Refinery & Petrochemical Applications for Rope Access Services

Petroleum refineries & petrochemical plants all offer challenges for maintenance and repair workers. The structures, piping, vessels and tanks that are critical components of these facilities can be hard to access and are often dangerous to work with since the materials produced and used in these plants are highly hazardous or toxic. Because the consequences of any unintended release of these materials can be very severe to deadly, it’s extremely important to utilize the most viable and safe method for work, maintenance, and repairs at petrochemical plants and refineries.

Rope access techniques can provide a practical and cost-effective solution for visual inspections, non-destructive testing, coating applications, safety equipment repairs, structural repairs, and maintenance of lighting and lightning protection systems. For refinery and petrochemical customers, a qualified rope access contractor offers a range of benefits from quick response and completion times to cost-savings compared to traditional scaffolding, and a smaller, less intrusive “footprint” on site.

OSHA Process Safety Management requirements apply to almost every aspect of operations, maintenance and construction in refineries and petrochemical plants. All maintenance personnel – in-house or contractors – must be trained and current on the specific work they are called on to perform.

We are able to meet these strict OSHA regulations and implementation guidelines with our rope access team by:

• Through extensive training and ongoing follow-up & documentation – including hands-on proficiency checking
• Using intrinsically-safe tools and equipment to prevent the accidental creation of static electricity discharge
• Particular attention to emergency response and rescue planning.
• Through a sound program for executing confined space work safely

There are plenty of advantages of using rope access in the refining and petrochemical industry, which include all of the following:

• On ropes, we can get where we need to go quicker than scaffold can be built, and at lower overall cost
• We will quickly access, inspect and repair chimneys, stacks, vents, piping, vessels, tanks, bins & silos, and large structures, while maintaining safety of both our crew and the other workers
• For work requiring crane-assisted access, we have in-house rigging expertise to place suspended scaffold at height
• We offer real-time remote video capability to transmit images from technicians’ helmet-mounted cameras to engineers or supervisors on the ground

If your refinery plant or petrochemical facility requires maintenance, corrosion control, compliance or safety inspections, contact our SPRAT certified rope access crew. We offer emergency response, scheduled maintenance plans and more.