Location: Lindsey Oil Refinery, Immingham
Scope of Work: General rope access support to assist with cable installation and management.
Team Deployment: IRATA-qualified rope access technicians.
Access Method: IRATA rope access techniques.
Overview:
Think Access was engaged by a specialist instrumentation contractor to provide rope access support at an operational oil refinery in Lincolnshire. The task centred on assisting with cable installation work on the south stack, where access via conventional means wasn’t practical. The team worked across multiple days to pull, route and tie cables into the cable tray running up the stack, with all activity controlled through the GetKonnected digital platform and signed off by the site representative daily.
The Challenge:
Working on an active oil refinery introduces a layer of complexity that goes well beyond the physical demands of rope access at height. The site operates under strict permit-to-work controls, requires daily site inductions and the use of specialist PPE including flame retardant coveralls.
The south stack itself presented the obvious challenge: getting operatives and materials to the working level safely and repeatedly across consecutive days, while maintaining a safe exclusion zone below and keeping the works coordinated with the instrumentation team on the ground and at height. Materials were free-issued by the client, so the team needed to work closely with the site to manage the flow of cables and fixings to the work point. All tools and equipment had to be robustly tethered throughout, with no exceptions.
The RAMS for the project required a full rescue plan to be established and briefed before work started each day. Given the environment, the team couldn’t cut corners on that. Working on a stack on a live refinery, you plan the rescue properly or you don’t start.
The Solution:
Think Access deployed a two-person IRATA-qualified team to the site. On arrival each day, operatives completed the site induction process, obtained the relevant permits to work, signed onto the Think Access RAMS and carried out a full pre-task briefing covering scope, hazards, emergency procedures and the rescue plan.
Rope access rigs were set from above the working area on the stack, with exclusion zones established below before any operative went over the edge. The team worked systematically down the stack, pulling cables up to the working level and tying them into the cable tray as directed by the instrumentation contractor. Where additional help was needed at the cable tray level, the team assisted with holding, positioning and securing cables so the installation could progress without the access limitations that would have come from conventional scaffolding or a MEWP on that particular structure.
All daily activity was recorded through the GetKonnected digital platform. The site representative signed off each day on completion, with the Think Access manager completing a full managerial sign-off shortly after. GetKonnected gave a clear, auditable record of who was on site, what was completed and when.
Results:
Think Access delivered rope access support across multiple days at the DRAX Lindsey Oil Refinery, enabling the instrumentation contractor to complete cable installation on the south stack safely and without access-related delays. All works were carried out in line with the project RAMS, site permit requirements and Think Access safe systems of work. The site representative signed off each working day on completion, and full digital records of all activity were retained through the GetKonnected digital platform.
General Rope Access Support at Live Industrial Sites
If you need IRATA-qualified rope access technicians to support your team on a live industrial site, Think Access can deploy safely and quickly with full safety documentation, digital reporting and client sign-off as standard.
