Posted By Tracy Martin
Hi, could anyone assist me with a query I have? We have 4 guys at work who undertake rope access when inspecting buildings, rock faces, etc. Two of the guys are fully trained but the other two are not - they have been doing it for many years and our insurance company has given them a dispesation saying they are competent to carry out this work based on their experience. They therefore feel they do not require training.

However, I feel quite strongly that it doesn't matter what the insurance company does - this does not prove "competency" when carrying out my risk assessment as how do I know they are following the correct procedures, etc, (bad habits).

Can anyone clarify what the legal position is on this - I am obviously aware that under HSWR the employer must provide training, instruction, etc, but is experience enough in this case?

Look forward to your replies.

Posted By Dave Merchant
In short, no. The techniques of rope access are sufficiently complicated (including things like rescue which they never do, but must still be competent in) that formal training is a must. Someone may look safe from a distance, but the smallest of mistakes can be fatal, and it's extremely common to see people develop bad habits or claim to be able to do something when in reality they've never even tried.

BS7985 is the COP for rope access and requires formal training under clause 7. It's not the law, but it's used as the de-facto standard of good practice by the HSE, IRATA and most insurance companies. The WAHR are vague on the entire idea of what makes someone 'competent', but the PPE at Work Regs specify that users must abide by instructions provided to them with their PPE. As all rope access PPE states in their instructions that formal training is essential, you get there by a diversion but you still get there.