Roof Work Health and Safety
How many businesses know how safe their roofs are, and can they be confident that their workers will be working on a safe roof? Unsafe roof work was prevalent in court in 2017. At least six prosecutions of employers who failed to manage their employees’ and others’ safety have been filed.
Roof Accident Prosecutions
Roofwork accidents in 2017 led to at least four more prosecutions of companies failing to manage roof works correctly. All received huge fines due to the serious injuries of the workers who will suffer lifetime suffering as a result of their failings.
Solarjen Ltd.
Fine of £250,000 and ordered to pay over £12,073.00 in costs for a worker who fell through a void in a roof. In this case, the company failed to plan the work and did not consider the safety of its employees.
MKM Fabrication
Fine of £66,000.00 and costs of £3898.00, and their subcontractor clad it was fined an equal amount for failing to plan roof works safely and endangering their employees’ and others’ lives.
Lets face it! There is little room for error when managing roof work safety, one slip can lead to a fatal fall from height.
Roof Work Health and Safety Tips
A few helpful tips include:
- Can you avoid working on a roof?
- Could equipment such as Mobile Elevated Work Platforms be used?
- Is the roof area safe and free from fragile areas?
- Install edge protection where possible.
- Is your team medically fit to carry out the work?
- Is there a way for individuals to activate an alarm or receive emergency alerts?
- How would you get them down in a emergency situation?
- Can they safely access and exit the roof area?
- Is there a safe method of them transporting equipment and materials on to the roof?
- Have you done a good risk assessment for the work activities and roof area?
Roof work accidents continue to be one of the major causes of falls from heights; don’t be the next company to be in the dock or offer condolences to your employee’s family.
For further information on safe roof work, check out www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/priced/hsg33.pdf
Contact us today if you have any queries.
