Safety Standards VCA** + IRATA
Working method rope access
Here are some important safety conditions for our rope access work. An HSE plan, safety plan with Task Risk Analysis is drawn up for each job, to which all employees involved must adhere. During abseiling, one must always be anchored at two points. These anchors must be tested at 1,500 kg. Should the main line break, there is always a second line as back-up. The ropes being worked with (the working line and the fall protection) have a safe value of 300 kilos and have a breaking value of 3,000 kilos. All tools are attached to the harness we wear so that the tools cannot fall down. Two certified abseilers must be present at all times. During courses and training days, abseilers also learn to carry out rescue operations. All climbing and abseiling equipment is inspected and maintained daily.
VCA**
A.T.I. Abseiltechnieken holds the VCA** 2017/6.0 certificate. VCA stands for Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Checklist Contractors. VCA certified companies work with a VGM management system that complies with the ARBO rules in the field of safety, health and environment. All our operational employees and managers also have a personal VOL-VCA diploma. This demonstrates that we are serious about ‘quality, safety, health and environment’ for both our customers and our staff.
IRATA
Because there is no concrete legislation in the Netherlands regarding our specific working techniques, A.T.I. Abseiltechnieken works exclusively according to the IRATA working method. This working method complies with the applicable European Directives for working at height, but is also applied worldwide. IRATA stands for International Rope Access Trade Association and has been the largest Rope Access trade organisation worldwide since 1980. They ensure that the safety and quality of Rope Access is guaranteed and complied with.
A.T.I. itself is IRATA certified and of course all our technicians are too.
Depending on the requirements of the job, specialised rope access technicians are deployed, ranging from IRATA Level 1 to Level 3 trained employees. Besides the VCA and IRATA certificates, our rope access technicians also have specialist training such as welding training, various NDT certificates and electrical training. To stay completely up-to-date, courses have to be followed regularly and certificates have to be renewed. The latest certificate goes under the name Rope Access Supervisor. This course, specially developed for the Dutch market, focuses on rescue and rope techniques. For more information on IRATA certification (source: www.irata.org)
For more information on IRATA go to the links below:
