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ASAP / ASAP LOCK – Mobile fall arrester for rope from Petzl professional on Vimeo.
To many technical rescue professionals, a device or manufacturer names speak volumes for the functionality and efficiency of a product. Through the history of rope rescue, many names have come and gone, but a few solid companies continue to create and launch products that span many different applications and professions. The Petzl ASAP is a perfect example of one such product. Originally designed as a mobile fall arrester for many different occupations working at height, this device has also gained exposure and confidence of many rescue teams from across the country.
The Petzl ASAP is a unique device that was designed to follow the user as they ascended and descended a fixed rope either vertically or on a slope like the pitch of a roof line. The mechanism is also used as a component in a vertical lifeline fall protection system to secure a worker when climbing structures or when working from swing stages. Unlike other devices, the ASAP requires no manual intervention while moving. If the user were to slip and fall, the sudden shock load or acceleration will activate the ASAP’s internal centrifugal brake that will cause it to lock on the rope, and catch the falling user “as fast as possible” (hence the name) . Since its launch back in 2010, the ASAP as also made many friends within the Rope Rescue community. Here below are some way the device is now being used by both wilderness and urban rescuers:
- Mobile Self-Belay mode:
As seasoned instructors, we have all gone home at night mentally exhausted from the constant checking and re-checking of every student prior to going over the edge. Part of that check is the customary “On belay?” heard at every rope course. By using the ASAP in the belay system, we are minimizing the operator error factor if a fall were to occur. Educating both first time and refresher rope rescue students have many challenges from comprehension of the skills needed to complacency because “I’ve been doing this for years.”. If a mobile device, once placed on the rescuer and –safety-checked can help us keep one person from taking a fall, why would we not use it? Weather rappelling or ascending the Petzl ASAP can catch a falling load faster and safer than many other belay devices requiring human interaction.
- Anchored Partner-Belay mode:
Both Petzl France and Petzl North America published “Tech Tips” for the use of the ASAP as an anchored belay device for use in rope rescue operations. See Petzl Tech Tips Now that the ASAP is anchored there needs to be a human interaction to safely belay a falling load. With all other partner belays currently in use in North America, the belay attendant must defeat the device when the rope is being fed out. The belay attendant must release hitches or a device handle for the mechanism to engage the rope and stop the fall. Many rescue professionals have concluded that these methods are not 100% reliable due to human factures. When a partner belay ASAP system is properly set-up, this system relies on naturally occurring centrifugal forces, not human factures. The belay attendant’s primary role is to keep slack out of the belay line. If a main line failure occurs, the ASAP will almost immediately lock onto the rope and the load will be deaccelerated by the shock absorber and stopped. While testing the ASAP, it was set up both with a redirect and without a redirect at the load end. A few parameters should always be followed when anchoring the ASAP.
o Petzl recommends having an attentive operator and to avoid having any slack in the system.
o The rope should always pass through a re-direct between the ASAP position and the load
o For rescue loads of up to 250 kg max. (550 lbs.), use the ASAP only with an ASAP’S ORBER AXESS or ABSORBICA L57 energy absorber.
o A function check should always be performed prior to life loading any system. Careful consideration must be paid to the ASAP’s direction of installation.
o Special attention should be paid to ensure that there is enough distance between the ASAP and the re-direct connector or edge to allow full deployment of the shock absorber ( 10 ft minimum)
At the conclusion of all the testing conducted the ASAP remained operational.
So, as we can see the Petzl ASAP can transverse design scopes from mobile fall arrester to competent belay device for the two-person load rope rescue world.
About Petzl
The Petzl adventure began with Fernand Petzl’s passion for caving, a passion to which he dedicated his talents as a craftsman. Petzl expertise began to grow with the design and crafting of solutions for ascending, descending, belaying and moving about in the dark. In 1970, the first “Fernand Petzl” brand products were produced in a workshop in Saint-Nazaire-Les-Eymes, Isère, France. Since then, the Petzl company, established in 1975, has grown into an international enterprise, all the while preserving its personal feel and the passion that drove Fernand Petzl.
