The Industrial Rope Access Trade Association was formed in 1987 in England and has since become the recognised leader in rope access training around the world.
Trainers and operators undergo a lengthy auditing process before they may become IRATA member companies. Member companies are then required to follow strict training and operating guidelines and report any incidents. This ensures a high standard of safety in the working environment.
The IRATA certification has 3 levels, each level consists of a minimum of 4 days of training by a qualified IRATA trainer and a successful assessment by an independent assessor.
LEVEL
Requirements:
- A reasonable level of fitness and comfortable with heights.
Course info:
The IRATA Level 1 course is an entry-level industrial rope access certification that requires no previous experience. Technicians are taught about the equipment, methods they will use to access difficult-to-reach areas, and basic rescue techniques.
After a successful assessment Level 1 technicians can carry out work under the supervision of an IRATA Level 3.
- Cost: R11 500
Course breakdown:
- Four Days of training (IRATA minimum requirement)
- One Bonus day of training to refine skills
- One Day for assessment. Drinks and braai afterwards
LEVEL
Requirements:
- Must be at least a certified IRATA Level 1 technician
- Must have at least 1000 hours of experience working using IRATA rope access methods logged.
- Must have been a certified IRATA Level 1 technician for at least one year
Course info:
- Cost: R11 500
Course breakdown:
- Four Days of training (IRATA minimum requirement)
- One Bonus day of training to refine skills
- One Day for assessment. Drinks and braai afterwards
LEVEL
Requirements:
- Must be at least a certified IRATA Level 2 technician
- Must have at least 2000 hours of experience logged, of which at least 1000 must be working as an IRATA Level 2 technician
- Must have been a certified IRATA technician for at least 2 years, of which at least 1 must have been as an IRATA Level 2 technician
Course info:
The IRATA Level 3 course is for those technicians who want to learn advanced rescue methods, in-depth theory covering; planning of jobs, risk assessments, and regulations, as well as become supervisors.
After a successful assessment Level 3 technicians can carry out numerous tasks involving rope access.
- Cost: R11 500
Course breakdown:
- Four Days of training (IRATA minimum requirement)
- One Bonus day of training to refine skills
- One Day for assessment. Drinks and braai afterwards
Technicians need to revalidate every three years to improve their skills, reinforce good habits and keep up to date with the latest developments.
A technician is not allowed to do rope access work if their certification has expired until they have been reassessed.
However, technicians can be reassessed at the same level up to two years after their certification has expired but may not do any rope access work during this time.
To avoid the risk of letting your certificate expire, technicians can be revalidated up to six months before expiry date. The new three year certification then becomes valid once previous expiration occurs.
For example, if the certificate expires in June the technician can be revalidated in January and the new expiry date will still be in June plus three years.
- Cost: R11 500
IRATA no longer allows fast track, but instead allows for the direct conversion from an IWH certification to IRATA, where level 2 and level 3 IWH technicians can convert directly to level 2 and 3 IRATA.
Requirements:
- Must have logged 1,000 hours at the relevant level and been certified at that level for at least one year
- Provide all their IWH certifications, both current and previous levels
- Provide all their IWH ID cards, both current and previous levels
- Provide copies of their up-to-date and correctly filled-in IWH logbook
All this documentation needs to be submitted to Ropeworkz in advance to be sent to IRATA, as well as an additional administration fee of R4,600 to be considered for conversion.
Once this has been completed technicians are required to complete a minimum of four days of training and, unlike standard assessments, be assessed on every manoeuvre in the syllabus.
However, Ropeworkz does provide six days of training and up to two days for assessment to allow technicians to prepare and cover all relevant material, at the regular course price of R10,350.
- Course fee: R11 500
- Administration fee: R4 600
Rope Access Around The World
The Institute for Work at Height was formed in South Africa in 2009, made up of the Rope Access And Fall Arrest Association (RAFAA) and Specialised Access Engineering Manufacturers Association (SAEMA). It focuses predominantly on setting and maintaining working at height industry standards in South Africa.
The Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians was formed in the USA in the mid 1990’s to assist with legislation and regulations and support the growing rope access industry in the USA.
The Fach- un Interessenverband Für Seilunterstützte Arbeitstechniken is the German organisation that was created to promote standardised rope access techniques and safety guidelines in Germany.
