Roof Safety Tips For The Workers The life of a roof worker is very challenging. Working on fragile roof, or for building maintenance, roof repairing or cleaning involves a lot of risks. Every year, we come to know a number of cases where people even lose their lives as a result of falling from the roof or due to poor protection while working. Accidents and mishaps occur on industrial roofs like warehouses, farm buildings, or factories. At these places, there are chances of old roof lights, corroded metal sheets, wired glass, etc. Accidents can be easily prevented if the work is planned systematically, equipment are right and workers are given proper training to work and avoid accidents safely.
Here are some flat roof safety tips for workers by employing which accidents can be avoided.
Competent If a worker is employed to carry out the roof work, it should be ensured that they are competent and experienced enough to perform the work efficiently. They should have prior experience to work on fragile roofs. Besides the work should be planned systematically and sufficient time should be allotted to avoid any kind of rush and safely complete the task.
Use of safety markers Safety markers are used as a preventive measure while clearing snow or piles of debris from the roofs. Be it to prevent falling through a skylight or stumbling over an obstacle, it can all be prevented if roof safety makers are efficiently used. The height and bright colors of the markers make it excellent choice for flat roof safety which ultimately prevents unwanted accidents and injuries.
Precautionary measures Working on fragile roofs should be avoided as much as possible. However, it is not possible in all the cases. So, wherever possible, the working methods should be kept from the position below the moving platform. If it is not feasible, the task should be carried out with a MEWP (Mobile Elevating Work Platform) which provides a safe working platform and let the work to be conducted without actually stepping on the roof.
Mitigation If the above mentioned preventive measures are not possible, stress should be laid on mitigating the fall distance and consequence. It can be done by:
Installation of perimeter edge protection Using platforms fitted with edge protection so that the load on the roof surface can be spread Protection of fragile areas like roof lights with covers so that the access onto those areas can be prevented
These are some of the precautionary measures for workers which if effectively applied can reduce the risks to a great extent.