Rope Access in the Silo

From the very first day this project was exposed to be a mamoth task. We dropped into the huge chasm protected from the dusty environment with full head gear and breathing apparatus breathing air supply.

We had been told that it was estimated a 2 week turnaround shift would be sufficient to empty both silos and have time to replace all of the air slides. After four weeks of constant shovelling and rotating to ensure that we always had four technicians on the job at any time, we have come to the bottom and now it is only the clearing out of the crunchy rubble that has formed around the once operating air slides.

Despite have to push the body to the limits and beig majorly restricted wearing rope access harness and full breathing aparatus, it did have its moments.

We always find a way to make each task a game and this job was no exception. The most pleasurable moments where the underpinning of large mountains of cement and then taking away the last chip mements before it all comes caving in.

Some were so huge that they actualy made the silo shake. I recall the first big oe that dropped as I was working away on the lone dusty side of the silo and suddenly the whole silo shook and started to rumble. I was a little concerned as I was a little unaware of whether the source was inside or out. But then I heard Tully and Derryn chuckling in hysterics and realised that they had dropped the big one that they had been working on.

We picked off many other large ones along the way and with continual questioning on progress we were able to take one of the supervisors down for his first venture inside of this beast. A new level of respect started to show as he could now see what we had been going through over the last four weeks.

Cheers, Mike King.


rope access