Another day at the office for Height Dynamics rope access team. This particular task involved the removal of product built up on the walls inside a 33 metre high silo. The instability of the product adhered to the silo walls meant that accessing the silo through the base of the silo created an unacceptable risk. The likelihood of engulfment also made evacuation difficult in the case of a rescue.
The silo is considered a confined space and accessing using industrial rope access is of a highly technical nature. The rigging and safe operation must only be performed by trained and skilled technicians. Timely evacuation of personnel also needed to be considered.
It was clear from the start that using rope access to clear the product from the top down was the safest way to remove the build up. Height Dynamics team used industrial rope access techniques to enter from the hatch at the top of the silo. The product was then shovelled by hand into the outlet chute with no risk of it collapsing.
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To assist accessing the silo the team used a Ferno Arachnipod to create a high point. This, combined with a Harken Access Winch with an electric drill adaptor created a system to lower and raise personnel in and out of the silo. The winch also meant that evacuation in the case of an emergency would be an efficient process.
Height Dynamics rope access team worked with our customer to ensure that the removal of the product occurred effectively. Not only did this mean limited downtime to the operation of the processing plant but, most importantly, reduced the likelihood of an incident caused by collapse or engulfment.