Rooftop Fall Protection during Hazard Analysis and Installation

Before you can install a fall protection system to reduce the risk of rooftop hazards, a hazard analysis and fall protection system installation must occur. During those processes, there are some general guidelines to follow to reduce the exposure to dangerous situations. By following these basic protocols, everyone involved with the rooftop hazard analysis and the system installation will be significantly safer. 

Hazard Analysis

• Identify the tasks that personnel will need to perform on the roof and figure out where they need to go for those tasks.
• The most common rooftop responsibilities are: Repairing leaks in the roof, cleaning out debris in gutters/drains, and maintaining things like lighting units, heating and cooling equipment, and cameras.
• Whenever possible, talk to the workers and managers about rooftop tasks on the ground, since you don’t necessarily need to see the danger as long as you know it’s there.
• Ask how the workers access the roof areas. Are there single or multiple points of rooftop access?
• Review a blueprint of the roof or check overhead photos with (free!) programs like Google Maps.
• There are tons of hazards on a roof—vents, pipes, tubes, etc. Consider these when planning fall protection.
• Consider swing falls and proximity to other objects and structures during the course of a fall.
• Consider the Fall Protection Hazard Hierarchy. 
• Consider using temporary anchorages during the installation of the permanent anchorages.
• Use wide, plywood planking across potentially weak spots in roofing materials. Place those planks with extreme caution and ensure that they are secure and strong enough to support the weight of every worker (and their equipment) on site.  

Safer Installations

• Make sure that connectors are compatible with the anchor and that all other parts are compatible with one another.
• First Up, Last Down Rule: The first person to go up the ladder is responsible for installing the anchorage point. Then, the last person to go down the ladder removes the anchorage. Temporary guardrails from XSPlatforms could also be used as a means of prevention prior to installing a permanent form of fall protection. REMEMBER: Guardrails can only be used in specific circumstances.
• A man lift or cherry-picker can be used for access to a roof and/or an extra anchorage point when there aren’t other options.
• Use roof hatches to limit your exposure to temporary ladder hazards.
• If you’re using a permanent ladder for roof access, try to use ladders that have a fall protection system built into them.

Until the next time, stay safe up there!

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