Rope descent work

Definition

High-rise cleaning done on suspended rope, which needs certified anchors and trained crews.

Why It Matters

It pays several times ground-level rates and fences out most competitors, which is why a book carrying it holds its price. It also carries the risk, and a ceiling: above three hundred feet the rule bars rope descent altogether unless the employer can show nothing else will reach. Anchorages have to be certified to hold five thousand pounds for each worker on them, the workers have to be trained and the training documented, and one lapse ends the insurance that lets a crew onto the roof. The company does not certify the anchors itself, it holds the building owner's written statement for each building, so ask for those letters and the training records before valuing that revenue at all.