Roof Work Safety
Roofing safety is one of the most common subjects you'll find on the OSHA website. One reason is that the construction industry accounts for the overwhelming majority of workplace-related injuries and illnesses. The other reason is that roofers are exposed to particularly high hazards which are specific to roofing. These hazards include:
- Falls
- Rebar hazards
- Flying debris into eyes
- Cuts and abrasions
- Heat exhaustion
- Struck by incidents
Of course, there are many more but these are just some common ones.
Roof Work Safety Checklist
We're not aware of any roof work safety checklists published by Federal OSHA. However, some states and private entities have created such checklists. Since that's what you' want, we suggest trying
this template we found on a .gov website.
Roofing Safety Tips
Roofing contractors who want to protect workers often feel like there are too many standards to comply with, and rightly so. The hazards are so numerous and so serious among roofers that it has become commonplace for roofers to be the target of OSHA enforcement activities and rulemaking. Thus, roofing contractors often throw their hands up in despair and just do what they have always done, which is wing it. If that is your roofing company; here are some roofing safety tips which may improve safety until an aggressive safety plan is implemented with the company and the job:
- Always use fall protection while working at 6' or higher (some states like California may have a different requirement)
- Always ensure that water is accessible on the roof to limit the number of times roofers must climb up and down the ladder
- Ensure that protective footwear does not create a slip hazard for roofers
- Never allow untrained employees to work on a rooftop
- Ensure that all roofers receive training on the hazards associated with roofing and on how to use personal protective equipment.
More roofing safety tips can be found directly on this
OSHA roofing safety pdf if you need more.
OSHA Roofing Safety Manual
An OSHA safety manual is the foundation of all you will do regarding safety and health. The main purpose of a roofing safety manual is to have written policies, programs, and procedures that employees can reference if there is any question about how to perform a task safely while roofing. It is critical that you ensure all hazards are addressed in the manual and to ensure that the manual does not conflict with any Federal or State safety and health standards. At task that can be daunting. That is, unless you download "our"
roofing safety manual. Ours will serve as the fast track you need to have your own OSHA roofing safety manual.
Roofing Safety Topics
Roofing safety meeting topics that are specific to only roofing safety, remain to be quite elusive. In fact, there is likely no place on the web where you can download a library of safety topics that are specifically designed just for roofers. For this reason, it's best to identify a roofing safety topics library that "includes" topics and hazards related to the roofing industry. Some roofing safety meeting topics you might want to consider are:
- Fall protection in the construction industry
- Heat illness prevention
- Cold illness prevention
- Personal protective equipment
- Material handling
- Ergonomics
- Aerial Lifts
This is not a complete list, but it's a great start. Only you can identify all of the topics and hazards that need to be discussed during your safety meetings. It's all about knowing the hazards and covering them during your safety meetings.
