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Announcement: Damian Chatteris joins our team

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ANNOUNCEMENT: DAMIAN CHATTERIS JOINS OUR TEAM

We would like to wish everyone the very best for 2022! The last couple of years have handed all of us new challenges that have knocked many of us down. But we have stood up again, endeavoured, and even grown.

On that note, we are excited to announce that we will have a new full-time rope access trainer joining us, Damian Chatteris. 

For those of you who do not know Damian, for the last 20 years he has worked in a variety of rope access and safety at height roles ranging from corporate team building to search and rescue to rope access team leader. For the last fives years, he has worked as an IRATA instructor in Durban but has decided to make the move down to Cape Town to join Ropeworkz.

He is also a self-confessed gear junkie who is always eager to have a friendly discussion about the pros and cons of various pieces of equipment.

We look forward to Damian joining our team on the next course and meeting our fantastic community.

WHAT'S NEXT...

We take a look at the Quick Roll.

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A Meeting With: Taz

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OUR MEETING WITH: TAZ

Another highlight from APLUSA was meeting Pascal and Benedicte, from Taz, who have most recently brought us the Lov3. Many of you would have heard about it, but most would not have had a chance to test it out. The device was initially designed to be easily and safely installed and removed from a tensioned line but now seems to have infinite possibilities. Essentially, the Lov3 is certified as a fall arrest, descender, backup, rescues, and adjustable lanyard, an all in one device.

We were looking forward to meeting the team behind this device. Although the stand appeared humble, there was a buzz of interest that shadowed some of the fancier setups. People were clearly impressed by the demonstrations performed by the technicians and waiting for an opportunity to talk to Pascal, the creator of the Lov. Fortunately, Pascal and Benedicte had agreed to set aside time for us beforehand.

It was fascinating to hear what drove Pascal to design the original Lov and the long journey he has been on to get it to where it is today with the Lov3. His passion for the community and desire to keep things simple is undeniable.

We are very excited and honoured that they have given us the privilege to be the distributor for Taz in South Africa. Many of you have not had the opportunity to try out the Lov3, so feel free to pop in and give it a go, or book your next rope access course with us and give it a try then. Alternatively, contact us for prices.

Taz rope access equipment
WHAT'S NEXT...

A new year, a new team member.

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The World’s Largest Health and Safety Trade Show: What We Saw

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THE WORLD’S LARGEST HEALTH AND SAFETY TRADE SHOW: WHAT WE SAW

A PLUS A Working at height

We had the privilege of attending A PLUS A trade show in Germany. With 1200 exhibits across nine halls showcasing the latest trends in health, safety, and security in the workplace, it is the world’s largest health and safety event. The show was incredibly impressive, but our favourite was hall six, which mostly covered working at height, including companies and equipment manufacturers like Petzl, Singing Rock, Skylotec and, CT.

Skylotec

One of the most impressive stands belonged to Skylotec, a german company that has been a part of the working at height industry for more than 70 years. They specialise in manufacturing PPE for fall protection, installing permanent fall protection systems, and training for safety at height. They are particularly prominent in the wind turbine industry.

We particularly liked the Skyvest, a high visibility vest fitted with a sensor-controlled airbag that aims to mitigate injury from low-level falls. The vest detects the wearer is falling and instantly inflates the airbags protecting the vital organs, head, and neck.

But Skylotec’s star was undoubtedly the Actsafe ACX Powerascender for industrial use. The power ascender by Actsafe (now owned by Skylotec) has been around for a few years, but not many of us have had to opportunity to see it in action, or better yet, give it a try. This lightweight (weighing only 13kg) battery-powered ascender can lift and lower people and loads effortlessly on a climbing rope.

Skylotec stand at A PLUS A

Skylotec and CT (a member of Skylotec) have a range of new and improved products that we are reviewing soon.

Kong

Another exciting product we got to test was Kong’s new I-Connector range of carabiners. These carabiners are equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) chip. These chips allow anyone with the app to scan the carabiner with their phone and view its complete history. This system will significantly simplify equipment inspection and access to records anywhere.

 

These chips are also available on a range of other equipment manufactured by Kong.

Etienne Tredoux at A PLUS A
Kong equipment inspection

Never Let Go

The guys from Never Let Go manufacture a range of great tool lanyards, bags and tether points, including their new Space Net, which is connected below the technician and catches any falling debris.

 

 

But the most fascinating yet straightforward product was their Tether Tape. It is a self-fusing silicone tape with fibreglass reinforcement used to create a permanent attachment point on tools that do not have one. Tether points are vital yet undersupplied pieces of equipment needed for working at height. 

 

So often, we are issued tools like knives, hammers, and drills on site that don’t have attachment points, and we are left to rely on non-rated materials to create one.

Never Let Go Tether Tape
WHAT'S NEXT...

We meet up with the duo from Taz.

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