Why did you get into Rope Access to begin with?
It’s exhilarating, right? It pays well. Travel? There’s no doubt a high level of “cool-factor” that comes with the work.. The thrill of being “scared”, overcoming challenges, facing risks and succeeding at surviving them is a satisfying way to spend your day.. and, I dare to admit, even a bit addictive..
Rope access and working at height inevitably presents a never ending list of potential hazards that you’ll face in completing a project. Mitigating and controlling those hazards with your team members, and as you climb around as an individual, are what make this work so incredibly fulfilling and keeps us coming back for the next project …Even when the “pucker-factor” is high..
Consider this… You step out your front door to run some errands & grab a bite… risky?
Possibly.. are the steps and path covered in ice? Nope, I salted them last night and the ices mostly melted now.. so, I’m happy with this level of risk.. Safe. Proceed.
Look both ways… no speeding traffic or cyclists coming by .. wow, check out that UniMog! Safe. Proceed.
Stop for some groceries, did I bring my mask during COVID? Is the store busy, have I got my hand sanitizer? Safe? Maybe I’ll come back later..
A decision is made.. the hazard averted.
Sit down for a bite. Hmmm .. this sushi has a funny smell to it.. NOT SAFE Do Not Proceed then go get a street Taco and take on a whole other set of choices pertaining directly to the risk of eating street food, the likelihood of getting food poisoning and the severity of the outcome if you did…
RISK = LIKELIHOOD x SEVERITY
We perform mini-risk assessments hundreds even thousands of times a day to keep ourselves and the people around us safe in accordance with OUR personal level of “Risk Tolerance”. All in order to quite literally survive and carry on in this life..
Assessing Risk while doing Rope Access is not that much different than assessing risk in every day life.. being able to identify the many potential hazards that exist, how severe they could be to us and our team, and how we choose to proceed in accordance with our level of understanding that we have of the hazard itself, and lastly the control that we put in place to mitigate the hazard.
Ultimately, identifying hazards and assessing their level of risk is a matter of instinctual survival as a human being. We quite literally do it every minute of every day.. to survive.
Stay safe out there.. remain calm, take care of each other, keep it simple, scan you gear and environment regularly for hazards and watch out for those speedy cars and icy steps.
Cheers
Dirk
