Industrial mountaineering: the wisdom of starting your own business. Business ideas - industrial mountaineering as a business

An industrial climber anonymously told The Village who goes to high-altitude, how much they earn, what is good work and what is dangerous about lunatics with scissors.

• Evgeny Safonov May 29, 2013
• 34348
• 14

About hiring

Industrial mountaineering is a difficult, but rather exciting business. I clearly remember the day when I “hung out” on a high-rise building for the first time. I was a student, and an acquaintance who was just starting to work at height suggested that I try it. To check if I was ready, he brought me to the roof of a 24-story skyscraper, gave me the system, fixed it and said: "Step." After some hesitation, I stepped from the roof onto the parapet and sat down on a special stand. Later I learned that normal people gradually increase the height: first a two-story house, then higher and higher. But thanks to such a check, I skipped several stages of training at once and immediately took up serious work, which is trusted only by experienced climbers.

About the diploma

Industrial climbers make good money. About 10 years ago, when there were very few of them and few agreed to this job, you could earn about $ 100 per day. Then it was decent money. Now industrial climbers earn an average of 500 hryvnia per day.

In fact, to work as a climber, you only need a desire. There are many special schools where anyone can be taught specifics in two or three weeks. The main thing is to be able to properly put on the system and securely fasten it. The rest already depends on personal fears and the ability to do a good job.

10 years ago, when they were
very few and few
agreed to this job.
could earn in a day
about a hundred dollars

After a short course of study, they give out a crust, which says that you are prepared and can start working. At the same time, most climbers are employed without any diplomas. As a rule, they learn from older comrades. It's easy - just a couple of times to work out. But for work on large objects, permission is still required.

Industrial climbers work in several directions: they can insulate facades, wash windows, paint walls, install lightning rods. The work is seasonal: in spring, summer and autumn you can earn good money, but in winter climbers usually have a rest.

About risks

The profession itself involves extreme sports and a surge of adrenaline in the blood. I was terribly afraid of heights, but after a while I got so used to it that stepping from the roof of a house or a balcony became the norm for me. You do everything automatically: you fasten the system, buckle up, step over, sit down and work. But there were in my practice and extreme situations. Once, on a high-rise, I stepped from the roof onto the parapet, I look at my mount and realize with horror that I forgot to buckle up. In fear, I stuck to the wall like a lizard. That moment is even scary to remember!

Forgot to fasten the carabiner
and just flew down. Tried to grab the rope but it's like trying to fly

There was another case when I fell from the second floor. Forgot to fasten the carabiner and just flew down. I tried to grab the rope, but it's like trying to fly - to no avail. Despite the fact that he was wearing gloves, he still burned his hand a little. Since then, episodes in films have been touching, where super agents slide down the rope at ease. Fortunately, then I landed successfully on my feet, but everything happened so quickly that I didn’t even have time to understand anything.

About women with scissors

Very unexpected, strange situations happen in our work. Once my partner and I worked on a high-rise, painted the walls. There were no options: I had to lower it next to the windows. And then some crazy woman runs out onto the balcony, pours obscenities on us and reaches for the fastening ropes with scissors. Maybe she thought we wanted to break into her apartment. We tried to explain to her that we were working - it was useless. I had to rush down. They did not dare to continue work there: money is money, but life is more expensive.

About fear

Industrial climbing is more of a hobby for me. It is impossible to do this for a long time, although there are those who work for up to forty years. I have never met an older one. And customers are reluctant to hire older people. In industrial mountaineering, mostly young people: for guys, this is not only earnings, but also a charge of emotions, extreme sports.

True, there were those who wanted to work, but did not dare. With one acquaintance, we stood on the roof for two hours: he tuned in for a long time, but did not dare to take a step. However, it is still impossible to work while constantly experiencing fear. Some take "doping" - they drink before work so that it is not so scary. But how reasonable this is, of course, the question.

About romance

Many industrial climbers get great pleasure from work: from a height, stunning views of the city open up, which are inaccessible to most residents. Alas, the work itself, as a rule, is monotonous and, frankly, not the most interesting: to make insulation, paint the facade, and so on. The weather conditions are terrible too. Sometimes you work all day in such a wind that you swing like a pendulum. At the same time, there are tight deadlines, there is a lot of work, so there is not much time to enjoy the surrounding beauty. But when you receive a large order - for example, for washing the windows of "Sails" - and you rise to this height, it takes your breath away. At such moments, it seems that all the problems have remained below, on the ground.

Text: Marina Kravchenko

They say that you can get used to the height, and working under gusts of wind a few tens of meters above the ground is just working conditions. And yet the profession of "industrial climber" is an adrenaline rush. And it doesn't suit everyone.

Bohdan Lutsyuk,
industrial climber, work experience - 10 years

I got into industrial mountaineering by chance. He studied at the university as an IT specialist, and as a student he came to the climbing wall. Artificial peaks were not immediately conquered, but the process “hooked” me. Gradually, I got into a circle of people who not only had fun in their free time at the climbing wall, but also earned money by working at height: washing windows and facades, installing air conditioners, minor repairs, cutting down tall trees, and even evacuating cats…
High-altitude workers are called to places where, for various reasons, it is impossible or completely unprofitable to set up scaffolding or adjust high-altitude equipment.

Constant training at the climbing wall was not in vain for me, and after a while I began to receive offers from friends to earn extra money. The document for work, confirming the qualifications of a climber, is required so far only one - a certificate of an industrial climber. I know that most climbers receive this document at the UKCOM training center, and I have the same. So the hobby turned into a profession, I became an industrial climber.

How to get into the profession

The community of industrial climbers is quite small, almost everyone knows each other. Beginners, like me in my time, get into the profession by acquaintance. Not because this is some kind of elite employment, but because usually everything starts with a passion for mountaineering: someone trains at climbing walls, someone in the mountains. Probably, the feeling of height becomes a need, it draws you in, and you want your work to coincide with your hobby.

Many try to "come to high-altitude work from high-altitude sports." Such people are characterized by weak construction skills and are not able to fully identify the problem in the working area. In Moscow, they really train at the Professional Training Center. (Training period - from two weeks. Cost from 13,000 rubles).

The main problem is the huge number of those who bought certificates for 5000-6000 rubles, who do not give a damn about safety, equipment and are prone to risk in pursuit of what they think is “easy money”. All that such people eventually find is problems for the employer, customer, law enforcement agencies and an unhindered path to another world. The climber makes a mistake once.

In our company, I recruit people over the age of 35 who have a construction qualification, have been trained and are not inclined to risk, since I am personally responsible for the safety of each member of the team.

Almost anyone can become an industrial climber. Of the restrictions on health, perhaps, only problems with the heart and head - both in the sense of healthy blood vessels, and in the sense of a normal psyche. The profession requires good physical preparation. There are no age restrictions. I've met industrial climbers over 50, it's all about how you feel.

Often industrial climbers go in for sports, strength and endurance are needed in our business. I do yoga, but more for the soul. There is plenty of physical activity at work. It just seems like you're not stressing. The work can be very difficult, stressful and always requires the utmost care and accuracy.

Altitude Rules
Altitude workers do not work alone - this is dangerous and is not allowed by the rules for working at height.

A law-abiding employer will not allow you to work without an annual recertification and with worn out or uncertified equipment.

Equipment and tools must be the best in their line, with a maximum service life.

A high-altitude climber needs to always be in excellent sports shape and extremely hardy, otherwise he will not pay off even a meter of a good rope with his work.

The climber must be able to recognize sudden changes in weather conditions.

Each high-altitude worker is required to have a first aid kit with him for first aid and the skill of evacuating a comrade from the working area, which not every rescuer, and even more so an ambulance, can reach.

Once I had an urgent night call. The wind ripped off the banner from the wall of the house, a heavy canvas with an area of ​​​​several square meters dangled and could break the windows of the residents. I secured myself, descended to the desired height and felt how the gusts of wind carried me from the wall by 2-3 meters. It was difficult to resist and unfasten the banner so that it did not end up breaking the windows. I dismantled the banner, not ideally, long enough for normal dismantling, but in those conditions as carefully as possible. This is one of the most dangerous challenges of my career.

Everything starts from the roof

We are looking for places for fixing on the roof: it can be an antenna, special beams for climbers. Rarely are there completely “bare” roofs, then we are attached to the fences. It is better not to one, but to several at once.

The safety of an industrial climber depends only on his attentiveness. Each knot on the equipment is better to check twice.

Work on faulty building cradles.

Working with a ladder.

Rescuing a cat from a tree.

Arborist work (tree care work).

Roof cleaning from snow and icicles.

Work in the areas of welding.

Every high-altitude climber must remember that there may be a person with deviant behavior in the building who is ready to cut his ropes. To prevent this, our company will consult with the district police officer about the nature of the residents at the work site before starting work.

Often grandmothers and people in a state of alcoholic or drug intoxication mistake high-altitude thieves for window guards.

Vladimir Shirshov, General Director of Vysotnik

We know better than the construction commission about the real state of Moscow buildings. Sometimes you have to work in emergency houses: you start to go down the wall, and a brick flies out from under your foot. In new buildings, it happens that the stucco falls off. We almost always feel violations of building codes. Climbers do not insure life and health, although, it would seem, given the risks of the profession, this is logical.

Dress code for an industrial climber

We buy all work equipment ourselves. Safety system, seat, descender, clamps, carabiners, ropes, special gloves for working with a rope ... You can buy a ready-made kit for 20,000-30,000 rubles. or even cheaper, or you can gradually assemble the equipment “for yourself”. More expensive, of course, but it's not a one-time waste. And it's definitely not worth saving on security.

An industrial climber may work for a company or for himself. In the first case, you can count on a salary of about 60,000 rubles. Often, interest rates for night work, work in hazardous conditions and work in winter are added to the difficulty coefficients for work at height. This increases earnings, from 3500 to 6000, sometimes 7000 rubles. for a work shift. But a "free shooter" can earn twice as much. No company will pay that much.

I work as a freelancer - this gives me the opportunity to determine the degree of loading myself, and sometimes dictate my terms to the customer. Sometimes the work is dreary and not very interesting, but not difficult - you can do it alone. And some tasks require a team of climbers, and it is important to explain to the employer why one person is not enough. Over the years of work, both business reputation and connections have already appeared, so there are no problems with orders. Although, of course, the crisis is felt. It's better for newcomers to work for someone now.

There is no special dependence on the season for industrial climbers. We work all year round. In winter, orders are slightly less.

Interviewed by Mila Kretova

Let's talk about whether the industrial mountaineering business is profitable.

Let's start with a definition. Industrial mountaineering is high-altitude work. Yes, this should include installation, repair and construction, and dismantling work. Speaking in the language of ordinary people - everything that can be done in the air, at a height - this is it, industrial mountaineering, and there is.

Some statistics:
It is quite logical to turn to the experience of businessmen already established in this area. They note that every year the demand for high-altitude work is only growing.

Their employees are happy to be called to paint high-rise buildings, to maintain railway bridges, mobile towers, overpasses, overpasses ... The list can be long. There is a demand - therefore, there are offers. Even after the crisis, industrial mountaineering as a business has not lost its value.

Analyst comment:
Analysts say that earlier orders in monetary terms from the population accounted for about 20 - 30%. But already in 2011, demand increased by as much as 10%, and it continues to grow all the time. Conclusion? Industrial mountaineering business is profitable! However, it should be understood that most of the income, whatever one may say, falls precisely on the maintenance of buildings. This is what you need to get away from.

Few predictions:
If you are now thinking about opening a business in industrial mountaineering, then the prospects, according to the same analysts, are not bad. The fact is that the Olympics will take place in 2014, a huge number of various structures are being built for this event. There you can’t do without the services of industrial climbers.

Business secrets in industrial mountaineering.
Actually, the secrets are familiar to many, moreover, they are obvious:

• First of all, it is necessary to select qualified employees. They will determine the success of the business. It is impossible to stay on the market for a long time without staff. An interesting note: cavers make excellent industrial climbers.
• You must understand that industrial mountaineering will be actively in demand for about 6 months a year - the most "running" is the winter season. That is, employees should be paid 2 times more than, say, builders. If you do not do this, you will be left without people.
• Another "secret": employees must constantly maintain their physical shape. You must create all the conditions for them if there is no work at the moment.

What documents are required?

• Without a piece of paper - people are insects, so get ready to prepare a voluminous package;
• A complete list of papers for joining the SRO, where you can be allowed to perform work of increased danger;
• Absolutely every employee, without exception, must have documents confirming their qualifications. That is, the fact that a person can competently perform the work offered by the company by the method of industrial mountaineering;
• The certificate of employees must not be expired. Every year, industrial steeplejacks are certified.

Naturally, you will have to take care of the official registration of the company (LLC and so on).

What are the investments?

On average, an industrial mountaineering company is able to earn more than 1 million US dollars per year. Yes, since the work is not cheap, it requires responsibility, and must be carried out with exceptional quality. None of the climbers will work for a penny, so the prices are high. However, in order to get something, you must first invest.
How much money do you need to open a company?

It all depends on the ambitions and level of the company. If you want to open a very small business, where customers will be offered “cheap” services, for example, sealing interpanel joints, then $ 250 will be enough for start-up capital.

The money will be used to purchase ropes, sealant, overalls. You can focus on "low-frequency requests", then the profitability of the business will be higher, and the competition - accordingly. Less.
If you plan to offer expensive services: for example, anti-corrosion treatment of metal structures, then at least you will need to acquire 60,000 rubles.

The money will be used to buy several sets of equipment for industrial climbers, and one set costs about 300 USD. e., as well as other industrial equipment. Do not forget about renting a room for inventory and an office. Sometimes you just need transport to transport employees and tools. You can hire a driver with your own vehicle.

In general, the success of industrial mountaineering will be influenced by many different factors. Here are just a few of them:

• The height at which the work is carried out;
• Ease of access;
• climatic conditions;
• The quality of working materials (by the way, approximate prices for equipment for industrial mountaineering can be found here, and you can find a complete list of necessary materials).

In any case, there are prospects for the industrial mountaineering business, there would be a desire to do it!

Industrial mountaineering is a modern profession, which is difficult to do without in the face of an increase in the number of high-rise objects. Enterprises have pipes several meters high that need to be painted, the facades of business centers require renovation, window cleaning, and sometimes advertising needs to be installed. Developers are trying to build skyscrapers not only to make their building the most remarkable, but also because of the huge cost of each square meter of land in large cities. Therefore, all hotel and shopping complexes, new buildings for housing will need to be serviced by someone, industrial climbers will cope with work at height.

What is the profession of an industrial climber

This profession is relevant and well paid. It is quite complicated and requires high-altitude workers to strictly observe safety rules. Industrial climbers are engaged in painting, plastering, repairing facades and roofs, thermal insulation, installing advertising sites, and washing windows. The profession is somewhat similar to an acrobat in a circus, only at the same time certain works are still performed that have their own technology. A person from the age of 18 can work as an industrial climber, who has undergone certain training, a medical examination, and has also received a safety briefing, having more than 1 year of work experience. To gain the necessary experience, a novice high-altitude climber is assigned to a more experienced industrial climber, who teaches him the intricacies of the profession for a year.

Security and risks

Since the work is very dangerous, associated with height, there are some regulatory requirements for safety. First of all, this applies to equipment, it must be of high quality, checked every day before work. Mostly artificial belts and cables are used, which are not subject to rotting or damage by rodents.

The risks are also related to the fact that it is not always possible to accurately check how strong safety belts and carabiners will be, therefore they are bought from trusted manufacturers. Climbing to a height begins only after the work permit is signed. The management of the enterprise where industrial climbers work is directly responsible for safety at work, but it is also worth personally checking the suitability of the equipment for work, paying attention to your own well-being. There is a list of climatic factors in which work at height is prohibited - these are precipitation, strong wind, fog.

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Although industrial mountaineering in the Russian Federation began to enjoy particular popularity not so long ago, sometimes it is simply irreplaceable. Specialists in this field will be able to perform the task in conditions that do not allow the installation of special equipment. They will help you clean windows from the outside, trim tree crowns, seal joints, and perform other important work at height. Not surprisingly, the services of climbers are in high demand.

This profession attracts someone with a special extreme and the desire to pass for a hero in the eyes of girls. Others want to make good money. Many want to learn how to become an industrial climber. This does not require special education, but this work is not suitable for everyone. Important conditions are not fear of heights, physical strength, and mountaineering skills. With the last requirement, special climbing or tourist circles will help. It is generally accepted that industrial mountaineering is a temporary job.

Why is it better to treat a promalp as a temporary job?

There are a number of reasons why industrial mountaineering should be treated as a part-time job rather than a stable job. Let's consider the most important of them. Sometimes companies involved in industrial mountaineering operate on the basis of tourist sections, which are open at higher and other educational institutions. That is why students work for them.

This decision is economically justified: young people are full of energy and ready to work hard for relatively low pay. In addition, the organization always has a wide range of potential employees.

It is well known that industrial mountaineering is one of the most dangerous professions, which is associated with great risk. With age, it becomes more and more difficult to withstand high loads, and when a family appears, the thrill fades into the background. The value of security is multiplied many times over.

The work of industrial climbers

Companies providing industrial mountaineering services perform the following work:

• installation of a drainage system from the roof;
• seam sealing;
• installation of antennas;
• banner sign;
• reconstruction of the building cladding;
• facade painting;
• installation of air conditioners;
• glass washing;
• cleaning snow from roofs.

In order to start working as an industrial climber, certain capital investments will be required. For the purchase of high-quality equipment, you will need to spend at least $ 300. Be sure to purchase:

Climbers perform work in groups of 2-10 people, the size of the team is determined by the type of work performed. It is good that specialists have been cooperating with each other for some time and know how to interact well. This is understandable - work at height requires good coordination.

As you can see, the work of an industrial climber is not easy and has a number of features. The money they earn is well deserved. Did you notice a rope outside the window? In no case do not pull on her! And if you plan to use the high-altitude services of companies, appreciate the work of their employees. In the event that you see how work is being done at height, it is better not to go beyond the fence. This way you can protect your health. After all, even a small pebble that falls from the ninth floor can hurt. What about heavier items?