The goal of this newsletter is to inform, inspire and share news about rope access and work at height. Please don't hesitate to let us know how we can help you with your work. Team Ropeworks Rope Access Incidents Lowest Ever Ropeworks is an audited member of the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA.) Recently, IRATA announced the safety statistics on member companies for the 2006 year. With more than two million hours of time logged on rope, the reportable incident rate was only 0.22 per 100,000 hours for 2006. This is very far below the rates for the general construction industry, and actually reflect the lowest rates since IRATA began, more than 18 years ago. You can read the details here. Skala Technicians Clean Space Needle This Spring, Skala rope access technicians armed with high pressure cleaning technology from Karcher began the first deep cleaning of Seattle's Space Needle since its 1962 World's Fair unveiling. Read more... Skala techs at work cleaning Seattle's Space Needle more Space Needle photos   Skala technicians pressure-washing the Space Needle in Seattle. more Space Needle photos   In This Issue   Rope Access Incidents Lowest Ever Skala Techs Clean Space Needle OSHA: Employers Must Provide PPE Ropeworks Training Courses Tech Tip: Ascenders Staff Profile: Annie Holland Petzl Price Increases           Upcoming Courses   July 15-18 - R.A. (SPRAT) Aug 4-8 - R.A. L1 (SPRAT/IRATA) Aug 11-15 - RA L2,3 (SPRAT/IRATA) August 27-29 -R.A. Refresher (SPRAT) complete calendar   OSHA: Employers must provide PPE Effective May 15th, 2008, US employers must provide protective personal equipment (PPE) at no cost to the employees. There are exceptions such as ordinary protective footwear, prescription safety eyeglasses and weather-protective clothing. Previously, employers were required to provide the PPE, but it was the employee’s responsibility to pay for it. The whole story can be found here in the November 15th, 2007 Federal Register (volume 72, number 220.) Ropeworks Training Courses Starting this August, there will be a change in the way Ropeworks training courses are offered. In order to deliver the best possible instruction to our candidates, we will no longer run combined level I, II and III Rope Access courses. Ropeworks will now be offering a week of level I training and certification, followed by a separate week of level II and III training and certification. This format will give candidates even more focused courses with greater attention to level specific tasks and maneuvers. Ropeworks continues to offer the industry's highest candidate success rate and the new format will allow instructors even more time for specific individual attention. Courses have been selling out weeks ahead of time, so please register early! Check our course calandar for the latest availability, or contact us to schedule a custom class at your site.   Tech Tip: Ascenders won't catch you! At Ropeworks we field technical questions from customers daily. One that pops up frequently is: “Is it OK to use a handled ascender for your backup rope?” In a word, NO! In rope access, the backup device should only come into play when a primary support fails. This type of fall can subject the backup device to a considerable shock load. A handled ascender typically has an aggressive toothed cam that grabs the rope with no slippage when it’s loaded. This can result in a shock load tearing the sheath and cause failure of the back-up system! This is no urban myth, we have tested it! Read more… Staff Profile: Annie Holland In January, Annie joined our customer service team at the Ropeworks National Training Center. A Reno local and native Nevadan, she loves the area and does her best to take advantage of what the surrounding mountains, lakes, and trails have to offer. Outside the office, she stays involved with her church, goes horseback riding (Western style, of course!) and enjoys fishing. Annie always brings a positive attitude to the office while playing a critical role in insuring our training courses run smoothly and customer service meets Ropeworks' standards.   Petzl Prices Increase July 1st If you were thinking about placing an order for Petzl equipment, now might be your best time to take advantage of current pricing before a scheduled price jump on July 1st. Petzl has been forced to raise prices due to rising material and petroleum prices combined with a weakening US dollar. All orders placed before July 1st will be charged at the current prices, so customers are encouraged to get their orders in before the jump!   Ropeworks Shock-Absorbing Lanyard Assembly The Ropeworks Shock Absorbing Lanyard Assembly, sold exclusively by Ropeworks, is a shock absorbing Y-lanyard with large scaffold hooks and our custom lanyards and shock absorbers for tower climbing. Check out this versatile product.     Ropeworks Rescue Lift Kit The Ropeworks Rescue Lift Kit is a versatile mechanical advantage system that can be used as a 4:1 or 5:1 depending on the orientation. It can be used to raise a load, tension a line, or perform a variety of pick-off style rescues. Team Ropeworks & Skala ©Ropeworks Industrial Group, Inc. +1.775.747.3377 mail@ropeworks.com   home | course calendar | equipment store | contact