![PP Construction Safety logo and link to home page [1]](http://www.ppconstructionsafety.com/wp-content/themes/ppcs960/images/ppcslogo.jpg)
SAFER ROOFLIGHT REPLACEMENT
Risk during rooflight replacement reduced by working from below
Falls through fragile roofs and rooflights often occur during the replacement of rooflights. Avoiding the hazard of falling through fragile surfaces can be achieved by undertaking the work from below.
Letchworth Roofing Ltd working with Filon Ltd have developed a fixing system that allows sheet installation from below using just standard tools and a cherry picker.
The Fixsafe kits are available with a range of sheet sizes and profiles, as direct replacements for all popular asbestos and fibre cement sheeting. See short video
Comment
No work at height is 100% risk free and removing one risk may sometimes create another. There are now hardly any deaths during steel erection and roofing operations on new build “sheds” due to increased use of MEWPs and safety nets. However, the number of MEWP related incidents has risen. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Replacing rooflights from below may come with other risks. However, this approach could make a major contribution towards preventing the 7-10 fatal falls through fragile roofs and rooflights that occur each year. If work is carried out beneath a roof the hazard of falling through the roof has been eliminated!
Latest Construction Health and Safety News
HSE SAFETY ALERT: TOWER CRANE BRAKES
Collapse of tower crane jib in high winds prompts HSE warning
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 11th December 2018VISITING ENGINEER CRUSHED BY SCAFFOLD TUBES
Principal contractor “signed off” contractor storage arrangements
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 11th December 2018CONCRETE EJECTED BY PUMPING UNIT CLAIMED LIFE
Company and director failed to train and supervise pumping operations
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 5th December 2018HSE ENFORCEMENT WEEKLY UPDATE 5th DEC 2018
Prosecutions and enforcement notices register latest version
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 5th December 2018REFRESHED GUIDANCE ON FITNESS TO OPERATE PLANT
Construction plant medical fitness Good Practice Guide
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 4th December 2018MAJOR CONTRACTOR & LUL USED UNSAFE SYSTEM
Work method to eliminate moving vehicle hazard not adopted
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 4th December 2018OVERTURNING LORRY CAUSED DEATH OF DRIVER
Groundworks project stockpiling arrangements not properly managed
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 3rd December 2018FORTH BRIDGE LIFTING OPERATION NOT PLANNED
Major project PC failed to plan, supervise and carry out lift safely
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 3rd December 2018DEVELOPER FAILED ON ASBESTOS ASSESSMENT
HSE inspection revealed refurb works without asbestos survey
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 28th November 2018POST DRIVER HAMMER CRUSHED HAND OF WORKMAN
Unsafe system of work for vehicle crash barrier installation
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 28th November 2018WORKER FELL FROM LOFT THROUGH CEILING
Major house builder lacked understanding of loft fragile surfaces risk
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 28th November 2018NEW SITE DUMPER SAFETY GUIDANCE ISSUED
Construction plant sector concerns prompts CPA consults on draft
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 28th November 2018CCTV INSTALLER FELL THROUGH FRAGILE ROOFLIGHT
Contractor failed to properly plan and control the risks
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 28th November 2018VISITOR DIED FALLING INTO CONCEALED BASEMENT
Contractor failed to protect basement void on domestic project
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 28th November 2018RACKING FALL REVEALED UNSAFE SYSTEM OF WORK
European firm fined £300,000 after UK sub-contractor employee fell
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 18th November 2018FAILURE TO ACT ON VIBRATION AND SILICA HAZARDS
Worker health put at risk during stripping of furnace lining
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 18th November 2018MAJOR FM FIRM FAILED TO MAINTAIN BACK-UP POWER
Power loss at laboratory site created potential risk from biological agents
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 18th November 2018IGNORING HSE PROHIBITIONS COST FIRM £250,000
CDM 2015 and work at height requirements repeatedly breached
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 16th November 2018ROOF COLLAPSED UNDER EXCESS LOADING
Director and company fined over roof design failures
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 11th November 2018FORK LIFT OVERTURNED IN SCAFFOLDING YARD
Untrained operator suffered life changing crush injuries
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 10th November 2018STRUCTURAL SAFETY ALERT: EFFECTS OF SCALE
SCOSS issues alert after concerns disclosed over ‘large structures’
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 7th November 2018ASBESTOS EXPOSED BY UNTRAINED WORKERS
Contractor failed to act properly despite HSE intervention
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 7th November 2018GAS MAIN STRIKE REPAIR CAUSED SEVERE BURNS
Contractor excavator damage to gas pipe ends in £1.2m fine
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 7th November 2018REBAR FELL FROM FLT IN UNSAFE LIFTING OPERATION
Multiple fractures caused by inappropriate use of fork lift
Read the rest of this article »
Posted on 7th November 2018POORLY PLANNED LIFT DISMANTLE INJURED WORKMAN
Counterweight or suspension rope struck worker in lift shaft
Posted on 1st November 2018
December 11th, 2009 at 8:38 am
[…] by work on or near fragile roofs and rooflights is well know and safe systems must be in place. Replacing rooflights from below is increasingly seen as the most cost effective […]
June 20th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
[…] and serious injuries arising from work on or near fragile roofs and rooflights. In many cases working from beneath the roof is practicable and a safer way to carry out such work using mobile elevating platforms as the […]
March 13th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
[…] (Southampton) Ltd failed to recognise that the project could not be completed from below the roof and therefore the equipment was not sufficient to ensure […]
July 15th, 2012 at 10:55 am
[…] a common cause of fatalities in the workplace. Maintenance to industrial roofs should ideally be carried out from below using a safe working platform. If access onto a fragile roof surface is unavoidable, then adequate […]
August 17th, 2012 at 11:37 am
[…] from below – work from underneath the roof using a suitable work […]
August 29th, 2012 at 11:28 am
[…] guidance will advocate access from a tower scaffold or mobile elevating work platform from underneath the roof and will be targeted at commercial clients (such as those managing industrial estates) as well […]
December 17th, 2013 at 3:15 pm
[…] company eventually got it right by working from inside the building and avoiding the need to physically go onto the roof, but it is sad that it took a serious incident before this […]
March 25th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
[…] The proposed guidance will probably encourage the adoption of work practices which involved working from below fragile surfaces. […]
April 15th, 2014 at 9:04 pm
[…] Replacing rooflights from below the roof […]