Climbing systems compared: what each code and regulator names

This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. Every source below was read on October 9, 2026, and each system is described only as far as a named code describes it. The courses that teach the work are in the guides on chainsaw tickets and certifications by country.

Credits: HSE text is adapted from HSE pages published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SafeWork NSW text is adapted from the Tree works code of practice (March 2026), copyright State of New South Wales (SafeWork NSW), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; changes were made, because the text is summarised and reworded. WorkSafe New Zealand material is summarised from its Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Arboriculture, with the source acknowledged.

The names the codes use

The Arboricultural Association's Industry Code of Practice for tree work at height (ICoP, second edition, May 2020) is the code that HSE's tree climbing page points to. It names two personal fall protection systems for tree work. In the ICoP's words, a moving rope technique runs the rope over or through an anchor so that both parts of the rope are connected to the operator, with a friction hitch or mechanical device on one of them. A stationary rope technique fixes the rope at one or more anchors and the operator moves on it through friction-based elements. The ICoP says the two may be used separately or together, and it does not rank them.

HSE's tree climbing page groups the main techniques in two. One is work positioning, with changeover climbing using a harness, a friction knot and a climbing line given as the example. The other is rope access and positioning, with footlocking and single rope technique (SRT) given as the examples. HSE's page does not give a definition of footlocking. The abbreviation DdRT does not appear in the HSE page, the ICoP or the other codes read for this page; the ICoP's term for the same idea is moving rope technique.

Systems side by side

System	Named by	What the source says
Moving rope technique	ICoP	A rope over or through an anchor, forming an adjustable loop with both parts connected to the operator. The ICoP expects a backup that limits a fall if the main system, its parts or its anchor fail.
Stationary rope technique	ICoP	A rope fixed at the anchor, with the operator moving on it through friction-based elements. It may be a single rope doubled over, two independently anchored lines or two independently acting lines.
Work positioning, changeover climbing	HSE	Harness, friction knot and climbing line. HSE says work positioning is used only with a suitable backup system, and that the user is connected to the second line if the backup includes one.
Footlocking and SRT	HSE	Listed under rope access and positioning, which HSE says needs at least two separately anchored lines, one working and one safety, with the user connected to both.
Work positioning system with lanyard	SafeWork NSW, California	The NSW code lists a work positioning system as a control for tree climbing and says a work positioning harness is used with adjustable lanyards or pole straps. California Title 8 section 3427 says employees aloft wear a tree worker's saddle and have at least two means of being secured, such as a climbing line and a work positioning lanyard.
Spiking	ICoP, SafeWork NSW	Not a stand-alone technique. The ICoP says it is used with a personal fall protection system, and the NSW code says spikes go with a work positioning harness and adjustable lanyards. The rules on where spikes may be used are on the guide on spurs and spikes.
Industrial rope access	SafeWork NSW	The code describes a harness-based fibre rope suspension system with a working rope and a safety rope, and says its techniques differ from standard tree climbing. It names it for difficult sites such as cliff faces and retaining walls, where standard tree climbing systems are not used.

Country by country

United States

OSHA has no standard written for tree care. Its inspection guidance memo of June 24, 2021 says the criteria in 29 CFR 1910.140 apply to personal fall protection systems used while climbing, changing location and working above the ground in trees. The memo does not name climbing techniques. The rule defines a positioning system as equipment that allows an employee to be supported on a raised vertical surface and work with both hands free. California's Title 8 section 3427 is a state rule for tree work: it requires two means of being secured for employees aloft and says employees are tied in or secured while ascending until they are back on the ground.

Canada

Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Code, Part 39, says that where the general fall protection rule is not reasonably practicable, an employer ensures a worker uses a work positioning system. It names no climbing technique. British Columbia's Part 26 has a tree-climbing section in force from December 1, 2021. It says each climbing line of the tree-climbing system uses at least one anchor point or point of securement, with independent ones where practicable, and that a stopper knot is tied at the end of each climbing line. It also says a cutting tool is operated only when tied in with a climbing line or lanyard and a second means of securement.

United Kingdom

HSE says the Work at Height Regulations 2005 do not ban climbing, and that climbing with ropes and a harness is allowed only if a risk assessment shows it can be done safely, a safer item such as a mobile elevating work platform is not justified, and the user and enough available people have task-specific training including rescue. HSE says that in rope access and positioning a single rope can be used if a risk assessment shows a second line would carry higher risk.

Ireland

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, regulations 109 to 113, are laid out in the same way as the British rules. Regulation 110 says a work positioning system is used only if it includes a suitable backup system, with the user connected to a backup line. Regulation 111 says a rope access or positioning technique is used only with at least two separately anchored lines, a working line and a safety line, with the user on both and a single line allowed only where a risk assessment shows a second line would carry higher risk. The Health and Safety Authority's Code of Practice for Managing Safety and Health in Forestry Operations does not carry a section on tree climbing systems.

Australia

The SafeWork NSW code, commenced March 27, 2026, applies in New South Wales; other states and territories have their own rules. Its access method table lists a work positioning system, with a climber on a rope and harness or a rope, spikes, pole strap and harness, and gives its limits: it needs a trained climber and a trained rescue person, and is not suitable where the structure or condition of the tree makes climbing unsafe. For mechanical ascenders the code says a backup on the main climbing line should be considered.

New Zealand

The WorkSafe New Zealand code for arboriculture does not name moving rope or stationary rope techniques. It says whenever a climber is aloft fall restraint should be used, that the climber is tied in while ascending until back on the ground, and that there is no more than 0.5 metres of slack in the climbing line at any time.