A basic rope access kit would typically include the following:
Helmet
Harness
Two Cows tails
Jumar (ascender)
Chest ascender
Descender
Back-up device
Maillon
Karibiners
Footloop
Two single or one double Fall Arrest Lanyard(s)
Additional connectors, slings, strops and pulleys are required for more advanced rope access manoeuvres, hauling and rescue techniques.
STANDARDS AND CLASSIFICATION
Most of the equipment used in rope access will be classified as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). In line with IRATA guidelines and EU legislation, All PPE must be CE marked, which means that it has to be independently tested to conform to the requirements of the European PPE directive and the resulting regulations “Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992”. The specific standards to which each piece of equipment must conform are classified by an EN number.
A helmet is used to provide head protection to the wearer from injury of any type. There are two European standards governing helmets for work at height:
MOUNTAINEERING HELMET – CEN EN 12492
European Standard:EN 12492:2000
Mountaineering equipment - Helmets for mountaineers - Safety requirements and for test methods
Description:
Mountaineering helmets must have a chinstrap and buckle with a breaking strength greater than 50 daN, to reduce the risk of the helmet coming off in the event of an impact during a fall.
INDUSTRIAL SAFETY HELMET – CEN EN 397 European Standard:EN 397:1995
Industrial safety helmets
Description:
Industrial helmets have a chinstrap with a buckle designed to open under a force of 25 daN, so the helmet will come off if it gets caught. There are also a number of optional requirements under the EN 397 standard to protect against lateral deformation, use at extreme temperatures, electrical insulation and molten metal splash.
The ideal helmet for use in industrial rope access should have a chinstrap conforming to the EN 12492 standard for mountaineering helmets, and should also conform to all the optional requirements of the EN 397 standard for industrial safety helmets.
HARNESSES
Harnesses should be chosen that are suitable for their intended application and should be of a design that will support the user in the correct position. A harness should be comfortable, allowing adequate movement of the user and the unhindered operation of other devices within the system.
SIT HARNESS
European Standard:EN 813:1997
Personal protective equipment for prevention of falls from a height - Sit harnesses
Description:
Sit harnesses have lateral and central attachment points and are designed primarily to be used for work in suspension, although they may also be used for work restraint purposes. Some sit harnesses can be made to conform to the requirements of a full body harness, by the addition of a chest harness and a suitable attachment to connect the two.
HARNESSES (FALL ARRESST) European Standard:EN 361:2002
Personal protective equipment against falls from a height - Full body harnesses
Description:
A fall arrest harness is a full body harness, with chest and dorsal attachment points to ensure the user is correctly positioned after a fall. It is essential for fall arrest climbing.
CHEST HARNESS
Description:
A chest harnesses is used to convert an EN 358 work positioning harness into an EN 361 fallarrest harness, with a suitable attachment to connect the two. The chest harness is worn around the upper body when working and is essential for ascending the rope. The ascending device is usually attached between the chest harness and the sit harness thus connecting the two harnesses for total body support. A full body harness conforming to both EN 361 and EN 813 standards is recommended for rope access work.
SLINGS AND STROPS
Description:
A sling or strop is a length of textile, wire rope or chain which is used to provide an anchor point for a technicians’ working and back-up ropes or cows tails, where it is not possible to connect directly to an anchor.
Slings and strops should be marked with a safe working load limit rather than an EN number.
COWS TAILS European Standard:EN 892:2004
Mountaineering equipment - Dynamic mountaineering ropes - Safety requirements and test methods
Description:
A cows tail is a short strop, lanyard or sling (usually about 1 metre in length) connected to the main attachment point of a work positioning (sit) harness. Dynamic rope (EN 892) is used for cows tails because of its ability to stretch and, therefore, to reduce the shock load during a fall. The length of the cow’s tail, under tension, must not be beyond the user’s reach.
ASCENDERS
European Standard:EN 567:1997
Mountaineering equipment - Rope clamps - Safety requirements and test methods
Description:
An ascender is a rope adjustment device which, when attached to an anchored rope of appropriate type and diameter, locks under load in one direction and slides freely in the opposite direction. There are many different types of ascender which fall into two main categories:
Those with teeth that aggressively grip the rope to prevent slippage, such as a jumar or ‘hand jammer’, are most commonly used in industrial rope access for ascending the working line or positioning the operative;
Those with locking pins which squeeze tightly against the rope to prevent slippage can be permanently or temporarily installed on a rope and are most commonly used for hauling or for making adjustable lanyards.
Modern industrial rope access ascending techniques usually require the use of a jumar in conjunction with a chest ascender.
DESCENDERS
European Standard: EN 341:1992
Personal protective equipment against falls from a height - Descender devices
Description:
A descender is a manually operated, friction inducing, rope adjustment device, which when attached to an anchored rope of appropriate type and diameter, allows the user to achieve a controlled descent and to stop with hands off anywhere on the anchor line. Descenders are normally used in industrial rope access for descending the working line or positioning the operative.
BACK-UP DEVICES
European Standard:Pr EN 12841
Back-up devices are included within the draft European Standard
Rope Adjustment Devices for use in Rope Access
Description:
A back-up device is a rope adjustment device that is attached to the back-up safety line in order to protect the technician from a fall if the main working line fails or if the technician slips or loses control in any way. The back-up device is intended to lock on to the safety line without causing damage to the rope, and absorbing any shock load that may occur, thus preventing a fall from occurring.
CONNECTORS
European Standard: EN 362:2004
Personal protective equipment against falls from a height - Connectors
Description:
A connector is an openable safety device, which enables a person to link himself or herself directly or indirectly to an anchor. Connectors are usually made from steel or aluminium alloy and vary according to their locking mechanism, size, and shape (oval, Delta or D shaped).
KARIBINERS
A karabiner is a connector, with a spring-loaded entry gate which can be secured in the closed position either manually by a screwed sleeve, or automatically by means of an automatic locking device. A karabiner in which the entry gate is secured manually in the closed position by a screwed sleeve is known as a ‘screwgate karibiner’.
Steel screwgate karibiners are recommended for use in industrial rope access.
MAILLONS
Also known as a ‘maillon rapide’, ‘quicklink’ or ‘screwlink connector’, a maillon is a connector that is manually secured in the closed position by a threaded sleeve which becomes a load-bearing part of the connector when fully screwed up. Maillons are designed for multi-directional loading and can be used for rigging and personal attachment on a harness.
FOOTLOOP
Description:
A footloop is a sewn tape or accessory cord incorporating a single loop to place the foot into. The footloop allows the rope-access technician to temporarily transfer his or her weight onto the foot during ascent or whilst performing manoeuvres in suspension.
FALL ARREST LANYARD
European Standard:EN 355:2002
Personal protective equipment against falls from a height - Energy absorbers
Description:
A lanyard is the link between the user and the structure used as a connection or anchor point. The lanyard should demonstrate a suitable load application for its purpose (Working Load Limit). A fall arrest lanyard forms part of the fall arrest system and must have built in shock absorbing properties to absorb the energy generated by a fall. A fall arrest lanyard must not exceed 2 metres in length until deployed.
PULLEYS
European Standard:EN 12278:1998
Mountaineering equipment - Pulleys - Safety requirements and test methods
Description:
Normally used in hauling and rescue situations, a pulley is a device with one or more integral free turning wheel(s) to reduce friction on the surface of a rope. Pulleys are used to raise a person or a load or as a means of transporting equipment or casualties along a rope or cableway.
ROPES
LOW-
STRETCH ROPE
European Standard:EN 1891:1998
Personal Protective Equipment against falls from a height – Low Stretch Kernmantle Ropes.
This standard covers two types of rope: A and B. Only type A ropes are recommended for use in rope access and rescue, as they have a higher performance requirement than type B.
Description:
Low stretch rope, also known as semi-static rope, is usually constructed with a load bearing core (kern) and an outer protective sheath (mantle) and is designed to give minimal stretch over its length - typically up to 5% - with static load applied. This makes it particularly suitable for fixed working and safety lines, rigging and rescue purposes. Low stretch kernmantle rope is rated for a fall factor of 1 and so should not be used where high impact forces are likely to occur.
DYNAMIC ROPE
European Standard:EN 892:2004
Mountaineering Equipment – Dynamic mountaineering ropes – Safety requirements and test methods
This standard covers three types of rope: single, half and twin. For industrial rope access, the use of ‘single’ rope with a nominal diameter of 11mm is recommended.
Description:
Dynamic rope has more stretch than low stretch rope - typically 10–15% over its length when a static is load applied to it. This makes it particularly useful where high impact forces are more likely to occur (e.g. when using lead climbing techniques or in fall arrest situations). During a fall the elastic properties of the rope allow energy to be absorbed along the length of the rope, ensuring that no single element within the system is subject to the total impact force generated.
