High rise buildings are often beautiful and inspiring structures that employees and customers alike enjoy; but they will only be this way for as long as the building is properly maintained.

There are many specific maintenance tasks on a high rise that need to be regularly accomplished, including window cleaning, inspections and even structural repair. When the building is very tall, though, it becomes a little more difficult.

There are challenges that arise simply from the maintenance solutions that are set up to help. These pitfalls include the cost of maintenance, the obtrusiveness of equipment required and the security risks.

Maintenance shouldn’t be this difficult.

Common Options For Maintenance

There are a few ways that maintenance for a high rise can be accomplished.

Cherry pickers and scaffolding are the most commonly used methods to get high access. These require equipment to be set up and will often block pavements and parking areas. The cherry picker uses a crane to bring a technician closer to the building. It is a slow process that is often ineffective because the platform that they stand in blocks areas that need to be cleaned and may ultimately be missed.

Scaffolding will often require permits before setting up and can take weeks to just set up and break down. They both also pose major safety and security risks.

Rope Access For Building Maintenance

Many companies don’t consider rope access for maintenance. However it is the safest and most secure way to have building maintenance accomplished quickly and affordably.With rope access, there are no problems, just solutions.

It works because the abseiling technicians don’t bring any major equipment to get the job done. They are secured with two ropes, each of them anchored separately to eyebolts on the building. Several technicians work at once and are always close at hand in the event of an emergency. They are all trained and certified by the International Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA).

The technicians will come in and take care of the maintenance that is needed, be it cleaning, repairs, or general maintenance. Brooks further explains, “At the end of the day with Rope Access, you pull up your ropes and you were never there. The disruption is a big thing. You don’t have to block roads and take up parking spaces.”

Rope access allows a building to keep the traffic going in and out of the building with minimal safety risks and security risks. It’s as simple as the technicians arriving; they have all of their tools attached to them and they work down from the top of the building instead of the bottom so that there are no disruptions to the area. There are no trip hazards and no ground level obstructions.

There’s nothing left behind with rope access. With scaffolding, it stays up for weeks if not months. And the work isn’t going on twenty-four hours, so it just stays in place. Hiring a security guard to monitor the building is just another cost on top of what you are already paying and is an unnecessary cost.

Scaffolding isn’t a viable option compared to professional skilled abseilers that work down the building using rope access.

Costs Of Maintenance

One of the main pitfalls of maintaining a modern high rise is the costs of all of the maintenance work. Especially in this economy, companies want to save as much money as possible. The only way to do that is to eliminate most of the costs.

Consider what you are paying for when you hire a scaffolding company. You pay for the permits, the scaffolding itself, the setup and breakdown of the scaffolding and then for the installers. That adds up to a lot of money, most of which is completely unneeded.

Finding Rope Access Companies

Rope access companies are becoming more recognised and in demand. The rope access industry is overseen by IRATA and no fatal accidents have occurred in the UK since they’ve been tracking incidents. As a result, more maintenance companies are offering rope access solutions.

When you look for a rope access company, however, you want to ensure that the technicians are trained in what you need. They’ll be able to ascend and descend the high rise with no problem, but if you want more than just windows washed, you need to make sure the technicians have that skill set.

Sussex Rope Access has been in this business for years and specialises in many different skilled trades. This is important so that the building maintenance program gets the attention it deserves, regardless of whether it’s cleaning, structural repairs, painting your building or any other aspect of maintenance that your high rise needs.

Choosing rope access over any other method for getting the job done will help you to overcome the pitfalls of maintenance. The outcome is a better quality job at a significantly lesser cost. There is no need to take the chance with safety and security. The job will be done quickly with minimum interruption so that you can get on with your business knowing that your building maintenance is taken care of.