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Recently, three of our Bridge Inspectors – two of whom are also professional engineers – spent a week training for Level 1 Certification from the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT), a professional organization that develops industry standards, education, and training for various forms of rope access and other work-at-height methods.
Rope access is a crucial tool for bridge inspection, providing a method for reaching areas of a bridge that are difficult – or impossible – for trucks, cranes, or ladders to access. This certification enhances our capabilities and can also be utilized by other LDG departments to assist with structural assessments and evaluations of buildings, dams and other infrastructure.
We spoke with Kurt Brungard, LDG Director of Bridge Inspection and Associate Vice President, about the training process and the importance of offering this crucial service to clients across LDG’s diverse portfolio.
Tell us about the training and what it involves – it looks physically demanding.
This training involves four days of intense physical training where participants learn the basic skills of rope access systems such as tying knots, descending and ascending on ropes, rope-to-rope transfers, horizontal aid climbing, anchorage systems, and basic rescues. Much of the training requires participants to be suspended from ropes while performing their tasks. After the training, participants must pass a written test and demonstrate they can perform all tasks required of a Level 1 rope access technician. The rope access evaluation takes most of a day to finish, and all tasks are evaluated by an independent third party.
In what kind of circumstance would a project require rope access methods? Is it common?
For our bridge inspection clients, there are instances where rope access is preferable, including inspection of elements such as tall piers; deep girders or trusses that conventional access equipment cannot fully reach; bridges with weight restrictions that cannot support under-bridge inspection vehicles; bridges in remote locations where mobilization of conventional inspection equipment is cost prohibitive; and the upper chords of tall trusses where man-lifts cannot reach due to structural bracing interference. In many cases, rope access is used in tandem with other bridge inspection access equipment to fully optimize the limited time available on a bridge.
RELATED: Learn more about LDG’s comprehensive Bridge Inspection services
How does this new certification enhance LDG’s multi-disciplined offerings? What other teams can utilize this and how?
Having bridge inspectors certified by SPRAT offers our clients an additional service that only a handful of firms in Pennsylvania offer. Rope access is safe, versatile, efficient and economical, and can also be used for clients outside of the transportation industry. Our three SPRAT certified inspectors are graduate civil/structural engineers and can assist departments with special access needs to evaluate infrastructure such as dams, buildings and facades, storage silos, and towers.
ABOUT LDG
Founded in 1986, LDG is an award-winning, employee-owned architecture, engineering, and consulting firm offering full-service capabilities and a national reach. For more than 30 years, we have been providing an extraordinary breadth and depth of value-driven solutions to our diverse client base and investing in the sustainable business practices and innovative technologies that allow us to pursue our shared vision: creatively shaping our world. For more information, visit About – Larson Design Group.