Flat Roofing Safety Stats and Facts

FACTS

Dangers when working on a flat commercial roof:

1. Falls from ladders or off of the roof edge are the most common hazards. Weakened spots of the roof material itself and openings on the roof are also known dangers.
2. Skylights, weak metal plates, painted lights and windows are all hazards that are hard to see. Any of these can become a hazard if stepped on or into.
3. Access openings sometimes aren’t well-marked. They may just be an open hole in the roof and won’t have handrails or guard rails for entry and exit.
4. Weakened roof areas are prone to collapse. Some roofs are incapable of sustaining the weight of a person or equipment. Other examples are a spot waiting for repair or damaged places where objects have fallen.
5. Heat exhaustion is a major concern in warmer climates. Being up on the roof in extreme temperatures and direct sunlight is at times life threatening.
6. Overhead or dangling electrical wires pose a constant threat. This is especially dangerous when moving ladders around the area.

STATS

• More injuries happen on residential building sites than any other workplace in the construction sector, and of falls experienced by roofers:
  • 20 % were over three metres in height.
  • 40 % were from permanent structures such as roofs.
• Workers in the roofing industry are three times more likely to have a fatal injury than workers in other industries, and about 50 roofers are killed on the job each year.
• For roofers, about 75% of fatalities are caused by falls.
• Of those fatalities, 54% did not have access to a Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS), and another 23% had access to one but did not use it.
• Only about one-third of those deaths occurred due to falls from 30 feet or higher.
• Overall, 20% of the occupational deaths studied happened when the worker had less than 2 months of experience on the job.