Our new Certificate in Public Safety (Limited Rope Access) certification is now available.
Aimed at public safety professionals who need simple rope access skills to descend and ascend to perform search, inspection, patient access, surveillance and other related functions, the new IPSQA Limited Rope Access certification bridges the gap between height safety and traditional industrial rope access certifications.
The Certificate in Public Safety (Limited Rope Access) [CertPubS®(LRA)] requires the successful completion of three parts:
- Part A: Supervised multi-choice examination
- Part B: Practical skills assessment
- Part C: Completion of logbook requiring minimum hours and activities
Part A and B tests candidates against a range of knowledge and skill requirements including:
- Health and safety
- Safe systems for working at height
- Rope access hazards and risk management
- Rope access equipment
- Anchoring and rigging principles
- Simple load-sharing anchors
- Rigging of working and safety lines
- Common knots in rope access
- Descender operation
- Ascender operation
- Backup device operation
- Change overs
- Executing emergency plans
- Inspection and record keepings
Part A: A standardized online exam is used as part of the assessment (Part A) and available in over 50 languages and tested under the supervision of a proctor. Accredited Testing Centres (ATCs) may also develop their own examination and subject it for moderation and approval by IPSQA (a fee applies).
Part B: As an ISO17024:2023 compliant certification product, the skill assessment is undertaken by an independent assessor (see below for minimum assessor requirements). The assessment is not associated with any proprietary training, allowing agencies to deliver pre-assessment training as they best determine, let it be in-house or outsourced to a provider – how candidates get ready for assessment is up to you.
Part C: The candidate must also complete a prescribed logbook within 6 months and submit to IPSQA for assessment by a different assessor (assigned by IPSQA), not domiciled in the same country as the candidate as part of our Foreign Interference Protection (FIP) protocol which is unique to IPSQA.
Though the certification is aimed at public safety practitioners such as those from law enforcement, ambulance, search and rescue etc, subject to meeting any local regulatory requirements, other professionals such as engineers may also find the certification beneficial.
For candidates needing to use skills outside the scope of this certification such as passing anchors and deviations, aid climbing and lead climbing, we recommend undertaking assessment under traditional industrial rope access schemes such as those offered by IRATA.
For height safety certification such as for basic harness use and fall protection, IPSQA offers Height Safety I and Height Safety II certification products under our CorePass program.
For candidates seeking certification for tactical rope operations and technical rope rescue, IPSQA offers a range of other certification products including:
- IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (Steep Angle Operator)
- IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (High Angle Operator)
- IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (High Angle Technician)
- IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (Tactical Rope Operator)
- IPSQA ProQual: NFPA1006 Rope Rescue Operator
- IPSQA ProQual: NFPA1006 Rope Rescue Technician
Working under an Accredited Testing Centre, assessors for this new certificate must complete the IPSQA Assessor (ISO17024:2012) course and hold one of the following:
- IRATA Level 3 Technician (Supervisor)
- IPSQA Certificate in Public Safety (High Angle Technician)
Candidates must demonstrate skills consistently with approved references such as the text Professional Rope Access: A guide to working safely at height (McCurley, 2016).
Contact us or your local Accredited Testing Centre for further information.