Steeplejack Overview

The modern steeplejack industry is an established multi discipline sector of construction that today maintains many of the skills and accessing methods first conceived and employed in the early 1900’s.

The industrial revolution resulted in a sea of chimneys appearing in many of the UK’s main industrial cities, there quickly followed a need to maintain these chimneys …. The steeplejack was born.

In the early part of the 1900’s chimneys were predominantly built from brick or occasionally stone, towards the 1950’s the majority of tall industrial chimneys were being constructed from reinforced concrete. These chimneys were built to heights upwards of 200m using a continuous shutter & pour system (slip form), this method of construction is still employed today.  During 2004 two free standing 200m tall concrete chimneys were built at West Burton power station; these became the two tallest chimneys to be built in the UK for over 35 years.During the early 60’s many small to medium sized industrial chimneys were being built from rolled and welded sections of steel plate, steel was to become the material of choice for free standing chimney structures up to 100 metres tall. In 1978 the British Standard BS4076 was written for the design of steel chimneys, this standard was updated in 1989 and remains the standard for the design of steel chimneys.  In addition to BS4076 the CICND Model Code is also a world recognised design and build standard for steel chimneys.

Industrial steel chimneys are highly susceptible to the effects of corrosion this is often magnified by the acidic content of the waste gases coming into direct contact with the structural shell.  To eliminate or reduce this possibility steel chimneys may be designed containing individual flues within the main structural shell or alternatively the internal steel walls may be lined with a protective material i.e. bricks, sprayed on refractory mortar, glass resin etc. British Standards, working practices and guidance notes help ensure that industrial chimneys are properly inspected and maintained by suitably skilled and competent operatives with proven ability to work at height.

In 2002 the HSE issued a Guidance note “GS53” to review the necessity for, and methods of, carrying out inspections of single flue steel industrial chimneys.  This guidance note was issued in response to a number of reported structural failures that had occurred to single flue steel chimneys largely due to a lack of or no inspection/ maintenance programs.  The survey conducted by the HSE covered a sample size of approximately 700 chimneys and revealed a significant number of steel chimneys were in a condition which led to a report suggesting repairs were required, either immediately, or within one year. In 2004 A.T.L.A.S, the steeplejack federation (previously snappily titled The federation of Master Steeplejacks & Lightning Conductor Engineers) issued the Guide to the Inspection of Single Flue Industrial Steel Chimney this “built on” the existing GS53 document.  This guide recommends inspection schemes that are to be adopted and established to ensure that single flue steel chimneys are properly inspected and maintained to a recognised industry standard.

Whilst failings associated with steel chimneys have been well documented and addressed there is currently no recognised/published inspection standard for the inspection or maintenance of industrial concrete chimneys. Concrete chimneys are by their very nature susceptible to problems associated with reinforced concrete, carbonation and corrosion of the steel reinforcement combined with waste exhaust gases often containing concentrated acidic residue, result in a need for regular maintenance to ensure concrete chimneys remain in a good serviceable and structural condition.

Some of the traditional working methods employed by steeplejacks throughout the 1900’s are still in use today, modifications and advancement in technologies ensure these traditionally based working methods are able to meet with modern safety requirements and ensure steeplejacks working at height do so in a safe environment.

The steeplejack industry today boast’s its own NVQ programme together with its own training facility complete with purpose built steel and brick chimneys on site at the CITB national construction college in East Anglia.

To operate in the UK steeplejacks require a minimum industry accredited CSCS card together with an accredited safety passport qualification.  In addition to these minimum requirements steeplejacks  are trained and qualified in disciplines including but not restricted to confined space, over turning moments, rescue & recovery at height, abrasive wheels, MEWPS, slinger signaller and welding.

One of the main attractions for anyone considering a career as a steeplejack will be the diversity of the job, tasks ranging from laddering a 10m steel boiler chimney to carry out a structural survey to the piecemeal demolition of a 150m tall concrete chimney ensure that monotony is something that could never be used to describe the role of a steeplejack.

One of the traditional steeplejack working methods involves the use of a boson or “boatswain” chairs, this method of rope access was first used to provide access to areas of sea going vessels for general maintenance or repairs, today the boson chair is still used by the modern day steeplejack and has its own British Standard, BS2830Whilst there has been a noted increase in use of the more versatile twin rope abseiling equipment throughout the steeplejack industry, there remain many harsh environments encountered by steeplejacks i.e. industrial process chimneys where highly acid waste particulate and gases are present, the polypropylene ropes used by steeplejacks for the bosun chair offers greater resistant to these potential hazards.

Polypropylene in it’s natural state is affected by sunlight deterioration this potential weakness can be overcome by adding an UV stabiliser, the treated 24mm diameter known as the “turkey red” polypropylene rope, is the steeplejack industry specified rope for boson seats.  Other benefits of polypropylene rope are when wet it remains flexible and does not shrink and it is highly resistant to acids, alkalis and oils. When using the boson chair the steeplejack is always connected to an independent fall arrest line and is anchored to a steel “delta” ring attached to the bosun seat rigging via his body harness.  The correct use of a bosun seats greatly reduces the likelihood of suspension trauma that is more commonly associated with twin line abseiling techniques.

During the use of a bosons chair and all work at height rehearsed rescue and recovery procedures are implemented so that in the event of an emergency the rescue and recovery of operatives working at heights up to 200m can be achieved by the steeplejack team.

Working from rope access should always be considered a means of providing temporary access, whilst rope access is well suited for the surveying of tall structures and undertaking work of a short duration, for work of a longer duration alternative methods of access should be employed.  There are recognised limitations for the use of rope access, steeplejack contracts such as the rebuilding of brick linings on power station chimneys demand access methods such as suspended motorised platforms or mast climbing platforms.

Today in the modern construction world the steeplejack has watched industries such as the “specialist rope access” develop almost overnight, whilst it would be somewhat unfair to describe this particular growth of the sector as “re invention of the wheel” the steeplejack industry looks on with a wry grin, well we were suspended off ropes during the early 1900’s, weren’t we?

Author - Wayne Murray