Petzl Professional 2015 | Page 7

6 DIFFICULT ACCESS AND CONFINED SPACES Difficult access Rope access work environments mostly involve significant heights, sometimes overhanging, and are incompatible with collective protection techniques. The work area is accessed with ropes by specialized operators, trained in rope access techniques. This can be done from the top (safer and simpler to set up), or from below (for example, a leader throws a rope up and around a fixed point, and then climbs up the rope, or uses rock climbing progression techniques). This is also the case for temporary operations where it is not practical to set up collective protection. Confined spaces Work done in confined spaces carries specific additional difficulties related primarily to the lack of space and to the lack of means of autonomous progression. ASAP LOCK ® The ASAP LOCK mobile fall arrester has an integrated locking function that allows the user to immobilize the device to reduce the length of a fall. This function can also be used in very windy conditions to keep the rope from being blown upwards. This system is also undroppable when passing intermediate anchors.