The Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) International is a association, based out of the United Kingdom. They developed the rope access system that became adopted globally. The primary objective when using rope access methods is to carry out the work efficiently, with minimal accidents, incidents or dangerous occurrences. In order to ensure a safe system of work is maintained at all times, whilst avoiding damage to property or harm to the environment, careful planning and documented risk assessments are undertaken for each operation.

IRATA International Member companies complete their work with confidence and assurance, the certainty of expertise and the value of a service that has proved itself around the world.

There are three categories of IRATA International Membership:

• Trainer Member
• Operator Member
• Associate Member

IRATA Member companies undertake regular internal and 3-yearly external audit’s to ensure their ongoing compliance to the IRATA Membership Requirements. 

IRATA International Membership is restricted to registered business and organisations. An individual IRATA qualified technician can not hold membership with IRATA.

A business or organisation can apply to be a Member in the following three categories:

• Trainer Member
• Operator Member
• Associate Member

A company may also hold duel accreditation to both Operator and Trainer membership categories.

IRATA MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO:

• Comply with the IRATA International Code of Practice (ICOP) for industrial rope access and the IRATA Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS)
• Abide by the IRATA Bye-Laws and the Articles of Association.
• Ensure compliance to the IRATA Membership Requirements [QP-300ENG] by completing an internal audit which covers the full scope of the membership requirements, undertaken annually as a minimum.
• Ensure all rope access technicians employed or sub contracted by the organisation are IRATA qualified.
• Ensure that all rope access operations are supervised by a level 3 rope access technician and that all rope access personnel hold current IRATA qualifications (including first aid for level 3 rope access technicians).
• Ensure that all rope access operations are carried out under their IRATA rope access procedures and controls.
• Have an operational and/or training centre that meets the requirements of the ICOP and the Training, Assessment and Certification Scheme (TACS).
• Employ a Technical Authority and a Rope Access Manager.
• Appoint a Training Officer in the case of trainer member companies.
• Be subject to audit in accordance with the membership audit cycle.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO:

• Abide by the Associate Membership Terms and Conditions, the Articles of Association, Bye-Laws, ICOP and TACS where applicable.

It is a way of demonstrating to your clients an externally verified quality and safety standard of rope access.

IRATA requires member companies to work in accordance with the IRATA Code of Practice and, by doing so, contribute to maintaining the prized safety record of the Association that is unmatched in the access industry; the details of Members’ operational safety records are required to be submitted on a quarterly basis and are independently audited.

Additional benefits include:

• Membership of the only truly international rope access trade Association.
• Opportunities to train and register rope access technicians to the highest standard.
• Internationally recognised and fully portable technician training accreditation.
• Full listing in the IRATA Directory of Members and on the IRATA website.
• The right to display the approved symbol of IRATA membership and a unique membership number.
• Association with the most comprehensive Annual Work and Safety Analysis in the sector.
• The opportunity to influence Association policy by attendance at the General Meetings and other specialist Committees.
• The opportunity to become a part of the IRATA Committees.
• Advice from industry specialists within the Association.
• Voting rights at Association General Meetings.
• Updates on health and safety, training, equipment and other industry news and legislation.
• Intercommunication with other IRATA companies in your own country and around the world.
• Representation by means of IRATA participation on global Committees with interest in our sector.
• Business development and promotional gains due to IRATA’s representations to industry and government.
• Collective marketing and publicity through IRATA’s promotional activities.
• Complimentary copies of IRATA publications as they appear.
• Copies of Association publicity material.
• The opportunity to advertise on the Association’s website.
• Preferential insurance rates from brokers and underwriters.
• Advantage over non-IRATA Member competitors to secure contracts.
• Access to industry experts and a comprehensive knowledge base.

Yes; provided they have an IRATA Level 3 qualification. 

The primary difference between a TA or RAMR is level of rope access qualification held.

The Rope Access Management Representative must hold (current or expired) a minimum of the IRATA Level 1 qualification. 

The Technical Authority must hold (current or expired) a minimum of the IRATA Level 3 qualification. 

Both require a level of competency in rope access, have proficient knowledge and experience of rope access management systems, the ability to create, implement and control appropriate rope access management systems, have the ability to communicate effectively and support the rope access division of the company.

Just like any audit; being prepared is key to success.

We encourage existing members to familiarise themselves with the new standards and use the following published guidance documents available from the IRATA website (www.irata.org):

• IRATA Membership Requirements [QP‑300ENG]
• IRATA Membership Requirements – Guidance [GU‑301ENG]
• Differences Between Form 039 and Membership Requirements [GU‑310ENG]
• Cross Reference Matrix to IRATA Governance Documents [GU‑311ENG]
• IRATA Membership Requirement Audit Checklist [FM‑312ENG]

We recommend that your company performs a gap analysis between the old and new standards. You can undertake this yourself; but for a lot of organisations, time to commit to a comprehensive investigation into exisiting systems is rare.

By engaging an independent consultant,

to identify opportunities for improvement, to determine the organisations effectiveness, and to assure the conformance of risk management, control and governance processes in an business.

As an IRATA Member Company; yes. It is a membership requirement that all rope access operations are directly supervised by IRATA Level 3 rope access technicians) and that all rope access personnel have current and valid IRATA qualifications. 

As a non-member; no. 

Under Australian law, a PCBU has the Workplace / Occupational Health and Safety Acts to provide a framework to protect the health, safety and welfare or all workers at work and of other people who might be affected by the work. Under this, the business or organisation must ensure that personnel undertaking high-risk work, such as working at height, are appropriately supervised. It is up to the organisation to determine what makes someone competent to be a supervisor. 

Information regarding supervision and the composition of work teams can be found in the IRATA International Code of Practice [TC-102] (ICOP) sections:

• 2.11.6 – Work teams
• 1.4.2.3 – Management and Supervision
• 2.2.6.2 – Personnel
• 2.2.7 – Management and supervision of the rope access site
• 2.6 – Rope access managers, rope access safety supervisors and other supervisory/management items

It is an ICOP requirement that a Level 3 rope access safety supervisor is on site as the person responsible for the safety of the technicians who work under their supervision, and that a rope access team consists of no fewer than two technicians. For situations where a team size of more than two should be considered, please refer to sections 2.11.6.2 and 2.11.6.3 of the ICOP.

It is a requirement that the level of supervision should be appropriate to the particular work situation and the numbers and skills of the work team, as per section 2.6.2.7 of the ICOP.

Logbooks are issued by IRATA Head Office and shall be maintained by the rope access Technician.

Logbook entry verification signatures and company contact details shall only be provided by the following persons:

1. An IRATA Level 3 Technician who was directly involved in the supervision of the rope access activities;
2. A Director, General Manager, Rope Access Manager, or Technical Authority of the rope access company responsible for the undertaking of the rope access activities;
3. A rope access site Project Manager who is responsible for the project management of the worksite where the rope access activities were undertaken.

Level 3 rope access Technicians are responsible for the accuracy of their own logbooks. Where possible, they should ask the employer to countersign them. When signing the logbooks of rope access Technicians under their supervision, Level 3 rope access Technicians should ensure entries are completed correctly and logged hours are accurate.

ISO certification is a seal of approval from a third party body that a company runs to one of the international standards developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The ISO are an independent, non-governmental international organization who brings together experts to share knowledge and develop international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges. 

No. 

The ISO develop International Standards, such as ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001, but they are not involved in their certification, and do not issue certificates. 

Your organisation will need to be independently audited by a JAS-ANZ accredited certifying body.

JAS-ANZ accredit certification and inspection bodies to signal that they are competent and can be relied on to carry out their duties.

Eve Consulting are not a certifying body; we are a consultancy agency to assist in developing and verifying that your organisations quality management system meets the standards or regulations defined by other organisations (like ISO or IRATA).

The ASNZ 1891.4 2020 standard requires that all personal use equipment and common use equipment to be inspected by a competent person. 

By definition, a competent person is a person who, through a combination of training, knowledge and experience, has acquired knowledge and skills enabling that person to correctly perform a specified task.

Competency can be verified through evidence: such as holding a PPE inspection qualification, through attendance of training within the company, logged equipment inspection hours in an IRATA Logbook. 

You can read about equipment inspections here.