organised by Western Business Exhibitions, who kindly invited all AIF members to exhibit their access systems.

A technician raised a complaint regarding a Nigerian based non-IRATA training company claiming to provide certified IRATA training.​

An IRATA Technician attempted to use fraudulent certificate to obtain work.

Upon request to provide proof of his qualifications, the technician presented a copy of the fraudulent certificate to a member company.​

We are delighted to announce that our International Code of Practice (ICOP) has been translated in Japanese. We would like to express our gratitude to our Japanese member, Toasu Inc, for undertaking this valuable work. Please click here to download it.

If you are able to assist with the translation of our ICOP or TACS (Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme), please get in touch with Muriel Le Henry at [email protected] We currently have our ICOP translated in French, Japanese, Korean and Turkish and our TACS translated in German, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish.

As part of our Assessor Selection, Training and Certification scheme (ASTACS), the IRATA International Training Manager, Ben Eke, has recently completed an enduring Assessor recruitment programme in regions where IRATA Assessors are most urgently required, being: Brazil, North America, the Middle East , and South-East Asia & Far East.

An IRATA Assessor used an email address depicting his association with IRATA to communicate, what the adjudicating panel termed as a “vulgar, threatening, abusive and racially toned email ” to an international airline to complain about their services provided.​