Osha Safety Rules For Roofing

Roof safety is a system of preventive measures when performing work and repairs on rooftops because it is one of the most dangerous jobs in the construction industry.

Osha safety rules for roofing.

Occupational safety and health administration osha standards. If you are a roofing contractor in the united states with at least one employee you are required to abide by osha safety standards. Roofing industry fall protection from a to z worker injuries in the construction industry in 2011 the private construction industry experienced 721 fatal work injuries. Reducing falls during residential construction.

Osha requires fall protection for workers on surfaces over six feet off the ground that do not have protection along the surface edges. Osha safety standards especially for roof fall protection can be a source of confusion for many industrial companies. Lay headers sheets of roofing or other materials no closer than 5 feet inside the edges of the roof and parallel to the roofline. If you work alone you are not required to abide by osha standards.

Osha occupational safety and health administration is a us government agency regulating workplace safety. Since roofs rarely have any sort of built in protective rails employers must provide fall protection for roof workers. Labor department s osha acts to protect residential roofing workers agency rescinds clinton era directive and gives workers more safeguards against falls. The safety monitor is always a competent person 29 cfr 1926 500 b.

Protecting roofing workers osha 3755 2015 english. The osha general industry standards exclude construction as well as agriculture and marine industries which also have their own standards but both standards can sometimes apply to the same. When the fall protection measures listed above are not used mark the edges of the flat roof with headers and warning lines to notify workers of potential fall hazard areas using the following guidelines. Two osha standards can apply 29 cfr 1910 which governs general industry safety standards and 29 cfr 1926 which governs construction sites specifically.

Two hundred and fifty four of the 721 deaths were caused by falls. The warning line system shall consist of ropes wires or chains and supporting stanchions 29 cfr 1926 502 f 2. Or on roofs 50 feet 15 25 m or less in width the use of a safety monitoring system alone is permitted 29 cfr 1926 501 b 10. Osha requires that anchors for pfass be able to hold at least 5 000 pounds of weight per person or maintain a safety factor of at least two twice the impact load under the supervision of a qualified person.