someone just fell off your roof.
BAM! IT WAS THAT FAST.
What are the consequences?
Who fell?
You, the building owner?
Perhaps it's a family member or friend cleaning gutters, hanging decorations, shoveling snow?
Are there medical bills? Are there funeral expenses?
Was it your employee? Did you provide a safe work environment and have you documented their training?
This will be important to OSHA, the fines levied, and the attorneys.
How will this affect your mod rate (and workers' compensation premium)?
Were you aware of the hazard and now you're negligent?
Was it a contractor or subcontractor performing their work?
Is their workers' compensation policy in force (premiums paid up to date) at the moment of the fall?
If not, expect to be in court.
Why did they fall?
How badly are they hurt?
Will they walk again? If so, how painful will it be?
What does recovery look like?
How will this affect business?
What compensation do they need to return to work?
What if they are permanently disabled or died?
What compensation are their family members (dependents) seeking?
How deep are your pockets?
How much time do you want to spend defending yourself in court?
How much money will you spend defending yourself in court?
How much time will you spend in the hospital and physical therapy?
But the question to be asked again and again, what would you do differently to minimize the risk so this never would have happened?
What are all the consequences of a fall?
Ask your insurance company. Ask your employees. Ask someone who fell.
Ask any spouse or dependent of someone who fell. Ask your attorney.
It's never good and completely preventable.
You, the building owner?
Perhaps it's a family member or friend cleaning gutters, hanging decorations, shoveling snow?
Are there medical bills? Are there funeral expenses?
Was it your employee? Did you provide a safe work environment and have you documented their training?
This will be important to OSHA, the fines levied, and the attorneys.
How will this affect your mod rate (and workers' compensation premium)?
Were you aware of the hazard and now you're negligent?
Was it a contractor or subcontractor performing their work?
Is their workers' compensation policy in force (premiums paid up to date) at the moment of the fall?
If not, expect to be in court.
Why did they fall?
How badly are they hurt?
Will they walk again? If so, how painful will it be?
What does recovery look like?
How will this affect business?
What compensation do they need to return to work?
What if they are permanently disabled or died?
What compensation are their family members (dependents) seeking?
How deep are your pockets?
How much time do you want to spend defending yourself in court?
How much money will you spend defending yourself in court?
How much time will you spend in the hospital and physical therapy?
But the question to be asked again and again, what would you do differently to minimize the risk so this never would have happened?
What are all the consequences of a fall?
Ask your insurance company. Ask your employees. Ask someone who fell.
Ask any spouse or dependent of someone who fell. Ask your attorney.
It's never good and completely preventable.
Building owners, your building and roof requires periodic maintenance.
Request SLATOR permanent life safety anchors to be installed on your building.
Maintain: Roof. Gutters. Solar Panels. Chimneys. Flashing. Painted Surfaces. Plumbing Vents. Roof Penetrations. Rooftop Equipment. Mortar. Holiday decorations. Regular removal of heavy snow loads.
Causes of damage: Storms. Hurricanes. Hail. Snow. Time. Limited material life. Worker errors. Building remodels.
Is it reasonable to expect each worker to be an expert in fall protection and install their own anchor points on your building?
Absolutely not, and you certainly don't want them to start screwing things into your roof.
Fall Protection evaluation and installation is a hybrid of engineering, construction and climbing talents. Fall protection, "Lack of training." is one of the most frequent OSHA citations. OSHA requires fall protection anytime a potential fall hazard is greater than six feet. Each tradesperson trained to become competent in their specific trade. Unfortunately, very few people are also trained in how to choose an anchor type for their specific situation, how to install it properly in the right location and how to repair the roof damage their anchor creates.
Observe the painter. Observe the chimney worker. Observe the solar installer. Even, observe the roofer. Is the anchor installed according to the manufacturer's specifications - rarely. Is the rope tight enough to prevent the worker from falling over the eve - rarely. Are the anchors being overloaded by too many workers attaching to a single anchor point - often.
What will the worker do to your roof if they install a temporary anchor point instead of using a pre-planned permanent anchor?
OSHA's general anchor point requirement is that the anchor must successfully resist a 5,000 pound load per worker attached.
It takes extensive construction knowledge, and a unique skill set to install anchors properly, and much more skill and gear to maintain safety while installing the anchor point. Every penetration in a roof, every new hole ... is another potential leak point. Even experienced roofers do not want to put additional holes in a roof. Metal roofs are particularly hazardous. The panels are not rated for the loads required to meet OSHA's standards. The clips and fasteners holding the panels are not inspectable and temporary standing seam anchors for metal roofs easily damage the roof and don't resist potential side loads.
Will the workers go without fall protection entirely or install and use a temporary anchor improperly?
Unfortunately, this is likely. Falls off roofs remain a leading cause of death and injury in the workplace. You can reduce the chances of a fall, injury or death on your property by installing suitable permanent anchor points in the proper locations.
Can "safe" workers do better work?
Yes.
Your building can be safely maintained and it's easy to plan for it.
Require permanent life safety anchor points in all:
New construction projects.
Renovation projects.
Re-Roof projects.
At the beginning of maintenance projects.
Be proactive.
"Take care of difficult problems while they are still easy." Lao Tzu 604-531 BC
Request SLATOR permanent life safety anchors to be installed on your building.
Maintain: Roof. Gutters. Solar Panels. Chimneys. Flashing. Painted Surfaces. Plumbing Vents. Roof Penetrations. Rooftop Equipment. Mortar. Holiday decorations. Regular removal of heavy snow loads.
Causes of damage: Storms. Hurricanes. Hail. Snow. Time. Limited material life. Worker errors. Building remodels.
Is it reasonable to expect each worker to be an expert in fall protection and install their own anchor points on your building?
Absolutely not, and you certainly don't want them to start screwing things into your roof.
Fall Protection evaluation and installation is a hybrid of engineering, construction and climbing talents. Fall protection, "Lack of training." is one of the most frequent OSHA citations. OSHA requires fall protection anytime a potential fall hazard is greater than six feet. Each tradesperson trained to become competent in their specific trade. Unfortunately, very few people are also trained in how to choose an anchor type for their specific situation, how to install it properly in the right location and how to repair the roof damage their anchor creates.
Observe the painter. Observe the chimney worker. Observe the solar installer. Even, observe the roofer. Is the anchor installed according to the manufacturer's specifications - rarely. Is the rope tight enough to prevent the worker from falling over the eve - rarely. Are the anchors being overloaded by too many workers attaching to a single anchor point - often.
What will the worker do to your roof if they install a temporary anchor point instead of using a pre-planned permanent anchor?
OSHA's general anchor point requirement is that the anchor must successfully resist a 5,000 pound load per worker attached.
It takes extensive construction knowledge, and a unique skill set to install anchors properly, and much more skill and gear to maintain safety while installing the anchor point. Every penetration in a roof, every new hole ... is another potential leak point. Even experienced roofers do not want to put additional holes in a roof. Metal roofs are particularly hazardous. The panels are not rated for the loads required to meet OSHA's standards. The clips and fasteners holding the panels are not inspectable and temporary standing seam anchors for metal roofs easily damage the roof and don't resist potential side loads.
Will the workers go without fall protection entirely or install and use a temporary anchor improperly?
Unfortunately, this is likely. Falls off roofs remain a leading cause of death and injury in the workplace. You can reduce the chances of a fall, injury or death on your property by installing suitable permanent anchor points in the proper locations.
Can "safe" workers do better work?
Yes.
Your building can be safely maintained and it's easy to plan for it.
Require permanent life safety anchor points in all:
New construction projects.
Renovation projects.
Re-Roof projects.
At the beginning of maintenance projects.
Be proactive.
"Take care of difficult problems while they are still easy." Lao Tzu 604-531 BC
