Some inspections can only be reached on a rope: the underside of a bridge deck, a wind turbine blade, the outside of a storage tank, a platform leg offshore. If an NDT job advertises "rope access required," it means a separate certification on top of your NDT one.
What rope access is
Industrial rope access is a way of reaching and working at height using ropes, harnesses and specialist hardware, instead of scaffolding, lifts or cranes. Technicians normally work on two independently anchored ropes, a working line and a backup line, so that a single failure does not lead to a fall. Set up well, it is fast, leaves little footprint, and costs far less than building access to a spot you only need to reach for a day.
Rope access is used well beyond NDT: concrete and facade repair, painting and coatings, window cleaning, geotechnical work, and film and photography, among others.
Why it matters to inspectors
Much of NDT exists because something failed. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River between West Virginia and Ohio collapsed, killing 46 people. The investigation led Congress to require national bridge inspection standards, and the Federal Highway Administration's National Bridge Inspection Standards have governed bridge inspection ever since, most recently updated in 2022. Many of the places those inspections have to reach are exactly where rope access earns its keep.
Who certifies rope access workers
Two organizations set most of the certification schemes you will see on job postings:
- SPRAT, the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians, a non-profit based in the United States and the scheme most North American employers ask for.
- IRATA International, the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association, based in the United Kingdom and widely used worldwide, including offshore.
Both use three levels, and both require training followed by an independent assessment. The rest of this article follows SPRAT; if a job asks for IRATA, check IRATA's own scheme, because its hours, logbook and validity rules are its own.
Rope access and NDT certifications are separate
Your NDT levels and your rope access levels have nothing to do with each other. A Level III with twenty years in ultrasonics still starts rope access at Level 1, because NDT training does not teach rigging, rope-to-rope transfers or rescue. The two certifications are used together, but each proves a different skill.
SPRAT levels in brief
| Level | Before you can evaluate | What the level does |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Rope access training. No previous rope experience is needed. | Works on rope under the supervision of a Level 3: ascending, descending, moving between ropes, and basic self-rescue. |
| Level 2 | Logged experience as a certified Level 1, typically at least six months and 500 hours on rope. | Rigs working systems, including anchors, and carries out rescues of another technician. |
| Level 3 | Logged experience as a certified Level 2, typically at least six months and 500 more hours, with at least 1,000 hours in total. | Plans the work, supervises the rope access team, and is responsible for site safety and rescue planning. |
Hours are only counted once you are certified, so the levels are taken in order.
At every level, a SPRAT evaluator assesses you with a written test and a hands-on performance test. SPRAT requires training before your first certification at any level. Certifications are valid for three years, and recertifying within the six months before expiry gives you a new three-year term from the old expiry date.
SPRAT released a new version of its Certification Requirements for Rope Access Work in April 2024. The figures above reflect SPRAT's published requirements at the time of our review, but details such as logbook rules, rescue requirements and any other prerequisites for each level are set by that document. Read the current version on sprat.org before you book an evaluation.
What the skills look like
A Level 1 learns to move safely on rope: knots and hitches, ascending and descending, passing knots and deviations, changing from one rope to another, and rescuing themselves. A Level 2 adds rigging, including building anchors and tensioned systems, and rescuing a casualty. A Level 3 looks at the whole job: the work plan, the rescue plan, and the safety of everyone on the ropes.
None of this replaces your NDT skill. Rope access is simply how you get your body, and your equipment, to the place that needs inspecting, and back again.
Need NDT at height?
Midgard Scientific provides NDT for bridges, structures and industrial sites. If you have an inspection that is hard to reach, tell us about it.