It’s not enough to say that health and safety for workers who work at height is important, instead it’s more accurate to say that health and safety in the context of working at heights is most important. The majority of fatalities that occur in the construction sector are the result of falls from height and in 2008/8 around 4000 employees suffered an injury resulting from a fall from height.
The HSE understands this, which is why it heavily regulates the use of edge protection equipment. Edge protection equipment itself is not only extremely important, but is also, these days, very sophisticated, designed to safeguard workers without affecting the effectiveness with which they work.
Sometimes, the use of edge protection equipment will be limited, either by the shape of the roof or by the nature of the work. Sometimes, little or no guardrail is feasible, and so fall protection equipment has to be used, including lifelines and safety harnesses.
Frequently, the shape of a roof will affect your choice of guardrail. There are now many guardrail systems which have been development to meet the challenges associated with irregular or sloping roofs. For instance you may use topfix guardrails for parapet roofs.
Safeguarding the edge of a roof is the best way to protect workers when they operate at heights, and there are now more roof protection options available than ever before, all highly effective and extremely safe.
