TPS Height Access Services

Each access method has a sweet spot. Rope access (abseiling) mobilises fast, needs no ground footprint, and suits inspection, maintenance, sealing, glazing and cleaning tasks on mid-to-high-rise buildings – usually at significantly lower cost than scaffold for short-duration work. Scaffolding suits long-duration, heavy-material work (recladding, major facade repairs) where many trades need sustained access, but costs accumulate through hire weeks and consent/footpath requirements. Elevated work platforms (EWPs) suit short tasks at moderate heights with good ground access. The right answer often combines methods across a project’s phases. In New Zealand, rope access work should be performed by technicians qualified under IRAANZ/IRATA-recognised standards. TPS operates IRAANZ/IRATA-qualified rope access teams and can advise which method – or mix – fits your scope before you commit to the most expensive option by default.

High-rise maintenance typically needs several access capabilities across a year: external building and facade inspections, window and exterior cleaning, sealing and remedial repairs, gutter and roof work, and the systems that make all of it safe – certified anchor points, davits or building maintenance units (BMUs), and documented access plans. The efficient approach is treating access as a programme rather than per-job: one provider who knows the building, holds its access documentation, and schedules work to share access costs across tasks. New buildings and refurbishments should design access in early – retrofitting anchors and BMUs costs far more than planning them. The TPS team provides height access services covering everything from routine maintenance through to access system design, testing and certification, plus more bespoke solutions for things like tourism attractions as well.

In New Zealand, industrial rope access technicians should hold current certification recognised by SRANZ (Scaffolding Rigging Association New Zealand) – typically IRATA (International Rope Access Trade Association) or equivalent qualifications with levels from technician through to supervisor – and work under documented rope access plans with appropriate supervision ratios. When engaging a provider, ask for: technicians’ certification levels and currency, the company’s SRANZ/IRATA rope qualifications, rescue planning (a legal and practical necessity for suspended work), equipment inspection records, and their safe work method statements for your specific job. TPS is a certified SRANZ member and operates IRAANZ-IRATA qualified rope technicians with documented safety systems, and is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accredited.

Roof anchor points used for rope access and fall arrest must be inspected and/or load-tested periodically – in New Zealand, annual testing and certification is the accepted industry standard, with inspection also required after any event that could affect integrity (such as seismic activity or building works near the anchors). Uncertified anchors have real consequences: contractors can legitimately refuse to work, insurance and liability exposure increases, and window cleaning or maintenance simply stops until certification is current. Owners should hold an anchor register with locations, last test dates and certificates, and build recertification into the annual maintenance calendar rather than discovering it when a contractor turns up. TPS tests and certifies anchor points as per AS/NZS 1891 parts 1-4, AS 1891, AS/NZS 4488 parts 1 & 2, and other height access systems (BMUs – Building Maintenance Units – as per the Building WoF and compliance schedule), and can set up the register and recall cycle for you.

Under New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act, a building owner is a PCBU with overlapping duties when contractors work at height on their building: you must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the workplace itself doesn’t endanger them. Practically, that means providing safe, certified access systems (anchors, BMUs, walkways, ladders, handrails and edge protection barriers) where the building has them, sharing known hazards (fragile surfaces, live services), checking contractors are competent and certified for height work, and not pressuring work to proceed in unsafe conditions. You can’t contract these duties away – hiring a contractor doesn’t transfer your responsibility, it adds theirs. A practical starting point is a height safety audit of the building’s access provisions. TPS provides height access safety auditing alongside certified access services.

A Building Maintenance Unit (BMU) is the permanently installed access equipment on tall buildings – typically a roof-mounted cradle or davit system on a track – that lowers technicians down the facade to clean windows, inspect cladding and carry out maintenance safely. Because a BMU is a piece of overhead lifting and life-safety equipment, it must be regularly inspected, tested and certified to stay safe and compliant, and its anchor and restraint systems checked. Maintenance covers the mechanical and electrical components, safety devices, ropes and cradle, plus load testing at defined intervals. A neglected BMU is both a safety risk and a compliance failure, and it can leave a building with no safe way to access its facade. TPS maintains, inspects and operates height access systems including BMUs, and provides the rope-access alternatives where a BMU is unavailable or impractical. Specific certification intervals are AS 1418.15, AS 2550.15, BS 6037.1:2017 and BS 6037.2 for travelling ladders and gantries: four inspections per year, two major (annual and six-monthly) and two minor (quarterly). BMUs must be on the building’s compliance schedule for the BWoF and signed off by an IQP for SS10.

Thomas Croft is a registered IQP (IQP110341).

Height access should be designed into a new building or major refurbishment from the start, because retrofitting safe access later is expensive and often compromised. Early design decisions determine how the facade, roof, plant and glazing will be cleaned, inspected and maintained for the building’s whole life – whether through a BMU, davit arms and roof anchors for rope access, walkways, or a combination. Designing it in means specifying certified anchor points, fall-protection systems and access routes that match the building’s geometry, getting them installed and certified during construction, and documenting them. Done well, it makes ongoing maintenance safe, cheaper and possible without disruption; done as an afterthought, buildings end up with facades that cannot be safely accessed. Engaging a height access specialist at design stage is the key. TPS advises on height access design and installs and certifies the anchor and access systems buildings need. Project examples include Com Bay Precinct, Eden Park Rooftop Tour, NZ Fire Service, Middlemore DHB, HSBC, Spark Arena, Spencer on Byron, Mota and Auckland Motorways.

Certified height access provision varies a lot across New Zealand – many providers are small regional abseil crews, strong on cleaning but without engineering or certification capability. When work spans cities or needs more than cleaning (inspections, remedial repairs, access system design and certification), look for: certified (Level 3 rope access) qualified technicians with documented safety systems, capability beyond ropes (trades, engineering, project management for what the access reveals), and genuine coverage where your buildings are. The advantage of a provider that combines height access with maintenance trades: the team that finds the defect can also fix it, under one safety system and one account. The TPS height access team operates throughout New Zealand and sits alongside TPS’s maintenance trades and project management. All systems should have a minimum of a PS3 from the installer, and any work done under a building consent should have a PS1, PS3 and PS4.

Yes – most building maintenance at height can be done without closing the building, which is one of the main advantages of rope access and well-planned height work. A small certified team working on ropes can clean, inspect and repair a facade while the building stays occupied and trading, with work scheduled around peak times and exclusion zones managed below. This avoids the disruption, cost and lost revenue of closing or heavily scaffolding a building. The keys are proper planning – drop zones, public safety below, scheduling, and clear communication with tenants – and a provider experienced in working over live, occupied environments. Some heavy or hazardous work may need restricted access or out-of-hours timing, but full closure is rarely necessary. TPS routinely carries out height maintenance on occupied commercial buildings with minimal disruption, managing safety below and scheduling around your operations.

A height safety audit for a commercial building is a structured assessment of everything to do with working at height on that building – so owners know their facade, roof and plant can be accessed and maintained safely and compliantly. It typically reviews the existing anchor points, fall-protection systems and access equipment (and whether they are certified and in date), the methods needed to reach each part of the building, the risks and gaps, and what is required to bring access up to standard. The output is a documented register of access systems and a prioritised list of any remedial work. It matters because building owners carry duties for safe work at height, and an audit turns an unknown liability into a managed one. TPS carries out height safety audits, documents the building’s access systems, and certifies or remediates anchor points and fall-protection equipment. Specific certifications are BWoF, AS/NZS 4488 parts 1 & 2, AS/NZS 1891 parts 1-4, and AS/NZS 1657:1992 for fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders (design, construction and installation).

Confined space work – entering tanks, ducts, risers, pits, plant rooms and similar enclosed spaces – is tightly controlled in New Zealand because these spaces carry serious risks: oxygen deficiency, toxic atmospheres, engulfment and restricted escape. The rules (under health and safety law and the relevant standard, AS/NZS 2865) require that confined space entry is done only by trained, competent people, with a permit system, atmospheric testing, ventilation, a standby person, rescue arrangements and the right equipment. It is not work for untrained general trades. For building owners and managers, the duty is to ensure anyone doing confined space work on site is properly trained and that the controls are in place. This is general guidance, not legal advice. TPS carries out confined space work with trained technicians and the permit, testing and rescue controls the rules require. Specific certifications are confined space entry, gas detection, and rescue planning for confined space entry.