Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT) conference

Mike Gilbert arrived in New Orleans a day before the start of the conference to attend a SPRAT evaluator workshop on January 13. The workshop was open to current SPRAT evaluators and evaluator candidates. Mike is in the process of becoming a SPRAT evaluator. The purpose of the workshop was twofold: to provide a forum for evaluators to compare notes in the interest of providing consistent, fair and legitimate certification services to SPRAT members, and to provide training for evaluator candidates. The event was well-run by Dwayne Witter, chairman of the SPRAT Evaluations Committee. The committee has produced excellent written material to aid in training new evaluators, and to help evaluators prepare, organize and present high quality certification sessions.

The workshop featured lively discussions, which were informative and fruitful in resolving areas of potential inconsistency in interpretation and application of the SPRAT Certification Guidelines. The Certification Guidelines underwent substantial revision last year, with three notable changes: first, the requirement for independent evaluation of the two higher levels of SPRAT certification, rope access lead technician and rope access supervisor; second, the requirement that the lowest level of certification, rope access worker, be evaluated by a current SPRAT evaluator, rather than by a rope access supervisor or lead technician; and third, the experience requirements were increased for both lead technician and supervisor.

The committee meetings and presentations of the conference began January 14. Keith and Mike attended the Standards Committee meeting and learned about SPRAT's growth over the last six years. The number of yearly certification sessions has steadily increased from less than 20 in 2004 to over 100 in 2009. These numbers reflect both the growth and standardization of the rope access industry in North America. Of the 321 certification sessions in the United States since 2004, only 27 have been east of the Mississippi River.

On January 15, Keith presented Vertical Access's paper on Mechanical Anchor Strength in Stone Masonry. This research, previously presented by Kelly Streeter of Vertical Access at the Association for Preservation Technology International conference in 2008, was funded by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT). Keith's presentation for the SPRAT audience focused on the applicability of the research to the rope access industry. The information was well received and provoked thoughtful questions. (See the PowerPoint presentation here, or the original paper here).

Other presentations at the conference included:

• Rope Access Bridge Inspections in the Pacific Northwest
• Unique Rescues
• Safe But Not Compliant?
• The Odd Couple: How Rope Access and Mechanical Access Methods Can Complement Rather Than Compete
• Lessons Learned From Our Team - Part II
• A Year in the Life of a Rope Access Technician
• Web Based Equipment Tracking
• The Intersection of Rope Access and Fall Protection