Types of Roof Fall Arrest Systems

Working on top of a roof comes with several dangers. The worker can fall easily if no appropriate measures are taken to safeguard them. So there is a lot to learn if you or your workers work on top of the roof: you can use roof fall arrest anchor and fall protection anchor to secure yourself or them. The seriousness of these equipment and programs cannot be overemphasized now that last year alone, 364 construction workers (or about one construction worker in a day) in the U.S died in falls.

The below tips are very crucial, whether you are an independent contract roofer, have your own client base, or run a roofing business and do send employees to jobs. In fact, fall protection should be very critical part of a project and OSHA guidelines provide what you need to do to ensure worker safety.

All companies require roof fall arrest anchor or fall protection anchor irrespective of whether or not they have strict fall prevention laws and inspection programs. In fact, one should use fall protection programs together with equipment to prevent falls.

Understand what roof fall protection systems are and how they are used: A roof fall protection system has three major components; guardrail systems, safety nets and personal fall arrest (PFA) system.

Use of a combination of warning line systems and safety monitoring systems is required when working on low-slope roofs.

Guardrails -- These are permanent or temporary rails installed around the roof perimeter when working at low and steep slope sites. You should be familiar with the height, composition and location of each of these when working with them.

Safety nets -- These webbed or mesh systems are made of natural or synthetic fibers, especially nylon or polypropylene rope. They are suspended below a skylight so that they can catch or stop a falling worker. You need to know the right amount of pounds they can withstand, what they should be made of, and where to be hung or how often to test them as per federal regulations.

Personal fall arrest systems: These body harnesses attach to roof fall arrest anchor and fall protection anchor by way of a lanyard. The system must not only be tested regularly, but also be certified, hold a certain weight and fit in a certain way.

Warning line systems: It is a form of a wire that prevents workers from entering an area that is unprotected. These heavy-duty warning systems can withstand 500 pounds of pressure in protecting the worker.

Safety monitoring systems: This is not equipment but a case where a person who is trained in recognizing fall hazards watches a single worker monitor when a person is likely to fall or approaching a hazard or working unsafely and then notifies them to take action. The method is employed in low slope roof fall protection.

You can get further details such as price of the safety equipment above elsewhere on this site.