 Industrial roped access provides a safe and cost effective way of delivering a broad range of engineering solutions
Geotechnical engineering on the roads and railways has come a long way in the last 20 years and when work has to be carried out in difficult to access areas, one technique more than any other has revolutionised the industry.
Rope access can trace its genes to the high adrenalin sports of caving and rock climbing but with the UK leading the way it’s developed a safety record which is the envy of the world.
Many industries including transport infrastructure now regard industrial roped access techniques as a way to enable safe, fast and cost effective engineering work to be carried out on rock faces and soil slopes where previously slow and expensive methods such as cranes, scaffolding and even ladders were needed.
Benefits
Of course rope access wasn’t always regarded in this way and in its infancy it was pioneered by just a few individuals who realised their skills in mountaineering could be of benefit to the geotechnical engineering industry. One of those people was Phil Burke who set up his own company Rock Solutions Ltd in 2000, although the story really starts in the early 1980’s.
Phil and other experts in the field developed techniques to enable drifter rigs to be used to install rock bolts above a rail tunnel near Aberdovey in mid Wales. This was a first in the industry and the risks were assessed with the cooperation of the Health and Safety Executive and in particular the Rev. Malcolm James who helped create the first approved code of practice.
The next milestone came during a challenging job at Camp Bay on the rock of Gibraltar. The installation of 20 metre permanent anchors to stabilise the rock face was achieved by using Down the Hole (DTH) drilling rigs which could be positioned on the rock face by a winch system. For the watching geotechnical engineering community this was the point at which they seriously considered rope access as a practical, safe and cost effective solution.
Design
Rock Solutions equipment technology and in particular, the design of specialist drilling rigs has enabled rope access to be used in a wide range of situations from installing steel or GRP bolts that anchor outer friable rock to more stable substrate layers when stabilising a rock face to installing soil nails which are high tensile bars used to provide structural support of a soil slope. Both techniques can be used with steel mesh.
In time natural growth of vegetation helped by replanting and seeding hides the mesh, making the whole process ideal for environmentally sensitive areas.
The technological advances have not been restricted to rock bolting and soil nailing alone. Two other key areas of work that rely on industrial roped access for efficiency and safety gains have been the application of sprayed concrete to support badly degraded rock and the installation of high energy absorption avalanche fencing to protect key assets and personnel from rock falls.
The latest phase of development in rope access is summed up by Phil Burke at Rock Solutions: “Increasingly our clients are looking for a one stop shop for solutions in rock and soil stabilisation work and we now provide this as a turn key solution. As our company has grown the skills and experience of our staff has lead to us to provide all aspects of a job from investigations to a completed project.”
For clients in the transport industry, having a principal contractor in such a specialist area of work can provide significant gains in value for money and speed of construction without compromise to the industries reputation for high quality and safety.
Network Rail’s controlled infrastructure is one of Rock Solutions primary areas of work and although they’re a very specialised company they often work alongside much bigger civil engineering organisations requiring them to develop a robust management system incorporating ISO9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, together with Network Rails own protocol Link-up.
Challenges
For Rock Solutions, who has always been at the forefront of innovation, 2009 provides new challenges. This month sees the opening of new offices and a specialist engineering building in Stirling, Scotland in addition to their head office in The Peak District. This will mean they can continue to improve speed and flexibility for customers across the UK.
To enable Rock Solutions to grow in what for many is a tough economic environment Phil Burke’s strategy is clear: ”We will continue to develop the best skills in our field coupled with investment in purpose designed equipment to deliver on time, to the highest safety standards. We work so closely with our customers that we share the major additional challenge of the next few years, to continually deliver projects more cost effectively.”
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