Safe working on or near roofs

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Safe working on or near roofs
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Summary

• Why
• The law
• In practice
• Ladders
• Golden rules

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WHY

• Gravity kills
• More fatal accidents in construction caused by
  falls than anything else
• Two biggest classes of fatal falls
• are domestic roof level repairs (7 off ladders, 6
  other causes)
• through fragile roof (5 last year), even more
  this)Numbers are provisional 2008/9 stats and
  typical

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Fatal Accidents in construction (all causes)
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Accident triangle
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The LawWork at Height Regulations 2005

• Apply to all work activities in all industries
• Apply to all at work by employees, employers or
  self employed
• Plan work
• Use the right equipment
• Use competent people
• PREVENT FALLS, REDUCE INJURY

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The Regulations Hierarchy

• AVOID work at height if you can
• PREVENT falls by using the proper gear, such as
  scaffolds or cherry pickers
• MINIMISE the chances of being hurt if you fall
• Applies even to small, quick jobs
• Doing nothing is dangerous and illegal

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Planned/right equipment/competent?
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Planned/right equipment/competent?
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Risk Assessment

• Examples of what to consider include
• the work activity
• equipment to be used
• location of the work and any hazards
• working environment (weather, lighting)
• condition of existing work surfaces
• duration of the work
• physical capabilities of workers

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Avoid work at height
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Prevent Falls

• Use an existing or safe place of work where no
  additional measures are required
• Use working platforms with guardrails or powered
  access platforms
• Use a work restraint system (preventing someone
  getting into a position from which he can fall)

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Collective Fall Prevention
MEWP
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Minimise the distance and consequences

• Collective control measures should always take
  priority over personal control measures.
• Collective measures e.g. airbags, nets etc. are
  usually passive and require no action by the user
• Personal protection measures e.g. fall arrest
  harnesses are active and require the user to do
  clip on for them to work effectively

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Minimise the risks using collective measures
Nets
Air bags
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Select the right gear

• Think about
• Where you are going to be working (ground
  conditions, space, public)
• How far you could fall and how likely you are to
  be injured
• How long will the job take and how often will it
  need to be done
• What you need to do to rescue someone should they
  fall
• Can the building or scaffold etc take the weight
  of the workforce and materials need for the job
• Is it the best piece of kit for the job

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Select the right equipment
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Select the right equipment
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Use of ladders

• Not banned but should only work from a ladder
  (including step ladder)
• when other equipment such as a tower scaffold is
  not suitable
• for light work that takes a few minutes
• of the correct type and in good condition
• placed on firm level ground and properly secured
• and set at the correct length and angle for the
  job

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Appropriate use of ladders?
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Use work equipment to prevent a fall
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Other things to think about

• Prevent tools and materials falling
• Throwing materials or debris (bombing) never
  acceptable
• Warn employees about danger areas
• You need to make sure that equipment such as
  scaffolds are checked
• After assembly or installation
• At suitable intervals or after exceptional
  circumstances
• Scaffold and tower scaffold inspection in each
  new position and then every 7 days
• MEWP on site within previous 7 days

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Fragile Roofs

• Sheet materials including asbestos cement or
  skylights
• Will not support weight
• Walking the bolts not acceptable
• Work from underneath from a mewp wherever
  possible (special roof fixings available to allow
  this)

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Golden rules

• Plan
• Choose right equipment to
• Prevent falls
• Reduce injury
• Competent workers
• Dont chance it