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Understanding the IRATA Syllabus: Care and Maintenance of Equipment

All of your rope access equipment, with absolutely no exceptions, needs to be inspected regularly. There are three types of equipment inspections you should be aware of and implementing:

Regardless of all of the precautions we take, wear and tear is something that does happen. Deviations, re-anchors, and edge guards help to protect your equipment (the above examples specifically protect your rope system) so that they’ll last longer, but unfortunately not forever. Nothing lasts forever. Over time, the strength and functionality of your rope access equipment may start to deteriorate due to abrasion, extreme high or low temperatures, ultra violet light and certain chemicals, along with (as mentioned before) ordinary wear and tear.

During your IRATA Assessment, all levels will be asked to demonstrate awareness of the common factors which may damage equipment, as well as the basic good practice to be followed when handling, identifying and storing your equipment.

L3 certifying techs will be asked to demonstrate competence following the marking and storage procedures for rope access equipment.

A lot of the information you’ll need to know about your rope access equipment is written right on the equipment itself. Each piece of equipment will have a certificate of conformity, that will tell you about its standards, storing procedure, and expiry date. Each piece of equipment will also have an identifier that can be traced back to inspection records and certificates. ALWAYS read the manufacturers instructions before use.

We’ll go into further detail on all of this during your training week.

Additional resources to check out:

TACS 6.3.1 for the source material for this blog.

ICOP Part 2, 2.8 for more information on marking and traceability

ICOP Part 2, 2.10 for more information on inspection, care, and maintenance of equipment

ICOP Part 3, Annex H for an equipment inspection checklist

ICOP Part 3, Annex L for a list of information to be recorded following a detailed inspection of rope access equipment

ICOP Part 3, Annex J for resistance to chemicals and other properties of some of the man-made fibres used in the manufacture of rope access equipment

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This is part of an ongoing series, where we’re breaking down IRATA’s syllabus and clarifying exactly what ‘demonstrating competence’ and ‘demonstrating awareness’ means, and what will be expected of you on assessment day. To access the IRATA study guides, click below:

IRATA Level 1 Study Guide     IRATA L2 Study Guide     IRATA L3 Study Guide