New facility to open in May 2023 for IRATA rope access certification and other instruction.

There is an old saying expressed by teachers, authors, and comedians alike that no one is actually afraid of heights. They are afraid of falling.

Fear or no fear, working at heights is critical in a wide swath of industries such as construction, communications, and utilities, and applications from mounting billboards to servicing wind turbines. To help ensure that workers are properly instructed not to fall—or can be rescued from a fall—Kee Safety introduces a full suite of fall protection and other safety training programs. It is grounded in IRATA Rope Access Training and will be in full swing with the opening of a dedicated new training facility in Calgary, Alberta, as of May 2023.

A veteran of the fall protection industry since 1998, Martin Castle formed his own training company in 2008 in the U.K. In 2020, Kee Safety acquired his business, and Martin Castle joined the company’s training division. He is now tasked with launching comprehensive training programs and facilities throughout North America, starting with on-site programs in Canada and the new facility in Calgary.

Although railings, scaffolding, lanyards and harnesses have been in use for ages, the discipline of fall protection started to come into its own in the 1990s as Kee Safety and others began to introduce more sophisticated and specialized fall protection systems and equipment.

The Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) was established in the U.K. in the late 1980s by oil and gas companies using rope access to provide worker safety on offshore oil rigs. Rope access techniques developed by IRATA are now the worldwide inspection, maintenance, and repair standard.

“The oil and gas industry is the trendsetter. Whatever they do for rope access training flows to all other industries,” Martin Castle said. He added that the strength of the oil and gas industry in Alberta is a compelling reason to locate the first North American Kee Safety training site in Calgary. In that respect, Alberta is typically on the leading edge of rope access and fall protection standards and regulations in Canada.

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