Safety & IRAANZ

NZIA has an excellent safety record, including an OSH (Occupational Safety & Health Service NZ) Client rating of "One". This was obtained from an OSH snap site inspection, thus where an OSH inspector gives you a call and arrives on site shortly after to inspect your Health & Safety practices on site. We obtained the rating of "one" whilst carrying out maintenance work inside powder bins for the New Zealand Dairy Industry. The environment was of the confined space nature contained milk powder that had the potential for dust explosion. NZIA's entry/exit procedures including emergency rescue procedures impressed OSH as well as all our necessary equipment like Oxygen meters, Intrigigently safe lighting, etc.

Industrial abseiling in confined spacesAll NZIA staff are trained and certified in:

To give you an idea on our safety procedures, below I have detailed how we approach a typical operation.

General requirements for Industrial Rope Access:

Industrial roped access systems are a specialised form of work positioning system used to gain access to a workplace by ascending or descending twin ropes fixed to secured anchor points.

  1. Industrial rope access in New Zealand - Painting and AbseilingOSH Notification - All rope access work over 5.0m is notifiable to OSH
  2. Anchorages - Anchorages shall be capable of holding a minimum ultimate force of 15kN in all directions in which the anchor might be loaded in use. Permanent anchorages specifically installed for Industrial rope access (or fall arrest) work shall be clearly labelled as such and marked with their ultimate (failure) load. Annual inspection and proof loading will be required.
  3. Ropes & Rigging - The industrial roped access system is based on a twin rope concept with independent primary (working) ropes and secondary (safety, backup) ropes. Minimum diameter of ropes is 10.5mm.
  4. Harnesses & Lanyards - These should conform with AS/NZS 1891.1 or equivalent
  5. Descenders - The Descender device is capable of holding the operator with their hands free. It is not able to be removed from the rope whilst under tension.
  6. Safety Systems - A complete backup system, independent of the main system, shall be in use. Normally the safety system will be comprised of a back-up rope grab connected to a second static rope, independent of the working rope.
  7. Public Safety - An exclusion zone must be established at the base of every worksite open to public to prevent access and thus protecting the public.
  8. Hazard Identification - Elimination, Isolation, and Minimisation is NZIA 's target. NZIA has its own Hazard Identification procedures, which are detailed and involved. A hazard identification form is filled out for every site and every job before work is commenced.
  9. Radio Communications - NZIA prides itself in our radio communications because all personnel are equipped with full portable radios. Two way radio contact is compulsory where there is no line of sight between the parties involved.
  10. Training - NZIA has a continuing training programme for all staff in all areas. Full training days for all staff are carried out on a regular basis.

NZIA has an excellent track record for completing tasks safely, on time and to budget.

IRAANZ - (Industrial Rope Access Association of New Zealand)

NZIA wishing to maintain our high level of service we provide are proud members of IRAANZ and believe it has benefits to all parties involved.