Not your standard jockey
Industrial rope access technicians use many methods as they abseil down the side of tall buildings, suspended in mid-air by their harness and ropes. Jockeying into position, these highly skilled operators ride the structure performing tasks that involve precise techniques and manoeuvres, accessing difficult-to-reach locations at heights that take your breath away.
Critical for any rope access work, apart from the harness and ropes, is the anchorage system allowing safe passage and access to the structure. Today many modern buildings have access systems pre-installed at the design stage to accommodate their maintenance services. However, in saying that, many buildings don’t have these systems, or the device installed is unable to provide the functionality to reach over balustrades and parapets to impart the ability to work in a manner that adequately protects today’s delicate architectural facades. In these situations, how do you safely access the work area? First out of the gate is the RoofJockey™.
The RoofJockey™
The RoofJockey™ is an industrial rope access solution that overcomes these hurdles. A unique and portable engineered instrument that allows safe access and work methods where conventional height safety systems cannot be used or have not been installed, to carry out external maintenance and repair work on buildings and structures. The RoofJockey™ serves as a fall protection anchor and a davit system that elevates the technicians abseil rope to prevent contact with the property, ensuring facades and parapets do not suffer any damage during descents, ascents and work activities.
Versatile, flexible and cost-effective, the RoofJockey™ eliminates the need for an expensive height safety system to be permanently installed onto roofs. A counterweight unit that does not require any pre-existing anchorage systems, it can be manoeuvred around the perimeter of the roof space and utilised where maintenance or inspection work needs to occur, then completely removed after use. They are also easily dismantled into small compact components for trouble-free transportation and storage. The RoofJockey™ is particularly useful in locations where:
- Balustrades or parapets cannot support a rope load;
- Anchor points or davit systems are unsuitable;
- A roof or balcony is publicly accessed, making permanent systems such as anchors or davit arms unsuitable as they either impact aesthetics or are a potential trip hazard;
- The height safety system needs to service a large area, making a permanent system cost-prohibitive.
The RoofJockey™ also serves as a material handling and lifting device, particularly beneficial when replacing glass windows, enabling them to be lifted into position along the exterior face of a building.
The original Hi-Rise RoofJockey™
At Hi-Rise, our RoofJockey™ is not your standard Jockey. Hi-Rise designed and developed the original RoofJockey™, a system that has since become the gold standard in industrial rope access, allowing safe passage for abseiling teams working at height. Constructed from high-strength aircraft-grade aluminium, this portable, lightweight system provides a rope access attachment point that enables facade access from either a balcony or rooftop. With an outreach that extends over parapets and balustrades, the RoofJockey™ prevents damage to buildings and technician’s ropes.
At Hi-Rise, each RoofJockey™ can be customised to suit your specific site requirements, with the ability to design and manufacture limitless dimensions and outreach capacities. Our experienced engineering team are qualified to make variations to the back leg length, outreach and weight depending on roof accessibility, roof substrate, space constraints, parapet clearance height and ongoing maintenance requirements. Available in a natural, anodised or powder-coated finish, each RoofJockey™ can also be colour-matched to specification.
Designed and tested to comply with AS/NZS 5532, each RoofJockey™ is load tested in the Hi-Rise factory before installation and comes with an independent engineering certificate and manual to explain setup, usage and configuration. An annual inspection, testing and re-certification service is also available.
RoofJockey™ is available in a range featuring six models to suit a wide range of specialist applications and site conditions, including: commercial, residential, industrial, silos, mills, steel decking, concrete roofs, glass parapets and high parapet buildings. Outlined below is our standard range; however, Hi-Rise engineers can customise a model to suit your specific requirements.
RoofJockey™ Multi
A multi-purpose model that can be configured in up to six ways to suit different applications. A flexible unit ideal for contractors such as window cleaners.
RoofJockey™ Outreach
A versatile model with a shorter back leg and long outreach to provide excellent clearance.
RoofJockey™ Edge
A more compact unit with a shorter outreach and back leg, suitable for more confined spaces such as balconies. It is ideal for reaching over non-load bearing balustrades to enable maintenance work on the face of a building.
RoofJockey™ Mini
Designed for the perimeter of buildings that have a narrow maintenance corridor. With a very short back leg, Mini connects to anchors fixed on a concrete roof.
Tower Jockey™
Specifically designed for roofs that have a parapet higher than 2 metres. It provides an elevated work platform so that the outreach can safely clear barriers for maintenance and repair work.
RoofJockey™ Ultra-light Needles
The Ultra-Light Needle connects to anchors or rails which have been permanently fixed onto the roof. Recommended for technicians who need to navigate around obstacles so that the rope deviates off the vertical.
Reach out to a Hi-Rise Specialist for more information on the Original RoofJockey™, or explore our website.
