What is now commonly referred to as the Rope Access Industry, can be said to have commenced in South Africa during the late '80s when Johannesburg rock climbers used their climbing experience and equipment to clean windows on high-rise buildings. This activity rapidly gained acceptance and now the practice is common in most SA cities and many industrial sites both on and off-shore.
During the 90's it became apparent that the young industry's reliance on skills gained in recreational climbing were no longer a viable substitute for recognized standards. As a result the South African Industrial Rope Access Association (SAIRAA) was founded by approximately 20 parties involved in the rope access industry. The initial mandate of this body was to create a forum for the growing local industry, to assist in the writing of the SABS standards and fulfil a certification role for the training of technicians in accordance with these standards.
SAIRAA fulfilled these requirements until 2005 when it again became clear that change would be required to accommodate the growth of the work at height industry as a whole, in particular the fall arrest sector.
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The challenge was to adapt our system to accommodate this growth without compromising the existing standards. At the same time it made sense to align the training and certification system with the country's developing National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
As a result SAIRAA changed its name to RAFAA (Rope Access and Fall Arrest Association) to enable the direct involvement of the fall arrest industry and began the process of establishing SAQA recognized unit standards for rope access and fall arrest. Through the fortunate involvement and support from the Services Seta there are currently 8 unit standards in rope access and fall arrest registered on the National Qualifications Framework.
Gravitek uses only qualified access technicians, trained in accordance with the above mentioned standards.
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