Most people are familiar with the cradles used on large offices. However, most buildings don’t have them and sometimes it’s not possible to fit them, therefore the only safe way of doing it is to use fall arrest equipment which allows our window cleaning team access to the external face of a window from inside or on top of a building.

Abseiling activities are robustly supervised by highly trained PLA Facilities Management experts, all of whom are Level 3 supervisors, trained to IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) standards. All our abseilers are also trained to IRATA standards. All employees are fully trained and experienced in using rescue kits and can also administer emergency first aid.

Before any job gets underway a full site-specific risk assessment is carried out and a method statement is provided. A rescue plan must be in place. Eyebolts are used to anchor the abseilers – it is sometimes the case that clients may not have an anchor or the correct equipment installed on site. In that case PLA Facilities Management has portable anchor equipment that is used. Clients must ensure that all eyebolts are tested on a 6-monthly basis.