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How Rope Access Can Save Energy Plants Millions

While you may have heard of rope access methods for industrial repair and construction, you may be unaware of just how much your manufacturing, material processing or energy plant could be saving by utilizing these innovative techniques. Rope access has provided a way to save significant amounts of money when building and maintaining energy production facilities. From time savings to cost savings, you are going to want to rework major parts of your maintenance program to include rope access repair & inspections.

 

Energy Plant Maintenance with Rope AccessRope access technology relies on modern engineered systems utilizing ropes and pulleys to safely and efficiently position technicians in high or difficult to reach areas of work. For many industrial structures like smokestacks and cooling towers, rope access equipment is mounted to the top of the structure and the technicians descend down the side walls in order to inspect, repair, paint, or clean the unit.

Many maintenance companies use extensive scaffolding, cranes, and heavy machinery to position technicians at the right height to work on industrial structures. These methods quickly become time consuming and expensive, which can be a major burden on maintenance budgets. And, in some instances, heavy machinery may not be a viable choice due to the close proximity of other structures or layout of the facility grounds. Rope access methods allow repair companies to reduce both material and labor costs which can end up saving millions of dollars over the life of an energy plant. Plus, rope access repair, maintenance, and inspection techniques reduce the time required to complete the job, often by 20 – 30%.

Although rope access is a relatively new method of maintenance, it has quickly grown in popularity and use. Rope access as an integrated system was industrialized in the early 1990’s when it was regulated for offshore maintenance. It was mainly used on oil rigs where heavy equipment was impossible to utilize in an effective manor and scaffolding was impractical. Now, rope access is widely used across the world for projects both offshore and on shore.

Rope access can be used for an extensive list of industrial maintenance tasks, including:

  • Concrete inspections
  • Pipe inspections
  • Caulking & painting
  • Liner inspections
  • Liner installations
  • Surveying
  • Camera inspections
  • Coating applications
  • Cleaning & power washing
  • Structural reinforcement
  • And much, much more!

While questions of safety may come up in regards to rope access, accident rates for rope access technicians are far lower than those of scaffolding or lift accidents. In fact, most recorded rope access accidents occur on the ground. The harnesses, anchors, pulleys, and tethers are specifically engineered and highly regulated to ensure that rope access remains one of the safest methods of inspection, repair, and industrial maintenance.

Potential applications for rope access continue to grow thanks to wireless technology and tools that allow technicians to complete old jobs in a new way. From ultrasounds, radiography, and magnetic particle detection to hot camera inspections and real-time video feeds, rope access extends the reach of specialized tradesmen and in turn, improves productivity.

If you’d like to learn more about how rope access can be utilized at your facility for maintenance or construction purposes, contact our specialists for an in-depth discussion.

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