Get More Out of Rope Access - Be the Best You can

How a slight change in personal attitudes can make the world of diffference to your Rope Access career


I don't read as much as I should, and I almost never recommend books, but one book that I think should be standard reading for anyone who wants to get in to rope access is: The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

You don't have to agree with with every point this books makes for it to change your perspective on (your work) life. Maybe take it as a large bitter pill of contemporary reality if you may, but the statistics and stories that are presented by this book deliver a knockout punch to anyone who thinks that they are immune to the pressures of the international job market. Rope access is at the epicenter of this job market by default due to the ever emerging worldwide offshore rope access requirements. As rope access is becoming universally accepted as a safer and more efficient (not only financially- those bed spaces that large scaffold teams take up offshore have more of an implication to the overall rig performance than we realize) option to accomplish work at height it will become a known and expected part of offshore installations worldwide. With that come the technicians of the world.

We all owe the North Sea credit for being here in the same light that the world owes the Wright Brothers recognition for flight. Respect and reverence, but only in a historical sense. Sir Richard Branson is not going to give any USA airline any slack when he is establishing a new intercontinental route. Air travel is an extremely competitive industry that requires investment and innovation (Government handouts notwithstanding) to stay at the front. Rope access is the same.

My opinion is that the only way forward is to be the best. Offering companies a specialization is an excellent way forward. Another way is if you paint, be the best painter that you can be. Don't complain about things that the company can't control, they don't want daily emails about how the food is not edible on board. It takes a great deal of effort to get ahead offshore, and it will not get any easier any time soon.

Article written by Josh - originally submitted to the forum at rigg-access.com