Monadelphous Rope Access Solutions

Rope access solutions are now part of the wide range of inspection, repair and maintenance services backed by Monadelphous’ well-established mechanical capability.

This is another step in the development of a one-stop-shop for customers – and makes the only Industrial Rope Access Trade Association-certified (IRATA) rope access business that has the backing of a mechanical service provider and the systems and procedures to support projects.

Experienced Monadelphous rope access teams, built on a strategic acquisition in 2016, have worked recently over-water and in commissioning assistance, upgrade, rectification and maintenance, inspection and emergency breakdown services. A team will soon be involved in work on the Karratha Life Extension program at the Woodside-operated Karratha Gas Plant.

Rope access forms an important section of the Monadelphous Access Solutions business that provides a variety of access options, including scaffolding and elevated work platforms, to ensure the most appropriate method is available for the scope of work.

Monadelphous Industrial Services Manager Ben Harris said rope access expertise gave the flexibility to execute services within the constraints of complex, congested industrial facilities – which saved customers time in scheduling and money, without increasing risk.

“Our business is not just a rope access company – it’s more of a multidisciplinary construction and maintenance company that does rope access, and does it really well,” Ben said.

“Our ability to access, in particular, the mechanical experience of Monadelphous has proven to be a key element in the success of our teams while completing rope access projects.”

Recent examples of effective use of rope access include a shutdown that would have otherwise required eight workers over six shifts to erect scaffolding and an emergency breakdown that would normally have been serviced from a scaffold platform installed by a crew of four over approximately 12 hours.

Team sizes employed on recent projects have varied from several workers to as many as 35.

Ben said Monadelphous’ capability and innovative approach to providing broad-based access solutions was important in more effective, safe and efficient services. This was the result of experience and a management team prepared to think outside the box when assessing access scopes of work.

Monadelphous added rope capability through the acquisition of Evo Access, an established multidisciplinary provider certified by IRATA.

It has built out the business, started to set up National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) certification to allow it to conduct non-destructive testing via rope access and ensured a strong focus on safety.

“Our safety culture is of the highest possible standard and this is reflected in our statistics,” Ben said.

“By its nature, the work we do doesn’t allow for mistakes of any kind. This mentality is carried through all our work, with attention to detail and work planning playing a crucial role in the safety and wellbeing of our personnel.

“This is all part of our bundled service for Monadelphous customers, with one-stop, cost-effective solutions.”