News Archive

​ISO/IEC 17024 provides a global benchmark for personnel certification programmes to ensure that they operate in a consistent, comparable and reliable manner worldwide, thereby allowing individuals to have skills that translate across national lines.

Following on from the success of the Edge Management poster (as found here: provide hyperlink to poster) the team at IRATA have been busy creating a safety awareness video aimed at furthering the safety critical knowledge of edge management in rope access.

The objective of this short film is to educate rope access workers to the dangers to their ropes found on-site and the care needed from all workers to safely manage such hazards. The hierarchy of: remove, avoid, protect (RAP) as found in Annex P of the ICOP (hyperlink ICOP download page) is outlined, together with the importance of all technicians working together as a team.

This film is in its final stages of development having been shown at recent RAC meetings, and shall be released shortly with the aim of it being used as part of a safety meeting or toolbox talk. The film contains a set of questions for discussion in the meeting, and is intended to be an interactive learning experience for all attendees.

Our 2017 ITEC will take place between 23 and 25 October 2017, in Cape Town, South Africa. We are currently finalising the programme of events and will provide full details as soon all details are confirmed.

​IRATA International (IRATA) are pleased to announce that our new Assessor Selection, Training & Certification Scheme document, has now received approval from the IRATA Executive Committee.

IRATA appoints Assessors to provide independent and objective assessment of candidates who have completed an IRATA rope access training course. The competence of persons engaged in industrial rope access activities is a fundamental component of IRATA’s rope access system. It is paramount that the Association uses its best endeavours to maintain high standards and therefore, selects the most competent individuals for the role of Assessor.

The IRATA Edge management poster is an excellent reference tool for Technicians when considering rope protection and edge management methods.

Technicians should always ensure precautions are taken to prevent damage to anchor lines when they are in use. Hazards such as sharp edges, abrasive surfaces, corrosive substances and heat sources are common in the workplace and may damage ropes which may come into contact with them or close proximity.

Our ITEC 2016 was held in the Bavarian Capital – Munich City, Germany. Over the course of the event, we hosted our Committee meetings, Technical day in the picturesque mountain town Bad Tölz, product demonstrations, and closed the event with our Annual General Meeting and Dinner.

IRATA Auditors were put through their paces during their audit software training course at our 2016 ITEC held in Munich, Germany. The new audit software is to due be introduced early 2017 in order improve Member audit processes and to provide analytical benefits for IRATA Head Office.

Auditors will soon be recording and completing their audits on mobile devices and it is expected that the switch to digital data recording will provide many key benefits including:
IRATA Quality Manger, Dr Sheila Kondaveeti, was particularly complimentary of the new system, stating that she was “delighted with the commitment shown by the Audit team and that the full implementation of the software will be a fundamental step change towards improving the IRATA audit process”.

The latest revision of Annex O has now been completed and is available for download, this annex covers protecting rope access technicians against environmental conditions.

Annex O is intended for rope access managers, rope access safety supervisors and rope access technicians who may be called upon to plan and carry out work in any or all of the environmental conditions covered by this document.

We are delighted to confirm the formation of our Mediterranean and Scandinavian RACs, consisting of our members in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. We take this opportunity to wish the Chairs, namely Fernando Pinheiro (Mediterranean) and Nigel Craig (Scandinavia) every success with their efforts to further the growth and sustainability of the IRATA system, within their regions.

The examination to take trainee Instructor to full Instructor status, has been extended from 45 minutes to 4 hours – the exam will remain a multiple choice, closed book test.

Our ITEC 2015 was held in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. Over the course of the event our committees presented their work undertaken over the past year and their plans for the year ahead.

We have now installed a Technician Search feature onto our website.

Our ITEC 2014 was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over the course of the event our committees presented their work undertaken over the past year and their plans for the year ahead. Meetings were held at the Windsor Guanabara conference centre and our Technical Day at the Cidade Do Samba. The event was closed with our AGM and Annual Dinner.