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.

The event proved a fabulous networking opportunity and provided a platform for members and exhibitors alike to share market developments, research information, best practice, advice and exchange ideas.

We were thrilled to hear from a number of guest speakers, who presented on a wide subject range, incorporating topics from technical equipment usage, safety awareness aspects, to human factors and non-technical skills development. This fantastic exchange of industry updates, research data and essential reminders, provided rich learning opportunities and highlighted areas of particular interest, especially for managers and supervisors whose technicians’ wellbeing relies on their guidance and expertise.

We would like to thank all of our speakers, who made this ITEC so informative and such a success.

Copies of guest speaker presentations will be made available to members shortly in the members’ area of our website.

Dr. Chris Robbins presented the findings of the Work & Safety Analysis (WASA) 2018 report, which is now available for download here (will open in a new tab). We would like to thank Dr. Chris Robbins for this imperative report, the fundamental analysis of which is crucial to understanding and highlighting areas for safety improvements within rope access. This year’s sobering report serves yet again as a reminder of the importance of IRATA’s incident reporting procedure – both for injuries and dangerous occurrences. The valuable information provided by members helps to spot trends and serves as a key source for safety bulletin information. Your information could really save a life!

The event culminated in our Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held at the Lympne Castle: a charming, medieval castle, located near the southeast coast. Attendees enjoyed local wine, whilst admiring the stunning landscape and sea views from the evening terrace.

Guests were able to unwind with cultural entertainment, including Morris dancers (a form of English folk dance, complete with a hooden horse), a string quartet and a live band. Local cuisine and beverages were provided.

Our Annual Awards ceremony was introduced by IRATA Chairman, Jonathan Capper and we were delighted to welcome Mrs. Deborah Burnett as a special guest to present the ‘Graham Burnett Volunteer of the Year Award’, befittingly named after her late husband and past IRATA Chairman. Deborah presented this year’s awards to:

The ‘Longstanding Contribution to Rope Access Award’ was presented by Paul Seddon OBE to winner: Jonathan Capper of Lyon Equipment, and current IRATA chairman.