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If you're arranging window cleaning, cladding repairs, or a façade survey and your contractor tells you there's no anchor point on the roof, that isn't a reason to let the job go ahead unsafely. It's a decision that needs the right question asked first. Building owners carry a duty under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 to ensure that anyone accessing their property at height, including contractors, is properly protected from falling. Rope access is one of the most common methods used for façade work on buildings, and its safety depends entirely on a compliant rope access anchor being in place on the roof, whether that's a fixed device or a portable system.
A Kee Attach® rope access anchor assembled on a flat roof, ready for a façade descent.
A rope access anchor is the point every line in the system connects back to. For façade cleaning, cladding inspection, and general maintenance, technicians descend the building attached to ropes secured to anchor points on the roof, following the rope access methods set out in the IRATA International Code of Practice and BS 7985, the code of practice for the use of rope access methods for industrial purposes. These codes set out safe working practices for every rope access professional involved, and following them is critical, because without a properly assessed anchor, nothing else in the system, harness, descender, backup line, actually protects the worker.
There are two main types of anchor point relevant to façade access: fixed anchor devices, such as eyebolts installed into concrete, brick or steelwork, and portable deadweight anchor systems. Fixed devices are the most straightforward option where a suitable structure already exists. But many buildings, particularly those with a parapet wall rather than a solid upstand, or roofs not rated to take a fixed point, don't have anything suitable in place. Various types of specialist equipment exist across different work environments, but for façade access, the choice of anchors for rope access generally comes down to one of these two, and understanding the differences matters for height safety as much as for compliance.
A deadweight anchor uses mass and friction, rather than a fixing, to secure the anchor system to the roof surface. It's the same underlying principle behind Kee Safety's rooftop personal fall protection range: no drilling, no penetration of the roof membrane, and no compromise to the building's structural integrity, helping the whole system comply with current safety requirements. For rope access specifically, that principle is built into Kee Attach®.
Kee Attach® supports a single worker plus tools during façade descent, without any fixing into the building's structure.
Kee Attach® is a single-user rope access anchor system, intended for one worker plus tools, up to a safe working load of 136kg. Once correctly assembled, it forms what Kee Safety calls an internally force-balanced system, meaning it doesn't need to be fixed to the roof or any other part of the building's structure. The front anchor provides two independent attachment points, and the middle and front braces work with the secondary connection point to load the forces safely into the roof surface itself rather than any single fixing. Parapet leg brackets allow it to be positioned safely relative to the parapet wall and roof edge. The whole system breaks down into seven core components, so it can be transported, reassembled, and moved to a different location on the roof in minutes, useful on larger buildings needing several access points across one job.
Kee Attach® was formerly known as Accessanka, and the core design has been in service for over two decades, tested and refined at Kee Safety's own testing facility.
Kee Attach® is tested to BS EN 795:2012 Type B and BS 8610:2017, the relevant standards for personal fall protection anchor devices and anchor systems in the UK, with CE certification issued by Apave Exploitation France SAS. It's designed for rope access and fall restraint applications specifically, not as an anchor device for a general fall arrest system, so it's essential the equipment specified matches the work being carried out. As with any work at height, a written rescue plan should be in place before work starts, covering how a worker would be brought safely back to ground in the event of a fall, with the contractor's team trained and competent in the anchor system they're using, and an inspection date recorded for ongoing compliance.
Confirming the anchor system in use, and where it's positioned relative to the roof edge, is one of the first questions to ask any façade contractor.
Before signing off any façade maintenance or rope access job, it's worth asking:
What anchor system will be used, and is there a suitable fixed point, or will a deadweight anchor system be needed?
Is the equipment tested and certified to the relevant standards?
Is a rescue plan in place, and is the team trained to use it?
Has the anchor's position relative to the roof edge and parapet wall been assessed?
A contractor who can answer these clearly is one working to the standards your building, and their own team, deserve.
A missing anchor point doesn't have to mean unsafe façade access, or a job that can't go ahead. With the right deadweight anchor system, façade maintenance can be carried out safely and compliantly without any permanent fixing to the building's structure.