Safety and Health Program- Roof Labor Safety Upgrade Chapter

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Roof Labor Safety

Fall Protection Procedures shall be observed when working at heights greater than 4 feet. Refer to the Fall Protection Chapter for guidance.

Roof construction, repair, and other maintenance operations often require manual labor at dangerous heights and on steeply pitched working surfaces. The possibility of lost footing, decreased stability, and objects falling from such heights is great; appropriate employee safeguards shall be present. When employees of the Company are involved in such operations, the following minimum safety guidelines shall be followed to promote a safe and healthful workplace and guard against injury to others below the work area.

Training:

Each department head whose employees are required to perform duties on roofs shall insure that they receive safety training and comply with the minimum standards as specified in this document.

Catch Platforms:

A substantial catch platform shall be installed below the working area of roofs more than 20 feet from ground to eaves without a parapet, or 16 feet from ground to eaves with a slope greater than 4 inches in 12 without a parapet. The platform shall extend 2 feet in width beyond the projection of the eaves and shall be provided with a safety rail, mid-rail, and toeboard. This provision shall not apply where employees engaged in work upon such roofs are protected by a safety body harness attached to a lifeline.

Safety Body Harnesses, Lifelines, and Lanyards:

Safety belts are not approved nor will they be worn when working at heights greater than 4 feet.

Where catch platforms are not in place, employees performing duties on a roof more than 20 feet from ground to eaves without a parapet, or 16 feet from ground to eaves with a slope greater than 4 inches in 12 inches without a parapet, shall be secured by an approved safety body harness attached to a lifeline.

The safety body harness lanyard shall be a minimum of 1/2- inch nylon, or equivalent, with a maximum length to provide for a fall of no greater than 2 feet. The rope shall have a nominal breaking strength of 5,400 pounds.

Lifelines shall be secured above the point of operation to an anchorage or structural member capable of supporting a minimum dead weight of 5,400 pounds. One employee acting as anchor for another does not fulfill this requirement.

Lifelines used in areas where they may be subjected to cutting or abrasion, shall be a minimum of 7/8-inch wire core manila rope. For all other lifeline applications, a minimum of 3/4- inch manila or equivalent, with a minimum breaking strength of 5,400 pounds, shall be used.

Lifelines, safety body harnesses, and lanyards shall be used only for employee safeguarding. Ropes used for hoisting lines and other purposes shall not be used as lifelines. Any lifeline, safety body harness, or lanyard actually subjected to in-service loading, as distinguished from static testing, shall be immediately removed from employee safeguarding.

Safety Nets:

Where the use of ladders, scaffolds, catch platforms, temporary floors, safety lines, or safety body harnesses is impractical, safety nets shall be provided when workplaces are more than 20 feet above the ground, water, or other surface.

Roofing Brackets: