When can I upgrade?
Under both the IRATA and the SPRAT certification schemes there are rules and procedures in place for technicians who wish to upgrade to a higher level. There is often some confusion around these requirements and as such I will outline what you need to know.
In the IRATA system a technician must spend a minimum of one year and log 1,000 industrial rope access hours before they are eligible for an upgrade. These hours must be properly presented in an IRATA Logbook and you can find details of what you can log by clicking here.
Then the technician must complete a 30 hour IRATA training course with a Training Member Company over a minimum of four days before passing an independent assessment conducted by an IRATA Assessor.
It is very important to understand that you must spend a whole year at your current level as a minimum. You cannot assess for an upgrade on the same day a year later as your original assessment, it must be a least one year and one day.
A technician's current certification must be in date throughout all the training days and on the assessment day to be eligble.
In the SPRAT system a technician becomes eligible for upgrading to the next level once they have spent a minimum of six months and logged 500 hours of rope access. These hours should be presented in a SPRAT logbook but can also be supplied in other formats.
A techncian must then pass an independent evaluation conducted by a SPRAT Evaluator.
Currently SPRAT technicians can upgrade even with an expired certificate as long as they have met the other requirements.
If you have any questions about upgrading feel free to contact us at training@altiusts.com.
Full Member of the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association - IRATA
EMS Safety - Emergency Care Training Certified Instructor
Corporate Member of The Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians - SPRAT
We live by our company motto of "Altius, Velocius, Tutius - Higher, Faster, Safer" in all aspects of our work, both operationally and in the training we provide.
