Rope access gives SK&A engineers the ability to ascend, descend, and position themselves in challenging, hard-to-reach areas to perform up-close façade and structural inspections. This approach provides faster and more cost-effective solutions for our clients—especially in areas like Washington, DC, where drone usage is restricted or in instances when swing stages are impractical.
Installation of traditional swing stages can be time-intensive and cost-prohibitive at $2,500–$3,000 per day per unit, while only providing access to 30-foot sections at a time. Whereas our rope access team can inspect much larger areas in a single day, delivering faster and more cost-effective results. Rope access is also ideal for quick-response inspections, such as evaluating a leaking curtainwall or verifying localized damage—situations where mobilizing a swing stage simply isn’t worth the effort or expense. Because we establish our own anchorage systems, we’re not limited by roof capacity constraints.
Tackling the Ropes and Growing Our Team
Our Rope Access Team just completed a week of hands-on training, skill-building, and successful certifications at Altius Technical Services in New Orleans! We’re proud to welcome two newly certified SPRAT Level I technicians—Joe Perdue, EIT and Josue Hernandez—to our growing team of rope access professionals.
Joining them for the training were David Klein, PE, SK&A’s Rope Access Supervisor, and Justin Long, PE, RBEC, BECxP, Principal and Rope Access Program Administrator. Both David and Justin completed their SPRAT recertifications during the weeklong training, which included four days of intense instruction followed by a full-day evaluation.
Altius Technical Services is North America’s leading independent industrial access training company and a member of both IRATA and SPRAT. While there, our team sharpened their rope access capabilities, including:
- Ascending and descending rope systems
- Edge negotiation with rope protection
- Rope-to-rope transfers and knot proficiency
- Creating basic anchorage systems
- Raising/lowering equipment and personnel
- Aid climbing and conducting rescues
Looking ahead, we plan to continue expanding our Rope Access Team to deliver high-quality inspection and assessment services while giving our clients flexible, efficient, and economical access solutions.
Congratulations again to Joe and Josue—we’re excited to have you both on the ropes!
