Fall Protection In the Roofing Industry

• After completing this session you will:– Have a better understanding of the potential

fall hazards you face.– Be able to recognize a fall situation.– Understand the means and methods available

to eliminate or protect you from the fall hazard.

Training Objectives

Fall FactsThe leading cause of fatalities and a leading cause of injuries in construction.

– 100,000 injured– 150 - 200 deaths– 35% of Construction Fatalities– 84% of injured lose time from work– 33% of injured are hospitalized

More workers fall to their deaths from, or through, roofs than any

other work surface

When is fall protection required?

• Each employee on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling.

6 feet or greater

Many different types of fall protection

Low Slope vs. Steep SlopeCommercial Fall Protection Requirements

Low Slope (up to 4:12)- Guardrails- Warning Lines- Safety Monitors Alone (<50’ wide)- Warning Lines & Safety Monitors- Personal Fall Arrest Systems - Safety Nets

4

12

Low sloped roofs rise four units or less for every run of 12 units

Steep Slope (> 4:12)- Guardrails- Personal Fall Arrest Systems- Safety Nets

Guardrails

- Guardrails are found made of wood, cable, or metal.

- Some are constructed onsite while others are prefabricated.

REGARDLESS OF WHO ERECTED THE GUARDRAIL, THE EMPLOYER WHO EXPOSES

EMPLOYEES MUST ENSURE IT IS COMPLIANT.

Guardrail Requirements

• Top rail, mid-rail, and toeboard

• Top rail shall be 42" (plus or minus 3 inches ie. 39” to 45”)– Must withstand 200 pounds of force outward or downward– Cable cannot sag more than 3” or below 39” with 200 pounds of

force applied.

• Mid rail shall be ½ the distance between top rail and working/walking surface

• Toe board shall be at least 3 ½” high (2”x4”)– Add screen or mesh if tools or materials extend above toeboards.

• Wood guardrails (2”x4”) shall have vertical supports a maximum of eight (8) feet apart

• Pre-fabricated guardrails such as Garlock Safety Rails must comply with manufacturer requirements.

Steep Slope Guardrails

When is a parapet wall acceptable as fall protection?

Warning Line Systems

Used only on low-

sloped roofs.

Barrier to warn workers approaching the edge. – Defines area where roofing

work can be done without conventional fall protection.

– Used only on low-sloped roofs.

– Consists of ropes, wires, or chains, and stanchions erected around all sides of the roof.

– High-visibility flags not more than 6’ apart.

– Line is no more than 39” and no less than 34” from surface.

Barrier to warn workers approaching the edge.

Manual work: place line >6’ from edge.

Mechanical work: place line >6’ from

edge parallel to equipment direction and >10’ from edge

perpendicular to equipment direction.

Warning Line

Lines or railing to the ladder is excellent however a line must

close the railing opening.

Warning lines must remain a minimum of 6’ from the roof edge or 10’ if mechanical equipment is

used.

Traffic cones do not have the required ‘tipping strength’ of 16 pounds. Lines cannot sag

below 34”

Warning Lines

Lines must have a 500 pound breaking strength

Who is allowed outside the warning lines?

• No employees shall be allowed in the area between a roofs edge and a warning line unless the employee is performing roof work activities in that area, and is being supervised by a Safety Monitor or wearing a personal fall arrest system.

Safety Monitoring System

A Competent Person to warn workers near edges.– Cannot be used on;

– Steep slope roofs– Roofs with mechanical equipment

in use

– Cannot be used ALONE on;– roofs >50’ wide

Competent Person must be: - competent in recognizing fall hazards - capable of warning workers operating on same surface - close enough to communicate

What are the fall hazards I should be warning employees about?

• Backing up to close to the edge

• Any unprotected roof opening

• Tangled extension cords

• Airborne debris

• Bees, Wasps, Hornets

• Water, ice, or other slippery conditions

• Any change in walking/working conditions

Should a Safety Monitor wear a vest?

Personal Fall Arrest System

“System” is made up of the following components;

Full Body Harness

Most body harnesses have these parts:– Shoulder straps

– Shoulder strap retainer

– Dee-ring– Waist strap– Thigh straps– Sub-pelvic support– Adjustment bucklesSome designs may not have

waist straps or sub-pelvic supports.

Lanyards

- Many different types.

- Shock absorber is the key component in reducing the forces imposed on the body.

- How much material will the shock absorber release?

- Shock absorber side should be attached to the rear D-ring between the shoulder blades.

Snaphooks

• Must be ‘double action & self closing’

• Never wrap lanyard around an object and snap the hook back onto the lanyard, unless the lanyard is specifically designed for this.

Anchorages

• Fall anchors must support at least 5,000 pounds of force.

Personal fall arrest must never be attached to guardrails.

Roof Anchors

Door Jam Anchor

Anchorage Connectors

“Mobile” Fall Protection Available

Horizontal Lifelines

• Horizontal lifelines shall be designed, installed, and used, under the supervision of a qualified person (ie. Must be engineered)

NEVER install a horizontal lifeline unless it has been designed by a qualified person!

Making a PFAS work

• Employees are not permitted to free fall more than 6 feet.

• Maximum force that can be put onto your body during a fall is 1800 pounds.

• Actual force depends on your weight & fall distance.

• The shorter the fall the better.

200 lb. Worker falling 6 feet = 9,000+ lbs. of energy.

The Six Foot Fall

Always think, “What will happen if I fall?”

Calculation of Total Fall Distance

• Freefall = 6 feet maximum• Deceleration Distance = 3.5 feet max.• Harness effect = 1 foot• Lifeline elongation = 2 feet maximum• Portion of body landing below attachment point

approximately 5 feet

• Total clearance below required to avoid contacting lower level may be 17.5 feet or more!

Self Retracting Lifelines

• Lock up during fall giving only 2’ of material.

• Must be attached directly to rear D-ring. Shock absorber may cause ratchet effect or prevent lock up.

• Use per manufacturer instructions. While some may be used horizontally, some cannot.

Holes and Skylignts• Protect from:

– falling through, tripping or stepping into, and objects falling through.

Skylight Protection

- Warning lines, and safety monitors are NOT acceptable fall protection around skylights, and roof openings.

- Guardrails, hole covers, netting, or PFAS must be used.

Raptor Skynet System

Covers

• Withstand twice expected load• Secured

• Marked with ‘HOLE’ or ‘COVER’

HOLE!!

Suspension Trauma and Fall Rescue

• ‘Suspension Trauma’

– The medical effects of immobilisation in a vertical position

• The effects are nothing new

– Crucifixion is death from suspension trauma

• It presents an immediate threat of death to anyone immobilised in a vertical position

• The onset and progress of ST are rapid and unpredictable

• All those ‘working at height’ must be trained in how to recognise, manage and prevent suspension trauma

Effects the “Immobile”

• Suspension trauma can only affect someone who is immobile – specifically not using their leg muscles to any great extent

• It does not normally affect people who wear a harness but who are:-– Actively moving about (climbing,

caving, etc)

– Suspended for only a minute or two (parachutists)

• The danger is when someone is unable to move!

Human Biology

• As we stand upright we have a problem

– Gravity pulls your blood into your legs

– Your heart is a positive-pressure pump – it cannot suck!

– The only way to get the blood back out of the legs is to pump it using another method.

• The veins in your legs are entwined within the skeletal muscles, and when you move your legs, these muscles squeeze the veins, pushing the blood out of the way.

• We have one-way valves in these veins, so each squeeze can pump the blood a short distance towards the heart.

• Providing you are walking around, this process makes a ‘heart in each leg’ – and it’s very effective!

But what if we’re not pumping?• If the muscles are not pumping the blood upwards, it pools

in your legs– General feelings of unease– Dizzy, sweaty and other signs of shock– Increased pulse and breathing rates– You can ‘lose’ several pints and go into shock

• Your brain tries ‘shock’ for a while, but of course it doesn’t help – blood is still stuck in your legs.

• After a few minutes, the brain goes for the last-ditch method

– “If I faint, I fall over. I get the blood back”

• Your Brain assumes you must fall over. If you stay upright:-

– Your brain has no oxygen supply– Your airway is at risk– You will probably die within 10 minutes after

fainting

How long have you got?

• Uninjured volunteers felt dizzy in as little as 3 minutes

– Typically 5 to 20 minutes

• Loss of consciousness in as little as 5 minutes

– Typically 10 to 30 minutes

It is difficult to put a timeline on deaths, however from research

it is clear that death can result in as little as 10 minutes, more

typically between 15 and 40 minutes post-suspension. Death is

more rapid with existing injuries but can happen to anyone.

Anyone immobilised in an upright posture Anyone immobilised in an upright posture is in immediate danger of deathis in immediate danger of death

OK, so we rescue them!

• Not so fast! There’s something important to deal with:-

• The blood that is trapped in the legs may not be in very good condition, and may even kill the person if we let it all pour back into their brain!

• This is called the ‘reflow syndrome’ and is medically very complicated – you will not be able to control it once it starts, and the patient will die. Luckily you can prevent it from happening if you handle them with care!

Reflow Syndrome

• Pooled blood in the legs is ‘stale’ after 10-20 mins

– Drained of oxygen, saturated with CO2

– Loaded with toxic wastes (from the fat burning process)

• Re-elevating the legs returns this to the rest of the body in a massive flood

– Heart can be stopped

– Internal organs (especially the kidneys) can be damaged

• You have to stop this flood of stale blood – but still keep enough tricking to the brain to keep the person alive!

Anyone released from immobile suspension should be kept in a sitting position for at least 30

minutes

• If you fall accidentally and are suspended:– AVOID using your legs. You don’t want blood sent there.– Lift your knees into a sitting position. All you need is to get

your knees level or higher than your hips – the position you’d be in if you were sitting on a chair

– Relax as much as possible. Panic makes things worse– If you can, get your feet to rest against a structure such as the

side of the building

• If you’re trapped and cannot move– Strain your leg muscles as hard as you can every 5 seconds– Breathe slowly and deeply– You’re most urgently needing rescue!

Preventing suspension trauma

THIS INFORMATION COULD SAVE YOUR

LIFE!!

Hitting the ground

• Lowering systems must be controlled to prevent the patient’s body being laid flat as it reaches the ground

– Keep them sitting up for 30 minutes

• Normal first-response and paramedic rules are WRONG

– This is not ‘fainting’ !

– You need to stop ‘professionals’ doing the wrong thing and laying your patient flat on a trolley or hospital bed

Summary• Fall Protection is required at six feet.

– Guardrails, PFAS, Warning Lines, Safety Monitor

• The type of fall protection used will depend on steep slope vs. low slope and other factors.

• Holes & Skylights MUST be protected.

• Prompt rescue MUST be provided. A worker suspended in harness is in immediate danger to life and have 15-30 minutes to live.

• After rescue, workers should NOT lie down. Instead they should be in a seated position for 30 minutes.

Questions?