For anyone working within the roofing industry, one thing that you can never take for granted is roofing safety. If you are serious about being safe, though, you need to know where to start. Here is a simple overview for those up on the roof.
De-roofing
First off, you have to be very careful when you are dealing with any form of de-roofing during roof replacement. Indeed, a whopping one-third of fall deaths take place during residential constructions thanks to falling from roofs. And, as you might imagine, de-roofing is one of the most risky operations for a roofer.
You must undergo de-roofing training to make sure you are fully aware of any potential hazards that might exist as you work. If you do this, you are much more likely to ensure you are ready to handle the risks of being on the roof.
Maintaining structural safety
When you are working on a roof, it is essential that you make sure the roof is actually safe to be worked upon. Many people don’t scout their construction location beforehand. We recommend that you make use of both a personal fall arrest system and a railguard platform. If you do that, you reduce the likelihood or the risk of hurting yourself should you fall.
You should also make sure that you have secured the entire facility using staging material. Make sure that you secure tools to avoid the risk of people being tripped up. Cords from electrical tools and equipment could put you at needless risk of injury.
Preparing accordingly
You should always make sure that all staff arrive with the correct kind of roofing attire. For example, you want strong, sturdy, secure and safe footwear. You want to make sure that they can easily step onto the roof without having to worry about their feet. They should also have strong grips, so that slipping on any dust build-up is not something you need to worry about.
Make sure that you clear out any areas that debris falling from, too. While tools like hard hats and other protective equipment are essential, you should reduce risk by clearing any area where debris could fall from the roof. Create a restricted perimeter that avoids putting people at risk.
Always have secondary support
Roofing is a dangerous job, and often means putting yourself at risk to try and get the job done. In a bid to help you stay safe as you work, we recommend that you always work with a secondary staff member. While many roofing jobs can be done alone, you do put yourself at risk by doing so.
Make sure you bring things like guardrail systems and that you put them in place as soon as you possibly can. If you do that, you vastly increase the likelihood that you can retain support and safety moving forward.
Keep these simple but important facts at hand: they are essential to safety in the workplace when you are working atop a roof.