In 2000, aerial rope techniques on power transmission lines were featured during the History Channel’s special High Voltage for the popular weekly series, “Suicide Missions.” In this provocative, first-ever 60-minute program on the history of the power delivery industry, Georgia Power Co. (Atlanta, Georgia) linemen engage in the rescue of one of their own from the center bundled conductor on energized 500-kV lines.

History Channel crews filmed the event from the ground, from a boom truck adjacent to the lines and from helmet cameras attached to the linemen up on the tower attempting the simulated rescue. Curiously, what is seen from all three cameras are not hand lines or standard utility ropes, but special life safety ropes similar to the kind found in mountaineering, dam inspection, high scaling, window washing and general rope access work.

Needless to say, High Voltage caused a veritable tumult within the power-utility industry, because transmission linemen are not used to seeing these seemingly foreign ropes used within their profession and, moreover, directly on the conductor.

What High Voltage did was spotlight the rapidly evolving rope access industry within the United States.

Although the program featured a hazardous “hot” rope rescue, it left to the imagination the potential for similar rope systems for the purpose of placing workers at work sites on power lines. Georgia Power is not alone, however. Although trained in these techniques by Ropes That Rescue Ltd. (RTR; Sedona, Arizona), other prominent utilities have employed the same rope training for their line crews to some degree. These “aerial rope line workers” are among a growing cadre of rope access professionals that compose an industry with unyielding international standards and an enviable safety record.

Rope Access Misconceptions
Rope access solves vertical access problems within industrial environments (including transmission lines) by employing specialized techniques for movement within the “vertical realm.” Additionally, rope access may be used on energized conductors, provided appropriate electrically tested life safety ropes are used. Movement may be essentially in any direction: Up, down or sideways or a combination thereof. Then, rope access is the use of life safety rope and specialized equipment (hardware) as the supporting element for elevated workers, replacing the need for expensive or difficult-to-place scaffolding, ladders and rigging.

Rope access is not fall protection or fall restraint, although these are part of the overall strategy of a safely managed work site on transmission lines. Transmission line maintenance and construction (TLM&C) aerial rope line workers trained in rope access techniques employ all of these systems in the course of their duties while working a high-angle location. It is important to know the differences.

Fall restraint systems keep workers from reaching an area where the hazard of falling exists. Essentially, fall restraint prevents the fall in the first place. On transmission towers, linemen often use their safety belts as a form of fall restraint. (This is not to be confused with work positioning when the same belt is used to hold the lineman in position by leaning back against the belt.) Fall arrest systems, on the other hand, limit the distance a worker can fall. OSHA requires the installation of a fall arrest system when a fall of more than 4 ft is possible from any location. With transmission lines, the exemption under normal conditions exists for a “qualified climber” under 1910.269. Fall arrest systems alone do not provide a means of access, nor do they insure a worker will not receive some kind of injury in the event of a fall.

Rope access employs a rope system to access the vertical realm. Aerial rope line workers can descend, ascend and traverse ropes to gain access to the work location. They may even use the conductor as a means of support and be lowered or raised along its length. Rope access workers employ a backup fall arrest system to provide a “second point” in the unlikely event that the primary supporting element fails. This redundant system is achieved by using a two-rope system—a working line and a safety line. Again, these ropes are life safety ropes like the ones used in the History Channel special. Often, they are different colors to prevent any communication confusion while working in the high angle environment.

Aerial rope line workers typically receive more extensive training in second safety line techniques than workers using more traditional forms of fall protection. The introduction of rope access techniques, equipment and training collectively provides an exceptionally safe and efficient way to solve transmission line maintenance and construction problems.

Should Your Utility Consider Rope Access for TLM&C?
Beyond its proven safety record, rope access, as a whole, has been shown to be efficient, versatile and economical. Injuries and fatalities from falls are still the leading risk to workers within the vertical realm worldwide. In the face of this fact, rope access technicians have suffered no fatalities and only minimal lost-time incidents. Other benefits of rope access include: Rope access provides fall protection. In addition to providing work access to employees on towers and lines, life safety ropes can be used for fall protection. When hazardous circumstances are present in the form of ice storms, high winds, partially collapsed or damaged towers, fall arrest ropes need to be in place, and rope access ensures these ropes early in the workday.

Rope access provides rapid rescue capability. In the unlikely event that a rescue from power line elevation is needed, rope access ropes are immediately in place. Thus, rescues with a possibly compromised hand line where integrity is assumed, but not known, are eliminated.

Rope Access Development
It should come as no surprise that modern rope access came about because of advances in recreational mountaineering. Synthetic ropes made from nylon and polyester were developed for use by the U.S. military in mountain warfare during WWII. It was not long before these “super ropes” were finding their way into mountaineering and caving circles. These ropes were lightweight, extremely strong and not subject to degradation from moisture (mildew). They were also very forgiving with shock forces and were less prone to abrasion.

Again, associated hardware came about in tandem with developments in recreational circles. For instance, rope ascenders, used for climbing a fixed rope, were first inspired by mountaineers and later adopted by rope access professionals to access their work.

However, the similarities end here. Today’s equipment has been adapted for use in the industry, having undergone retooling based on a battery of testing. Current techniques and equipment used in modern rope access are quite different from those used in roped recreational endeavors. Rope access is now internationally recognized and has to its credit technologically advanced equipment, proven methods of practice, training through certification, and both U.S. and international standards.

Is Rope Access Safe?
According to the International Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA), rope access technicians hold an unparalleled safety record that many in the industry can only dream about. Records kept since 1989 document more than 5 million hours of rope access work with no fatalities and extremely few lost-time accidents.

Ropes That Rescue Ltd. has maintained a perfect safety record since its first contract in 1994 with the Arizona Department of Transportation, where 12 “climbing engineers” were used in the building and subsequent inspection of the new Navajo Bridge 500-ft above the Colorado River near Marble Canyon, Arizona.

In the IRATA data on lost-time accidents, most were caused by incidents involving common work site hazards, such as dropped tools or equipment, hazardous atmospheres or accidents while “off rope.” TLM&C workers in the United Kingdom and Europe—included in this IRATA statistic—are already using rope access methods on their electric “pylons” and lines with great success.

Aerial Line Work Demands an Aerial Line Harness
Traditional linemen harnesses or belts are not suited for rope access work, so any decision by a utility to head in this direction with TLM&C should be considered carefully. Harnesses used by aerial rope line workers, such as the Georgia Power linemen in High Voltage, should include features that allow full rope access and rescue (including self rescue), and for which they have become accustomed to for traditional “positioning.” A linemen harness for this type of dual-purpose work during TLM&C is difficult to find, so Ropes That Rescue and Yates Gear have teamed up to develop a “Tower Access” harness that facilitates these various aspects of transmission line work. The design was based in part on features from existing line belts and harnesses, along with traditional rope access, tree surgery and mountaineering.

The key feature of any aerial rope access work harness is the front attachment D just above the waist, where the lineman attaches any descending or ascending device for his movement on rope. This attachment point is critical in the total discipline of rope access. The hardest thing for TLM&C clients to grasp is that their old line belts and harnesses will not work in the rope access environment.

You would expect to see subtle differences between standard rope access harnesses used by structural inspectors and those used by aerial rope line workers. The reason is simple in that each has differing uses within the vertical realm. Linemen tend to use their harnesses for work positioning, and rope access technicians tend to climb more around a structure using rope exclusively. Linemen also carry heavier tools and equipment to their work locations, so a rugged, work-oriented belt is required.

Crew Size
In today’s competitive power- delivery market, utilities are being forced to downsize crews. Two-man crews are common in transmission work and inspection. With aerial rope line workers, a work crew of at least two, but preferably three, is required so that one competent person may stand by to render assistance to workers on rope during an emergency.

Any decision by a utility to use aerial rope line workers employing rope access skills should be considered carefully. Furthermore, such decisions should be accompanied with a sound corporate utility commitment to allocate enough financial resources and training time for personnel to maintain their skills at a safe operational level.

Rope access goes hand-in-hand with fall protection and prompt rescue during TLM&C. The total package of these three has proven to be a wise choice for many of the largest power-delivery utilities in the United States.

Reed Thorne has spent a good part of his life in the structural realm, first on transmission lines in the 1970s, and presently as an instructor of structural and tower rescue for Ropes That Rescue Ltd. in Arizona. He is a certified Rope Access Technician with the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians. Thorne travels the country teaching linemen about rope access and rescue techniques, and he is currently working on a fully illustrated tower rescue book. reed@ropesthatrescue.com