FAQs
1. How do you inspect a rope course, what do you inspect, and what is the cost?
EBL conducts "wrench on" inspections. Everything on the ropes course is examined: bolts, rope, clamps, utility poles, clamp tension, cable, tree selection, tree health, policy and procedure manuals, operating practices, risk management plan, and so on. A written report of inspector findings will be issued within four to six (4-6) weeks from the inspection date, with a verbal report on the spot. Course inspections range from $500 - $1,500 plus expenses, depending on course size, age, and maintenance records.
2. How many rope courses has your firm built?
EBL builders and professional networks have combined experiences of over 500 courses. If we don't know the answer, odds are someone on our team does. This knowledge base is one of our strongest assets when working with our clients.
3. Will your construction methods meet the PRCA Installation Standards?
All EBL courses exceed the voluntary industry minimum guidelines. EBL has established its own set of building practices which have been reviewed and endorsed by structural engineers and call for superior products. Further, EBL contributes to and constructs ropes courses to the installation standards set forth by the Professional Ropes Course Association (PRCA). An EBL constructed course carries many benefits not offered by other vendors. In short, we "never stop trying to improve upon your safety systems."
4. What makes EBL different from other ropes course vendors?
EBL has specialized in programming over the years and intends to continue delivering quality programs for both adults and youth services. Because of this background, we are able to make strong recommendations on what to build based on what really works. Too often we see camps wanting to build the "biggest" or "greatest" courses and we believe this is a waste of capital investment dollars.
EBL promotes a down scaled approach to rope course construction projects, starting with the end in mind and working backwards to ensure budgeting for training, gear replacement, inspection, and then construction. This more managed view allows for better integration into other existing programs and less of a strain on the annual budget. This allows us to provide our clients with straight talk and avoid a "hard sale". Actually, we have talked organizations out of building large courses because we did not want our name associated with a large scale construction regret.
EBL is driven on quality, not volume.
5. What types of training do you provide that would assist us in our course operation?
EBL not only provides a technical operation training with every course installation, but we also promote interpersonal / facilitation training as well. Many participants have found our Technical Refresher Training and our Train-The-Trainer (T3) very useful. However, these services are currently only available to our current clients. Due to time constraints, we are not able to take on new clients at this time.
6. Do we need to have an ACCT vendor build or inspect our course?
No. There are many professional, safe, and properly insured vendors available to assist. Further, you may find more information through the Professional Ropes Course Association (PRCA) website at www.prcainfo.org.