Rope Access techniques are relatively new in the Netherlands and Belgium. Abroad, however, there is more experience in this area. In Great Britain, for example, people have been working with these techniques for over 20 years and a sophisticated training, registration and quality system has been developed under the name IRATA. The IRATA guidelines, which were developed in collaboration with the British Labor Inspectorate (HSE), are now seen all over the world as the standard for the use of Rope Access techniques.

Statistics show that within the petrochemical industry the Rope Access technicians (who already work in this sector according to these guidelines) have the lowest risk of all employees!