Health & Safety Regulations for Metal Roofing Contractors

Today’s technologies have enabled metal roofing projects to come in all shapes and sizes. The level of complexity and variety available in this industry is mind blowing.

However, as the capabilities of metal roofing contractors grows, the associated safety regulations need to expand to match.

It is imperative that health and safety legislation covers all possible risks that metal roofing contractors could be exposed to. This is precisely why the government’s health and safety regulations are always evolving.

So, to ensure complete compliance to the latest safety regulations for metal roofing, below you can find a handy breakdown, which will help you keep on top of all HSE’s guidelines.

Understanding The Work at Height Regulations 2005

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 are a set of requirements from HSE. These apply to all employers or managers who are responsible for employees working at height.

These regulations are specifically designed to minimise the risk of injury to employees that are working at height.

As outlined in these regulations, it is the responsibility of anyone in charge of managing work at height activity to “make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people.”

To achieve this, those responsible need to:

• Ensure the right type of equipment is used
• Complete a thorough risk assessment (and continue to assess, and re-assess, it over time)
• Minimise the amount of work that needs to be completed at height, as much as possible.

To read these regulations in full, see HSE’s Working at height: A brief guide.

The hierarchy for work at height

One of the key roof safety principles included in the HSE’s working at height safety guidelines is ‘the hierarchy for work at height’.

This is designed to be an easy-to-remember way of determining the best course of action to take, for a specific situation.

The idea is that you follow the hierarchy, and find a solution that is as close to the top of the hierarchy as possible. If you can’t stick to the top level, then you try to adhere to the next one, and so on.

The HSE’s hierarchy for work at height is as follows.

Those planning work at height must:

1. Avoid work at height, where possible.

2. If they cannot avoid working at height, use work equipment (or other measures) to prevent falls.

3. If they cannot remove the risk of a fall, use work equipment (or other measures) to minimise the distance of a fall, or the health risks that it poses, should a fall occur.

What you need to consider before work starts

According to HSE, “many accidents could be avoided if the most suitable equipment was used and those doing the work were given adequate information, instruction, training and supervision.”

Risk assessments and safety precautions are two of the most important recommendations issued by HSE. They state that these preventative measures are among the best ways to improve metal roofing safety.

So, before any work at height can begin, employers and managers need to complete thorough risk assessments. This means that they will need to identify any risks to their employees, and detail the precautions that they are taking to keep them to the minimum.

Best practices for metal roofing contractors

For the situations where your employees are having to work at height, you need to ensure that they have the training required to do so as safely as possible.

HSE states that a high proportion of the people who receive fatal injuries as a result of working on roofs are not trained roofers. In fact, they are often maintenance workers, who did not receive the required training.

So, in addition to both equipment and enforced safety procedures, it is critical that your team receives comprehensive training, which is specific to working at height. This approach should be implemented across your entire company, as a requirement for anyone who’s role will involve working at height.

What are the main risks of working at height?

By ensuring that both you and your team are aware of the risks of working at height, you will be in the best position to identify them if they are present, and to avoid them.

The three main risks to working at height are:

Safe access to roofs

Workers need to be able to access a roof in a safe way. This could be through mobile access equipment, general access scaffolds, fixed or mobile scaffold towers, stair towers, or roof access hatches and ladders.

Fragile surfaces

Falls through fragile materials are the main cause of fatalities in roof work. The most common examples of fragile surfaces on roofs include asbestos cement roofing sheets and roof lights.

Roof edges and openings

If working on a flat metal roof, you need to install edge protection arrangements (HSE recommends a secure double guardrail and toeboard around the edge). For sloping roofs, you need to install both scaffolding and edge protection, fitted to the roof eaves.

Protecting members of the public

Finally, site managers are responsible for keeping any risk to the public to the absolute minimum. Careful consideration needs to be given to this, especially if the work is taking place on a domestic property.

Metal roofing contractors can protect the public by:

• Creating clear site boundaries
• Managing site access
• Ensuring someone is guiding drivers when operating vehicles
• Keeping any hazardous materials far from the site perimeter
• Installing scaffolding around sloping roofs

At Salmon Solutions, we hold a fantastic industry reputation for the exceptional quality of our roofing services. We consistently work to the highest possible health and safety standards, across our entire range of services.

So, if you’d like to find out more about any of our professional metal roofing services, speak to the Salmon Solutions Roofing team today. Contact our team for a quote or advice.