Working on Roofs

Monday July 9, 2012 15:56

We came across this article about Preventing Falls from Height, we thought it would be of interest to you:

Guidelines are now available as part of the DoL’s Preventing Falls from Height project and are designed to provide practical guidance to everyone involved in roof work – from architects and designers to principals and contractors.

The DoL’s programme manager harm reduction, Francois Barton, said that more than half the reported falls form height are from less than three metres, many from roofs and ladders.

“These guidelines are a practical way of helping roofers and others in the construction sector understand what safe working practice at height looks like.  Preventing falls while working at height is a top priority for the Department.”

Francois Barton gave notice that from July DoL will increase its focus on the construction sector, particularly on residential building sites.

“The Department is increasing the visibility and intensity of workplace visits in the construction sector and turning up the heat around poor practice.  If we see nothing is being done to prevent falls from height in the workplace, we’ll take appropriate enforcement steps.  Doing nothing is not an option.”

The guidelines are available at http://www.dol.govt.nz