Inspection, repair, maintenance all bread-and-butter work for Skyriders
November 2021
News
What do a leisure complex, a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre and a major food-processing plant have in common? These are all unusual projects where leading rope access specialist, Skyriders Access Specialists, was called upon to carry out a range of inspection, repair and maintenance services.
“This is a major growth area for us, especially as ordinary maintenance schedules still have to be adhered to for maximum productivity and efficiency, despite the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” comments marketing manager, Mike Zinn.
Skyriders is able to field small, flexible and dynamic teams that can offer a range of services while being fully compliant with all Covid-19 regulations. “Building a massive scaffold structure takes considerable labour, while rope access only requires a small team,” explains Zinn. “The same applies to our drone department, where a two-person team can visually inspect the entire furnace area of a boiler without the need for scaffolding.”
While the Montecasino leisure complex has its own maintenance team and specialised contractors, it sometimes encounters specific issues that require work at height and in a confined space, which is where Skyriders’ expertise is best applied.
Recent work undertaken at Montecasino was to replace an anchor system on a bell tower, used to suspend advertising banners. Due to wear and tear, some of the anchors had started to come loose and the whole system therefore had to be inspected for safety reasons. Rope access meant that this could be done without extensive scaffolding.
A particularly tall feather in Skyriders’ cap was its work at the Carlton Centre in downtown Johannesburg on behalf of a third party tasked to carry out load testing on four winches in the food court area. However, the inaccessibility of the winches posed a major challenge and subsequently the company partnered with Skyriders to provide its rope-access expertise.
Often called upon to conduct maintenance, repair and inspection services at large-scale industrial structures such as smokestacks and petrochemical tanks, Skyriders has even carried out general routine cleaning in inaccessible areas at a major food-processing plant. A six-person team oversaw the fast-track project over a two-day period, deploying high-pressure washers using food-safe detergent to adhere to the strict hygiene and health and safety standards of the food and beverage industry.
Further reading:
Reinstatement opportunity for ECSA registration
News
In 2023 the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) announced a special opportunity for engineers in South Africa to reinstate their registration status if it had been cancelled. This exclusive offer is available until the end of August 2024.
Read more...
Comtest calibration user group seminar
Comtest
News
Comtest invites metrology and calibration professionals to a focused technical seminar series aimed at demystifying some of the most common hurdles in inter-laboratory comparisons.
Read more...
Functional safety explained
News
The SAIMC supports Pepperl+Fuchs, a National Member, in a free four-part online seminar series focused on Functional Safety.
Read more...
The Future of manufacturing in Africa
News
The future and development of African manufacturing will be discussed extensively at the upcoming Manufacturing Indaba conference, to be hosted on 15 to 16 July 2025 at Johannesburg’s Sandton Convention Centre.
Read more...
Hot topics at IFAT Africa and analytica Lab Africa 2025
News
Burning issues such as climate-smart infrastructure, sustainability in waste and water management, the circular economy and Extended Producer Responsibility will come under discussion at the three-day conference and forum presented by analytica Lab Africa and IFAT Africa at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg from 8 to 10 July 2025.
Read more...
RS South Africa showcases industrial solutions at MTE Phalaborwa
News
RS South Africa recently showcased its latest industrial and electronic solutions at the Mining and Technical Exhibition in Phalaborwa in Limpopo.
Read more...
Specialised Exhibitions appoints Joshua Low as commercial director for Africa
News
Specialised Exhibitions has appointed Joshua Low as commercial director for Africa. This strategic addition to the leadership team comes as Specialised Exhibitions embarks on an ambitious phase of growth across the African continent.
Read more...
WearCheck earns Dissolved Gas Analysis accreditation
Wearcheck
News
WearCheck is now accredited to perform Dissolved Gas Analysis for transformers, following a recent assessment by SANAS.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: Riding the hype cycle
Technews Publishing (SA Instrumentation & Control)
News
The other day I came across an entertaining article on the ten biggest tech failures of the last decade. Google Glass, 3D TV and Elon Musk’s hyperloop have faded into obscurity. Others, like the metaverse,
...
Read more...
STEMulator – a gift to the youth of the nation
Editor's Choice News
STEMulator is a groundbreaking virtual platform designed to ignite the spark of curiosity in young minds and stimulate their interest in STEM subjects.
Read more...