Roof Work Safety Requirements

Demolishing or dismantling a roof of a structure.

Roof work safety requirements.

The occupational safety and health act requires employers to comply with safety and health standards promulgated by osha or by a state with an osha approved state plan. Examples of these activities include tiling roofing restoration and installing solar panels. Each year many roofers sustain injuries and even die on the job in the u s. Proper fall protection measures personal protective equipment ppe and adhering to safe work practices can protect workers from fall hazards.

A safe and healthful workplace. Fall protection requirements for construction workers doing work while on a roof. All work on roofs is highly dangerous even if a job only takes a few minutes. Single unit monolithic roofing applied to flat roofs may seem safer to some roof workers but the work is still at height and subject to many similar hazards and safety requirements as sloped roof work.

Proper precautions are needed to control the risk. Roofing work poses safety risks for workers because of the high heights involved in installing roofs. Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry and the occupational safety and health administration osha cites that falls from roofs account for 34 of all. Exterior egress beyond ladders staff should exercise situation awareness when accessing the roof via hatches elevators penthouse doors scaffolding or power equipment such as scissor lifts and aerial work platforms says brad richardson a certified safety professional and director of environmental health and safety for d.

In addition the act s section 5 a 1 the general duty clause requires employers to provide their workers with a workplace free. Roof work what you need to do. In regards specifically to roof fall protection the 1910 standard specifies for low slope roofs that when work is performed less than 6 feet 1 6 m from the roof edge the employer must ensure each employee is protected from falling by a guardrail system safety net system travel restraint system or personal fall arrest system. Osha regulations for roofing focus on fall protection equipment to help protect the safety and health of roofing workers.

Minor work on roofs that is not considered construction work for example cleaning roof gutters or replacing individual roof tiles can also have the same hazards especially the risk of falls. The law says you must organise and plan all roof work so it is carried out safely.