IRATA Accreditation

IRATA accreditation: why it matters when choosing a rope access company

When you’re planning work at height—whether that’s inspection, maintenance, painting, repairs, surveys, or renewables access—your biggest risk isn’t “getting the job done”. It’s how the job is done: the planning, the competence of the technicians, the rescue capability, and the safety management system behind the scenes.

That’s exactly why IRATA accreditation has become the global benchmark for industrial rope access.

At Dangle, we’re proud to be Belfast’s only IRATA-accredited rope access company, delivering both rope access services and IRATA training from our Belfast facility.  And crucially: you don’t have to take anyone’s word for it—IRATA provides public tools to verify both member companies and individual technicians.

In this post, we’ll break down what IRATA accreditation really means, why it’s so important for rope access work, and how to choose the safest, most reliable provider for your project.

What is IRATA accreditation?

IRATA International is widely recognised as the leading global association for industrial rope access. In plain terms, IRATA accreditation is a quality and safety framework that covers:

• How rope access work is planned and managed
• How technicians are trained, assessed and certified
• How member companies are audited to maintain standards
• How rescue preparedness is embedded into every job

IRATA’s approach is built around its International Code of Practice (ICOP)—a detailed set of operational principles for safe rope access work, referenced throughout IRATA training and member systems. 

IRATA accreditation is not just “a ticket”

A common misconception is that rope access safety is mainly about the individual technician’s certificate. Competent technicians are essential—but IRATA accreditation goes further, because it also focuses on the company system that supports safe work.

That includes documentation, supervision, equipment systems, job planning, rescue planning, and ongoing auditing.

IRATA technician certification vs IRATA-accredited companies

To understand why choosing an IRATA-accredited company is so important, it helps to separate two things:

1) IRATA-certified technicians

Technicians are trained and assessed at Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3, and must work within the scope of their qualification.

2) IRATA member companies (operators and/or trainers)

IRATA member companies are organisations that must meet membership requirements and pass audits. 

This is a key point for clients:

You can sometimes find “rope access technicians” who claim experience—but without an IRATA-accredited company behind them, you may not have the same assurance around planning, supervision, rescue capability, and safety governance.

IRATA even publishes guidance on how to verify a member company. 

Why IRATA accreditation matters for rope access work

1) Because rope access is high-risk, and UK law expects risk to be reduced properly

Work at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatal and serious injury in construction, and the UK’s regulatory approach is clear: work at height must be properly assessed, planned, and controlled. 

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require, among other duties, that work is avoided at height where reasonably practicable, and that appropriate measures are used when work at height can’t be avoided. 

That’s important because rope access is sometimes misunderstood as the “default” for any difficult location. In reality, professional rope access should be used when it’s an appropriate, planned access method—not a shortcut.

IRATA-accredited companies are far more likely to demonstrate:

• structured risk assessment
• documented method statements
• competent supervision
• planned rescue provisions
• controlled equipment systems

2) Because rescue is not optional

In rope access, every job must consider “what happens if…?” - fatigue, equipment issues, medical events, dropped objects, changing weather, or a casualty suspended on the ropes.

IRATA places significant emphasis on rescue planning within its ICOP framework and ongoing updates (including dedicated annexes for rescue and evacuation planning). 

In practical terms, IRATA accreditation supports a culture where:

• rescue is built into the method (not bolted on afterwards)
• the team has defined roles
• time-to-rescue is considered
• equipment selection supports routine work and emergency response

3) Because IRATA is independently accredited (UKAS / ISO 17024)

A major marker of credibility is independent oversight. IRATA’s technician certification scheme has been granted accreditation to ISO/IEC 17024 by United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). 

Why does this matter?

• ISO/IEC 17024 is an internationally recognised standard for certification of persons.
• UKAS accreditation provides external assurance that the certification scheme meets defined competency and governance expectations.
• IRATA has also publicly reported successful surveillance auditing to this standard. 

For clients, that translates into stronger confidence that “IRATA-certified” has real weight behind it—not just marketing.

4) Because IRATA member companies are audited (and expected to run a system)

IRATA publishes membership requirements and step-by-step guidance for operator/trainer membership, including staged auditing. 

While clients don’t need to know every audit detail, the “so what?” is simple:

• IRATA accreditation encourages consistent, repeatable safe systems
• It reduces reliance on “one good technician”
• It creates accountability at company level
• It supports continuous improvement and shared learning

5) Because it reduces operational disruption (not just safety risk)

Clients often choose rope access because it can be fast to mobilise and can reduce disruption compared to large access solutions. The UK regulator recognises advantages of rope access in certain contexts, such as speed of access and minimal impact on operations. 

However, those advantages only hold if the work is:

• properly planned
• properly supervised
• efficiently executed
• supported by the right equipment and rescue capability

IRATA accreditation supports the systems that make rope access efficient and safe—because chaotic rope access is neither safe nor fast.

How to verify IRATA accreditation (company and technician)

One of the most practical reasons IRATA is trusted is transparency: verification tools exist.

Verify the company

IRATA explains how to check a member company and its membership reference via the member directory. 

You can also view Dangle Academy’s listing on the IRATA directory here:

• Dangle Academy Ltd on the IRATA member directory 

(At time of writing, the listing shows Dangle Academy as Probationary Operator and Probationary Trainer in Belfast. )

Verify the technician

IRATA provides a public tool to validate a technician’s certification details. 

• IRATA “Verify a Technician” tool

This matters because it’s one thing for someone to say they’re qualified—and another for you to independently confirm it.

Why choosing an IRATA-accredited company protects your project (not just your people)

Let’s bring this back to real-world outcomes that matter to clients, duty holders, and project managers.

Better compliance evidence

When things go wrong, paperwork suddenly matters. Even when things go right, good documentation protects you:

• risk assessments and method statements
• equipment inspection records
• competence records
• rescue plans
• supervision arrangements

An IRATA-accredited company is far more likely to produce robust documentation aligned with recognised frameworks.

Reduced “grey area” decision-making on site

Work at height often changes quickly—conditions shift, access changes, scope grows arms and legs. Strong systems reduce improvisation, because there’s a known process for:

• change control
• stop-work decisions
• reassessment
• escalation to supervision/technical authority

Confidence for procurement and governance

If you’re managing supplier lists, tender scoring, or contractor control, IRATA accreditation becomes a meaningful differentiator. It’s an external standard with verification, not a self-awarded badge.

IRATA accreditation in Belfast: why local capability matters

If your project is in Belfast or across Northern Ireland, choosing a genuinely IRATA-accredited company based locally has practical benefits:

• faster mobilisation
• reduced travel and logistics costs
• local knowledge of common site environments (industrial, marine, renewables, built environment)
• easier coordination for surveys, scoping visits, and follow-on works

Dangle positions itself as Belfast’s only IRATA-accredited industrial rope access company, delivering both rope access services and IRATA training from Belfast. 

If you want to explore what we do, these pages are a good starting point:

• Rope access services in Belfast 
• Rope access training courses (Levels 1–3) 
• IRATA Rope Access Level 1 course guide (syllabus + FAQs) 
• Rope access equipment guide (standards, inspection, selection) 

A practical checklist: how to choose the right rope access provider

If you’re comparing rope access companies, here’s a straightforward checklist you can use.

A) Verify IRATA membership and technician validity

• Ask for the company’s IRATA membership reference and verify it via the directory link above. 
• Verify the technicians via IRATA’s tool, again provided above. 

B) Ask about rescue capability (and get specifics)

• Who is the appointed supervisor (often a IRATA Level 3)?
• What is the rescue plan for this environment?
• What is the target time-to-rescue?
• What equipment is dedicated for rescue vs work?

C) Look for evidence of planning quality

• Do they provide clear and task specific RAMS (Risk Assesment, Method Statement)?
• Do they document access, exclusions, dropped object controls, and emergency arrangements?
• Do they assess whether rope access is the right method (aligned with HSE hierarchy expectations)? 

D) Confirm the scope matches the team’s capability

If you’re doing specialist tasks (coatings inspection, blade repair, leading edge protection, surveys), you want the right supporting competence—not just access skills.

Relevant examples of specialist capability pages include:

• Wind turbine leading edge protection (LEP) 
• UAV / drone inspection and LiDAR in Belfast 
• Rope access paint application and protective coatings

Authoritative references

If you want to go deeper on best practice and legal expectations, these are solid sources:

• IRATA membership requirements: IRATA membership requirements 
• IRATA technician verification: Verify a Technician 
• IRATA member verification guidance: How to verify an IRATA member 
• IRATA ICOP (Code of Practice): ICOP PDF (English) 
• HSE planning work at height: HSE step-by-step guide 
• HSE on work at height assessment and hierarchy: HSE: Assessing all work at height 
• UK legislation: Work at Height Regulations 2005 
• IRATA UKAS accreditation announcement: IRATA ISO/IEC 17024 (UKAS) 

Bringing it all together: what IRATA accreditation 

really gives you

When you choose an IRATA-accredited rope access company, you’re not only hiring people who can work on ropes—you’re choosing a provider aligned to a recognised system of:

• competence and assessment
• operational planning and discipline
• rescue preparedness
• continuous improvement and audit accountability
• verifiable membership and credentials

And there’s another big reason it matters: insurance and risk. For many clients, insurers and principal contractors, IRATA membership is a clear, independently verifiable marker of operational control. That can reduce uncertainty around how work at height is being managed - because IRATA accreditation isn’t just a certificate, it’s a framework that covers competence, supervision, rescue planning, equipment management and ongoing auditing.

In practice, that means fewer “unknowns” for duty holders and a stronger basis for demonstrating that appropriate controls are in place.

While every insurer and project will assess risk differently, choosing an IRATA-accredited provider can support:

• contractor assurance during tendering and supplier approval
• lower operational risk exposure through audited systems and defined rescue capability
• better compliance evidence (RAMS, competence records, equipment inspections) if an incident occurs
• confidence for stakeholders (clients, H&S teams, site managers) that rope access is being delivered to a recognised global standard

In short: IRATA accreditation helps you buy down risk - not only in how the job is carried out on the day, but also in the wider governance and assurance that sits behind safe rope access operations.

In an industry where mistakes can be catastrophic, that’s not a “nice to have”. It’s the baseline for professional rope access.

If you’re planning rope access works in Belfast or across Northern Ireland, explore:

• Dangle's rope access services and areas
• Learn more about Dangle
• Contact Dangle

And if you’re currently comparing providers, use the verification tools above, because the safest contractor is the one whose claims you can independently confirm.

If you’d like a real-world example of why accredited rope access systems matter, wind is a great case study. Turbine work needs tight planning, strong rescue provision and consistent standards—especially when access windows are short and conditions can change quickly. We recently covered this in our latest post on wind turbine cleaning, which explains how professional rope access teams approach cleaning safely and efficiently as part of long-term asset maintenance.