UK Industrial Specialists

SAFE LIFTING.
ROPE ACCESS.EVERY TIME.

Contract Lifting, Rope Access & Safety Assurance in the North East.

Based in the North East and working UK-wide, S.L.R.A.S delivers fully managed contract lifts, crane hire, IRATA-certified rope access and independent HSE consultancy. Every lifting operation is planned by a qualified Appointed Person and delivered in compliance with LOLER and BS 7121.

Years Combined Experience

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Lifting Operations Delivered

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Safety Compliance Record

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Quick Response

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What We Do

Three specialists
disciplines. One trusted
partner.

From lift planning to rope-access inspection to independent safety consultancy — every service is led by technicians and consultants with hands-on offshore, energy and heavy-industry experience.

Contract Lifts & Crane Hire

Fully managed contract lifts and CPA crane hire across the North East. Our Appointed Person handles the site survey, lift plan, RAMS and supervision – with insurance cover for the full lifting operation. Mobile cranes, machinery relocation and specialist lifting personnel including lift supervisors, slingers and banksmen.

Rope Access

IRATA-certified rope access technicians (Levels 1–3) for inspection, maintenance, NDT and industrial cleaning at height. A safe, faster and lower-cost alternative to scaffolding for wind turbines, offshore platforms, tanks, silos, bridges and industrial structures.

Safety Assurance

Independent health and safety consultancy for high-risk industry – NEBOSH and CQI/IRCA qualified consultants delivering risk assessments, incident investigation, ISO 45001 management systems, safety audits and CDM support.

Accredited. Qualified. Trusted.

We operate to the highest industry standards with fully certified personnel and robust management systems.

Why SLRAS

Experience that
delivers results.

SLRAS provides expert lifting, rope access and safety assurance for complex projects across renewable energy, oil and gas, marine, construction and infrastructure. Every project is delivered on time, on budget and with zero compromise on safety.

20+ Years Experience

Onshore and offshore heavy lift, decommissioning and HSE leadership.

Nationwide Coverage

North East Based, UK-Wide - Teesside HQ with mobile teams operating nationally.

Industrial Specialists

Purpose-built for energy, marine, and heavy-industry environments.

Highly Qualified

IRATA, OPITO, NEBOSH, ECITB certified personnel.

Safety Focused

Zero-harm culture backed by robust management systems.

Trusted by Industry

Chosen for some of the UK's most demanding decommissioning projects.

Zero incident record

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Our Approach

A turnkey partner across
all three disciplines.

S.L.R.A.S are experts in their three chosen fields, with safety and customer satisfaction embedded into the company’s morals and values. With continued excellence and consistently demonstrated experience across both onshore and offshore operations, you can be assured S.L.R.A.S’s professional and comprehensive approach will ease operational downtime — or our quick-reaction team will rapidly aid you in those costly unplanned events, getting your systems, machinery or hazardous circumstances resolved.

Our turnkey approach eases the complexities of arranging multiple contractors for lifting or rope access project scopes. It ensures our lifting and/or rope access technical authorities are on hand, supported by our HSE team, ensuring your scope is planned to a safe, meticulous level of detail and is compliant with the relevant regulatory standards.

Crane Hire

Contract lift and crane hire packages with certified operators, lift supervision and appointed persons.

Machinery Relocation

Heavy plant moves, installation and machinery relocation planned and delivered end to end.

Quick-Reaction Team

Rapid mobilisation for unplanned events — recovery, made-safe works and emergency access.

One Point of Contact

Lifting, rope access and HSE technical authorities under a single turnkey contract.

20+ YEARS

Onshore & Offshore Heavy Lift

Industries We Serve

Trusted across the North East's most demanding industries

From offshore decommissioning to quayside machinery moves, S.L.R.A.S deliver contract lifts, crane hire and IRATA rope access into environments where downtime is expensive and safety is non-negotiable. Every scope is planned by a qualified Appointed Person and delivered in line with LOLER and BS 7121.

Our teams mobilise across Teesside, Tyneside and the wider UK — working on live plant, restricted-access sites and offshore assets where conventional access simply isn’t practical.

Construction & Infrastructure

Crane hire and contract lifts for steel erection and plant installation, plus rope access inspection on bridges and structures.

Wind & Renewables

Turbine blade and tower inspection and lifting operations for the renewables supply chain.

Marine, Ports & Harbours

Quayside crane hire, vessel and hull inspection, machinery relocation and confined-space access.

Chemical, Process & Heavy Industry

Tank, silo, vessel and structural inspection on live plant — plus planned shutdown and turnaround support.

Our Coverage

Based in the North East. Delivering across the UK.

Our technicians mobilise nationally at short notice — from Aberdeen to Cornwall — with local knowledge of every major industrial region.

Managing Director

James Spanswick

Our Consultants

A collective of lifting, rope access and HSE consultants.

Our consultants bring national and international lifting, working-at-height and health & safety management experience across onshore and offshore industry — technical authorities who plan, supervise and assure every scope we deliver.

That collective is led by managing director James Spanswick, most recently the lifting subject-matter expert supporting one of the world’s largest heavy-lift decommissioning jack-up projects.

Present

Managing Director, Safe Lifting & Rope Access Specialists (S.L.R.A.S)

Recent

Lifting SME — Major decommissioning jack-up campaign

Prior

Senior HSE Adviser — Biggest North Sea Oil & Gas Producer

9 Years

Lead Rope Access Supervisor — construction & maintenance

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a contract lift and CPA crane hire?

Under CPA crane hire we supply the crane and operator, but you remain responsible for planning the lift, providing your own Appointed Person and your own insurance. Under a contract lift, S.L.R.A.S take full responsibility — site survey, lift plan, RAMS, Appointed Person, crane supervisor, operator and slinger/signaller, plus insurance cover for the lifting operation. If you don’t have a competent Appointed Person in-house, a contract lift is the right choice.

Do I need an Appointed Person for my lift?

Yes – under LOLER and BS 7121 every lifting operation must be planned by a competent Appointed Person. If you don’t have one in-house, we can provide a qualified AP holding CPCS A61, the ECITB Appointed Person (Moving Loads) qualification and a CPCS Level 5 Diploma in Controlling and Planning Lifting Operations.

Is rope access cheaper than scaffolding?

In most cases, yes. Scaffolding carries significant erection, dismantling and site-disruption cost. A rope access team can often be on site, working and demobilised in the time it takes to build a scaffold – with a smaller footprint and less interference with live operations. For long-duration work with heavy material handling, scaffolding may still suit better, and we’ll tell you which fits your scope.

What accreditations does S.L.R.A.S hold?

S.L.R.A.S is CHAS Standard accredited (membership no. 181567) and an SSIP Approved Contractor under CDM. We are also a Constructionline Gold verified member. Our personnel hold qualifications through IRATA, ECITB, CPCS, NEBOSH, OPITO and GWO.

Where do you operate?

We’re based in the North East of England and work across Teesside, Tyneside, Wearside, County Durham, Northumberland and North Yorkshire — including Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Darlington, Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham. Our teams also mobilise UK-wide and offshore.

Client Confidence

What our clients say

"Client testimonial coming soon — verified project reviews from major UK operators will appear here as they're published."