Fragile Roof Examples

What you need to know.

Fragile roof examples.

Almost all of these fatalities arise from construction work in some form or another. Workers undertaking roof work and building maintenance can die or be permanently disabled when they fall through fragile surfaces. Fragile surfaces skylights holes or vents weather conditions such as wind and rain for example being blown over the edge or slipping on a wet roof surface trip hazards for example roof components and protrusions and overbalancing or losing grip on steep pitched or sloping roofs. All roofs should be treated as fragile until a competent person has confirmed they are not.

Working from underneath the roof using a working platform to carry out roof repairs. This leaflet is for building owners and occupiers construction businesses and workers in the construction refurbishment and building maintenance sectors in short anyone working on fragile roofs or having work done. Workers such as electricians plumbers pest. Falls through fragile surfaces particularly fibre cement roofs and rooflights account for 22 of all fall from height fatal injuries in the construction industry.

Falls through fragile roofs and fragile roof lights cause death and serious injury. Fragile roofing materials may fracture without warning. Anyone carrying out roof works needs to have suitable training skills and experience. If working on a fragile roof is still needed try to keep as safe as possible by using stagings guardrails and fall arrest systems as required.

A roof is considered fragile if it is unable to take the weight of a person stepping onto it. For example where possible try to replace roof sheets or lights from underneath using a suitable work platform. Safety alert for working on fragile roofs. A significant rise in the number of fatalities involving working on roofs particularly involving fragile roof materials has prompted the health and safety authority to issue this safety alert to highlight the need for stringent health and safety procedures when carrying out this type of work.

Common on older or industrial buildings such as warehouses and factories fragile roofs come in many different types and it may not always be obvious that a roof is fragile at first glance. They account for almost a fifth of all the fatal accidents which result from a fall from height in the construction industry. It explains which surfaces present a particular risk and what you should do as a building owner or occupier. Fragile roofs pose a serious risk to both life and limb throughout the uk with nine people falling to their deaths each year.

Safer methods would involve workers not going onto the roof for example. Fractures can occur so rapidly that a worker could easily fall through the roof suffering serious or even fatal injuries. Roofs can become fragile over time due to natural wear and tear or they might have been fragile from the start.