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Geotechnical News • March 2018
GEOHAZARDS
or inappropriate for the industry’s
specific needs.
Some of the largest stakeholders of
hazardous slopes are Departments/
Ministries of Transportation found
throughout North America. In general,
their contract specifications require no
specific rope access safety protocols or
rely on safety procedures and training
requirements from other disciplines.
A few agencies have identified the
importance of safety protocols for
working on hazardous slopes and
establised their own extensive training
and certification programs (Figure 2).
The California Department of Trans-
portation (Caltrans), for example,
created a training course used to train
hundreds of employees since 1990 and
developed the Caltrans Bank Scaling
and Rock Climbing Manual (Caltrans
2014). Another available guideline is
available from U.S. Bureau of Rec-
lamation Guidelines for Rope Access
(2004).
Geohazard specialty companies have
further developed their own internal
safety protocols and implemented
comprehensive and on-going training
programs. They often have workers
certified by third party organizations
such as SPRAT (Society of Profes-
sional Rope Access Technicians),
IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade
Association) or PCIA (Professional
Climbing Instructors Association
Slope Access Technician (SAT) pro-
gram).
One common controversy is the
selection of the appropriate climbing
protocol and strategy for the task at
hand. Each system has advantages,
depending on site conditions and
the characteristics of the work to be
carried out. Important is that a choice
be made by a competent and trained
individual, based on careful consid-
eration of decisive factors, such as
available anchorage, geologic slope
conditions, unstable rock blocks, entry
and exit routes, need for mobility and
other potential features that may affect
the work.
In sum, while a safety and training
program is vital for any geohazard
professional engaging in work on
dangerous slopes, there is currently no
harmonized approach. Safety training
and certification either done in-house
or through third-party agencies will
only help reduce risk to workers and
demonstrate due diligence by their
employer.
The Rope Access Committee is cur-
rently developing an AGHP safety
best-practice guideline specific to
the geohazards industry. Committee
member Steve Wilcox, who previously
authored a guideline for communica-
tion tower workers in the USA, is
heading this effort. Steve is currently
visiting multiple construction sites
involving steep slopes in order to
gather information and will work with
the committee to prepare draft guide-
lines later this year.
Slope access and safety
evaluation
While there are many jobsite safety
programs, few are available for work-
ing on steep slopes. One of the key
components missing is the recognition
and evaluation of the slope character-
istics as they relate to accessing the
slope with ropes. Slope geometry, site
access, geologic characteristics and
potential hazards need to be identi-
fied. The process of identifying such
features is part of the slope access
and safety evaluation (SASE), which
provides a critical first step to slope
access safety.
The Rope Access Committee drafted a
form for the purpose of standardizing
the collection of information used for
decision making regarding the proper
slope access equipment and systems
Figure 2: CalTrans staff participat-
ing in rope access training program
(Photo credit Bill Gates).
Figure 3: Drilling operations on a steep slope.
