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Do you need a harness to work on a roof?
1. Roof Work Safety Harness – You should never tackle a roof-related job without a roof safety harness, especially when the roof is steep, or its surface is slippery or fragile. A roofing harness is a key part to a a roofers personal protective equipment kit that will safely catch you if you fall.
- Not all harnesses are made equal, so you’ll need to be careful when choosing one.
- You’ll need to look into how the harness fits and how comfortable it is.
- It is likely that you will wear it for hours, so the comfort harness provides is an important factor to consider.
- You also need to make sure, the harness you choose is suitable for fall arrest,
One safety harness that fits this bill is the Singing Rock Roof Master, one of the best roofing harnesses out on the market. It is a super-light and adjustable full-body harness that enables you to work on inclined surfaces without worrying about falls. It is fitted with an innovative Singing Rock’s motion system to grant you more freedom when working on roofs. The motion system not only allows work positioning but also distributes the energy of the fall to different body parts, reducing the risk of injury.
How does a safety harness work?
Stay Upright – In addition to distributing force, the design of a full body harness serves to keep an employee upright in a fall. This allows a deceleration device to properly deploy, but also keeps the spine vertical, which is the position in which it can best absorb compressive forces of a fall.
Ultimately, this position is the optimal position for rescuing or lowering a worker to a safe location. Even so, this upright position could cause blood to pool in the legs. Upon retrieving a fallen worker, emergency personnel will often lay him or her down. The blood that had been pooled in the legs can, in this situation, rush to the heart causing cardiac arrest.
This is why rescue plans are so critical. This potentially fatal result of suspension could occur after as little as 10-20 minutes.
At what height do you need a harness?
What can be done to reduce falls? – Employers must set up the work place to prevent employees from falling off of overhead platforms, elevated work stations or into holes in the floor and walls. OSHA requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in the construction industry and eight feet in longshoring operations.
Guard every floor hole into which a worker can accidentally walk (using a railing and toe-board or a floor hole cover). Provide a guard rail and toe-board around every elevated open sided platform, floor or runway. Regardless of height, if a worker can fall into or onto dangerous machines or equipment (such as a vat of acid or a conveyor belt) employers must provide guardrails and toe-boards to prevent workers from falling and getting injured. Other means of fall protection that may be required on certain jobs include safety harness and line, safety nets, stair railings and hand rails.
OSHA requires employers to:
Provide working conditions that are free of known dangers. Keep floors in work areas in a clean and, so far as possible, a dry condition. Select and provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to workers. Train workers about job hazards in a language that they can understand.
What safety equipment do you need for being on the roof?
Get started with the basics. – The OSHA and Canada Labour Codes go into detail about the types of fall protection equipment and measures you must have in place. But it’s always good to keep the basics in mind. Here are some top precautions to consider:
- Wear a PFA harness that fits properly – and keep it connected to a secure roof anchor.
- Always make sure you use the guardrails or lifelines set on your roof site.
- Inspect your safety equipment – hard hat, harness, etc. – before you use it!
- Ensure your working space is neat and free of debris and that your equipment (such as ladders, scaffolding and platforms) are both secure and in solid working condition.
- Make sure any holes (for skylights, etc.) are covered or cordoned off before you get to work.
- Make sure the instructions you have for your work, whether from your client or your employer, are clear, and you have enough time to do the work safely and properly.
(Source: United States Department of Labor and Ontario Ministry of Labour )
Will my roof break if I stand on it?
Yes, it can. The likelihood and level of severity depends on the time of year. Shingles are hardy and are made to withstand an occasional walk. However, if it’s hot outside, say 80 degrees, and there’s direct sunlight on the roof, the asphalt base of the shingle will soften.
Do you have to tie off on a roof?
Figuring out how to work on a roof without fall protection is easier than you think. Simply consider the task you are performing (whether that be maintenance, construction, or really anything else) assess the hazards, divide by the number of workers and factor in the use of personal protective equipment (adjusted for recent revisions to written policy) and you will find that without fail, every single time, you come to the same answer for how to work on a roof without fall protection: You can’t.
- If you are working on a roof, then fall protection of some kind is necessary.
- Although my previous statement may, at first glance, seem false (it can be impossible to find acceptable anchorage points on some roofs), let’s take a moment to review what “fall protection” actually is.
- Is fall protection a harness, lanyard, and anchor point (also known as a personal fall arrest system or PFAS)? Yes, it is.
But fall protection might also be safety railings, parapets, travel restriction, warning lines with safety monitors, or even, in some cases, distance. I urge you now to come up with a scenario where this is not true. Even the one exemption I know of isn’t a full exemption: a roofing supply delivery person who is distributing materials on a roof can do so without fall protection, however, they must be protected as they gain access to the roof and if an anchor point is available once up there, they MUST use it ( reference ).
Let’s take a moment to think about this. We all know that, according to OSHA, when you’re exposed to a fall greater than 6′ in construction and 4′ in general industry (with a few exceptions), you must be protected from that hazard. This makes it pretty obvious that anybody close to the roof’s edge would need PFAS, rails, or some means of fall protection.
We’re probably all in agreement about that. But what about when we get further away? How far can I be from the roof’s edge before I can stop worrying about fall protection? Is there even an answer to that question? No, there isn’t. As far as OSHA is concerned, there is no safe distance from the edge of a roof, so you must be protected.
This means that you must have rails, fall arrest systems, or a warning line/safety monitor setup no matter where it is you are working. Keep in mind though, that unless you have a written fall protection plan stating why other means aren’t feasible, the warning line and monitor setup is only available to roofers doing roofing work.
Your mechanical companies doing HVAC maintenance, your solar company, and anybody else that would need to perform work up there would not be able to choose this option. Luckily, OSHA recognizes the fact that somebody who is working in the center of a large roof with no reason to leave that work area has very little actual exposure to a roof-edge fall.
- Therefore, if you are working on a roof and have a warning line set up more than 15 feet away from the edge, then OSHA would issue you a de minimus violation (in other words, you may receive the violation for notification purposes but there would be no fine attached).
- Still, you must have that warning line up so that your employees know they should not be wandering away from that work area.
If they do, it could put them in harm’s way and it could make your company vulnerable to citations and penalties. The point is this: roofing fall protection requirements can be complicated, which often causes people to make mistakes when determining what is necessary.
Where do you anchor a safety harness?
The anchor strap must be mounted on a safe anchor point that supports loads of at least 15 kN. The anchor points should be considered on H or I type steel, scaffolding or other safe points on the structure. Permanent anchorage points include eyelets, horizontal lifeline systems based on cable or rail.
What are the disadvantages of safety harness?
A Heavy Burden of Responsibility for Workers – The use of safety harnesses is common when fall prevention devices cannot be installed at a site. As long as it’s adjusted correctly, a safety harness proves to be effective in case of a fall. Nevertheless, it presents several disadvantages and places a heavy burden of responsibility on workers at the construction site:
Usually a one-size-fits-all device, it complicates fit, reduces comfort for smaller-sized people as well as very tall people, and cannot offer the same level of protection to everyone If the straps and various parts of the harness are not correctly fitted nor conform properly to the user’s body shape, it can cause injury in stopping a fall The location of the anchor points must be carefully chosen. The lanyard needs to have the right length to allow the material to stretch without letting the user hit the ground or another object. The harness as a whole must contribute to cushioning a shock because falling even a short distance exerts a considerable force on the user Fall-arrest devices can cause significant trauma due to the vertical suspension involved and may even lead to death. As it is critical to intervene in the moments immediately following a fall and often before help arrives, it is essential to assign only workers who have received practical training on rescue measures in addition to training on proper use of safety equipment.
To protect workers at height, it is best to install fall prevention devices rather than use fall-arrest systems. However, when the site does not allow for the former, it becomes necessary to turn to the latter, properly manage the equipment, and adequately train employees on its use.
How should a safety harness be worn?
To ensure the harness is worn correctly: –
Slip the harness on your shoulders, the D-ring should be between your shoulder blades. Pull each leg strap up and fasted the buckles. Stand up and adjust the side straps eliminating any slack that may be left. Fasten the chest strap. Make sure all straps are snug by tightening the straps, while still allowing for a full range of motion. Make sure when lose ends of the straps are tucked into the strap retainers. With you hand held flat, you should be able to fit two fingers underneath your leg straps.
Both of these processes are routine but often disregarded. Understanding in the risk in a damaged or ill-fitting harness is the key to the safety of workers working at height. Martin’s safety experts will work with you to minimize risk and maximize safety, and can train your employees on staying safe at heights.
What safety equipment do you need for being on the roof?
Get started with the basics. – The OSHA and Canada Labour Codes go into detail about the types of fall protection equipment and measures you must have in place. But it’s always good to keep the basics in mind. Here are some top precautions to consider:
- Wear a PFA harness that fits properly – and keep it connected to a secure roof anchor.
- Always make sure you use the guardrails or lifelines set on your roof site.
- Inspect your safety equipment – hard hat, harness, etc. – before you use it!
- Ensure your working space is neat and free of debris and that your equipment (such as ladders, scaffolding and platforms) are both secure and in solid working condition.
- Make sure any holes (for skylights, etc.) are covered or cordoned off before you get to work.
- Make sure the instructions you have for your work, whether from your client or your employer, are clear, and you have enough time to do the work safely and properly.
(Source: United States Department of Labor and Ontario Ministry of Labour )
What tool do you use for working on a roof?
Roofing hammer or hatchet. Air compressor. Roofing blade or utility knife. Roofing shovel or shingle tear-off tool.
