Page 78 - HIL Operatives Training Manual V4 16022024_Neat

O P E R A T I V E S T R A I N I N G M A N U A L V E R S I O N 4

Where work is required to be undertaken on roofs where there are open joists, holes or roof
lights etc. through which a person could fall more than 2m, then they must be boarded over to
provide safe access to the working place.
18.13 Sloping Roofs
Work on a sloping or slippery roof should:

✓ Only be carried out by men who are physically capable.
✓ Be carried out using crawling ladders or boards, which must be securely fixed to
prevent slipping.
✓ Employ either a suitable catch barrier or have a platform erected at the eaves of the
building, or a two-board 430mm wide working platform with guardrails.

This requirement applies to any work on a sloping roof, including access and egress from other
workplaces.
18.14 Working On or Near Fragile Roofs.
Fragile roofing materials including asbestos, glass, plastic, cement sheets and other brittle
surfaces when covered with surface coatings or dirt may conceal the fragile nature of the
material, thereby giving a false appearance of its solidity.

When working on or passing across, fragile roofs then crawling boards must be used so that
the workman’s weight is on the board, never on the fragile roofing sheeting. At least two
crawling boards are to be used one to support the workman whilst the other is moved in to a
new position. Asbestos and various plastic materials are particularly brittle and will shatter
without warning.

➢ The practice of trying to ‘walk the line of the bolts’ is very dangerous and
compares with walking a tightrope. Where walkways are not provided, a safe
system of work such as described above must be employed.

➢ Walkways near fragile materials (in valleys, parapets, gutters or channels) must be
provided with suitable guardrails or the fragile material suitable covered to prevent any
possibility of anyone falling through.

All fragile roofs should be fitted with warning signs, the instruction are to be followed at all
times. Should there be a lack of signage or any doubt as to the nature of the roofing material,
then the Manager, Engineer or Foreman is to be contacted before work commences.
Work involving the handling of sheeting materials and cladding requires extra care in windy
conditions, when a sheet may act like a ‘Sail’ causing the person holding it to lose their balance.
Work is to cease should the wind reach a level where carrying out this type of work becomes
unsafe.

Page 77 of 142