HSG 33 is a useful guidance document, which the following is taken from:
A safe place of work, including safe access, should be provided for all roof work. There is a clear hierarchy for all work at height; it helps guide those people planning the work to provide the safest possible
work area.
If you cannot avoid roof work and do the work remotely from the ground you should be preventing a fall, in order:
- Use edge protection (boarded scaffold with guard rails/netting) and suitable safe access onto the roof, e.g. a stair tower.
- Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) can provide a safe working platform to work from.
- Use a work-restraint system (e.g. harness with a short lanyard, which means it is impossible for the operative to get to a position where they could fall).
‘Short-duration work’ means tasks that are measured in minutes rather than hours. It includes tasks such as inspection, replacing a few tiles or minor adjustment to a television aerial. It may not be reasonably practicable to install safeguards such as a full independent scaffold or even edge protection for such work, but you will need to provide something in its place. The decision on the precautions to take will depend on an overall assessment of the risks involved. You should consider:
- duration of the work;
- complexity of the work;
- pitch of the roof;
- condition of the roof;
- type of roofing material (slate or tile);
- weather conditions;
- risk to those putting up edge protection; and
- risk to other workers and the public.
The minimum requirements for short-duration work on a roof are:
- a safe means of access to the roof level; and
- safe means of working on the roof, eg: on a sloping roof, a properly constructed and supported roof ladder; or ––
- on a flat roof without edge protection, a harness with a sufficiently short ––lanyard, attached to a secured anchorage, that it prevents the wearer from reaching a position from which they could fall.
Mobile access equipment or proprietary access systems can provide a suitable working platform in some situations and can be particularly appropriate for short-duration minor work. Where this is not practicable, then work restraint or fall-arrest systems could be considered.
When using fall-protection systems for short-duration roof work, fall protection equipment (used as work restraint) is preferable to fall arrest, as it prevents people falling by physically restricting their movement
to a safe area. It should not be possible to reach any unprotected edge, hole or fragile material when relying on this type of system.
Fall arrest is not the same as work restraint. Fall arrest relies on minimising injury once a fall has occurred. In both cases, seek specialist advice on anchorage points from the equipment supplier. Supervision and training are needed to make sure that the system of work adopted is understood by all and is maintained. A rescue plan is also necessary in the event that someone should fall.
Harnesses need to be suitable for the individual, who should be trained to fit and use them. They only protect someone when they are properly fitted and only while they are attached to a suitable anchorage point. There must be enough clear space below the work position to allow the fall to be arrested safely. They are not and should not be used as an easy option.
Remember PPE is always the last resort and you must be able to demonstrate through risk assessment that there was no other alternative for example Scaffold/MEWP due to cost/time/effort.
I hope this helps? All the best.