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The amazing Spidermen who work on Singapore’s buildings

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(Photo by Rope Access Network)

Singaporean rope access professional Sahir Hamid, 51, was scared of heights when he was six. Today, he hangs from the top of some of the country’s tall buildings to make a living.

When he turned 33, he finally plucked the courage to overcome his fear of heights, and became a certified rope access professional so he could fix the signage of high-rise buildings. He previously worked with a building signage manufacturer since he was 15 years old.

“I had a fear of heights when I was small. I remember being at the 10th floor of a HDB flat, I was so scared I had to crawl on the floor,” reminisced the managing director of Rope Access Network (RAN), which is affiliated to his signage manufacturing company Radiant Neon and Design, and rope access equipment retailer RuffNeck.

“I even had nightmares of myself falling from buildings,” he added.

A rope access professional in Singapore is also commonly referred to as a “Spiderman”.

“(Rope access) basically provides the means to access certain areas of building or structure exteriors that are difficult to reach. Owners of commercial buildings engage rope access workers to conduct maintenance, cleaning, installing of signage or pasting of façade posters on the exterior of their buildings,” he explained.

However, Sahir says he does not like the comic book reference, and is not quite sure how the label came about.

But just by looking at the way they work, and how they hang at the side of a building with a “web” of ropes around them, it seems self-explanatory.

Most of the buildings they work on are higher than 20 stories. The tallest building Sahir has hung from was the Millenia Tower at 1 Temasek Avenue, which is 41 stories high.

In the early 2000s, Sahir said that the rope access system was still unpopular in Singapore, and many companies were sceptical of how safe it was. To date, none of his rope access workers have been involved in work-related accidents.

‘Oversupply’ of Spidermen in Singapore

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(Photo by Rope Access Network)

Now, Sahir says Singapore has an “oversupply” of freelance rope access workers – several joined the trade due to the attractive salary.

According to Sahir, an experienced freelance rope access professional can earn from S$150 to S$500 a day, which could work out to S$4,500 to S$10,000 a month.

However, times are tough and there are not as many jobs available as in the past, he said.

Besides working on commercial buildings, Rope Access Network also deploys its team for projects in the oil and gas industry, as well as the marine and offshore industry.

However, with the current downturn of the oil and gas industry, which affects the marine and offshore industry, Sahir said he is having a hard time getting projects in those sectors.

“We’re more focused on commercial buildings now, as well as providing trainings to rope access hopefuls in the region, including Malaysia and Cambodia,” said Sahir, whose company provides recognised training certificates for those who want to obtain rope access certification.

The more complex the structure, the better

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(Photo from Rope Access Network Facebook Page)

Many companies prefer engaging these Spidermen for building and construction-related work because they are “fast and efficient”.

Construction gondolas are often only used for buildings with straightforward designs, such as HDB apartments. Spidermen on the other hand, can work with very complex structures, such as the Sports Hub or the “Supertrees” at Gardens by the Bay.

“It’s faster and more efficient when you use rope access, because these guys can conduct work at areas that are hard to reach,” said Sahir.

For the Sports Hub, he deployed 70 Spidermen to repaint the roof frame by hand, and more than 30 people to manually install the LED lights on its roof.

It took them about three months to complete the repainting and four to five months to install the lights.

Sahir admits this is a physically strenuous job, which is why maintaining good health and fitness is very important. He added that he hires ex-offenders, many of who are very fit.

Helping ex-offenders rebuild their lives

“I hire former prisoners who usually need help with getting back into the society. Most of them are very fit as well. They don’t have much to do while they’re inside, so they exercise a lot to pass the time,” he said.

The hiring of ex-offenders began when Sahir first hired his late childhood friend after he was released from prison.

“He’s never had a certificate his whole life until he achieved the one from Rope Access Network. I saw it hung on the wall of his home when I attended his funeral,” he said. His friend passed away about 10 years ago, at the age of 40.

Since then, Sahir has been hiring more ex-offenders to help give their lives a new meaning.

“For most of them, it’s not about the money, but the knowledge. I could see that a lot of them have the energy that we need to channel to the positive side instead of the negative… So, I don’t mind taking them,” he said.

“They need something to challenge themselves. So when they come out of prison they find that their life is meant for something. Even though they are window cleaners, they’re professional window cleaners… these guys can definitely study, they just need to be given the opportunity because they feel like their lives are not being valued,” he added.

But it’s also important for them to overcome their fear.

He said, “A little bit of fear is also good. When you’re afraid, you will look at safety and make sure you follow all the safety procedures.”

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