Investigation of an auto-belay failure within an indoor climbing gym

Abstract

This paper discusses an incident where an 8-year-old girl fell 7 m from a rope ladder on 30 July 2022. The indoor climbing gym operator was charged and pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The operator was fined AUD60,000 plus costs. The incident occurred within an indoor climbing gym in Melbourne, Australia. The incident involved an 8-year-old girl falling 7 m from a rope ladder while she was attending a friend’s birthday party. She became detached from a self-belay device suffering non-fatal traumatic injuries. It was concluded that the incident was a direct result of inadequate maintenance. Safety Engineering Ltd, the manufacturer of the Self-Belay Device, required all operators to re-certify their devices annually. The Self-Belay Devices are either refurbished and given a one-year additional warranty, or they are discarded and replaced with a new Self-Belay Device. The estimated usage period of the device which failed was 43 months. Excessive wear of the components within the Self-Belay Device allowed sufficient movement of the locking anchors for the device to malfunction. The movement of the locking anchors allowed the key to be removed when the worn connector was not fully engaged which allowed the participant to commence climbing when she was not securely to the auto-belay.

Keywords: Indoor Climbing, Artificial Climbing Structures, Risk Management, Self-belay Device

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007556