Up to 5 Industrial Climbers Die Every Year in Almaty Alone

This publication is for informational purposes and highlights uncomfortable but necessary facts.

Tragedies are no longer rare: every year, in Almaty and Astana alone, 4 to 5 people die while cleaning the façades of high-rise buildings.

What is the reason?

The reason is fairly simple. Up to 90% of “industrial climbers” are not actually industrial climbers. As a rule, these are enterprising young people, often from rural regions, working as informal labor crews.

Licenses, certifications, and permits are obtained through personal connections or not obtained at all.

Proper full-scale training, regular recertification, and equipment updates are out of the question — which is why prices for such services are the lowest on the market.

Only about 10% of companies maintain proper documentation and comply with occupational safety and health regulations (TBiOT). These are typically companies that value their reputation and name.

The vast majority of incidents are related to a lack of necessary competence among workers, insufficient knowledge and skills — in other words, poor training.

Equally important is the extremely low level of work organization culture: the absence of risk assessment, work planning, and supervision altogether, or these being carried out superficially and by personnel with low competence.

Recommendations for contractors, employers, supervisors, and training centers

When performing high-altitude work and industrial climbing techniques, and when training personnel for such work, special attention must be paid to:

• —Correct and timely identification of the upper hazard zone boundaries and mandatory use of fall protection within it.
• —Correct and safe rope rigging — at all stages.
• —Strict adherence to the “double protection” system.
• —Special attention to protecting ropes from sharp edges.
• —Careful forecasting of how the safety system will behave in case the work system is compromised.
• —The need for good psycho-physiological condition of workers, with proper monitoring.
• —Mandatory strict additional supervision of workers’ actions at all stages of the work.
• —Significant attention to the planning stage, qualified risk assessment, and the development of a clear Work Execution Plan. This must be detailed, clearly written, and communicated to every worker.

To achieve all of the above — personnel must be trained to a sufficient level of competence.