Working on fragile roofs
“Since 2011 fourteen people have lost their lives in Ireland while carrying out roof-work. This makes for stark reading as all of the fatalities were preventable. Moreover many people have suffered serious accidents, including permanent and life-changing disabilities.Have you ever been tempted to climb onto a roof to fix a tile or slate or to repair a leak?
Roof-related accidents can happen anywhere. However the statistics show that they are particularly prevalent in the construction and agricultural sectors. They occur on the roofs of factories and houses, warehouses and farm buildings, and often when minor repair work, maintenance or cleaning is being carried out.
So while climbing onto a roof may seem like a quick and easy way to do a minor repair job or clean a roof light, it is fraught with danger and should be avoided at all costs.
In May 2016, the Authority issued a safety alert to highlight the need for stringent health and safety procedures when carrying out work on fragile roofs. The alert, which was prompted by the sharp increase in fatalities, identified the surfaces that present particular risks as well as the key steps to avoid accidents.
A fragile roof is one in which part of the roof can be easily broken or shattered. The Authority’s Code of Practice for Safety in Roof-work identifies fragile surfaces as roof-lights and perspex sheeting, linear sheets on built up roofs, unreinforced cement sheets (including asbestos cement sheeting), glass (including wired glass), wood wool slabs and any other similar fragile roofing material. Roof-lights are a particular risk because they can be hard to identify due to weathering conditions or because they are sometimes painted over.
So how can accidents arising from working on fragile roof surfaces be prevented? Firstly, before carrying out any work at a height, a comprehensive site specific written risk assessment should be carried out by a competent person. This should clearly identify all hazards including fragile roofs.
When carrying out roof-work near fragile surfaces it is important to ensure the work is well-planned so that workers are kept away from the hazard. This may involve carrying out work from below the fragile surface by using either a suitable working platform or a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP) where possible.
Training is also critical. The SOLAS Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) provides training in certain roofing activities, namely roof cladding, PVC built up roof felt and bitumen built up roof felt.
Fragile roof accidents can also be prevented by abiding by the Authority’s Code of Practice, displaying warning signs at access points to the roof and clearly marking all fragile parts to prevent entry.
So in summary:

• pre-plan all roofing activities,
• use suitable equipment for the job and make sure its properly maintained,
• engage trained and experienced workers who are competent in carrying out this aspect of work safely and
• ensure a high level of supervision by competent staff.

And above all, let’s save lives and prevent serious accidents by ensuring that work on fragile roofs is carried out safely.”
Courtesy Of The Health & Safety Authority.

Construction occupational health inspection campaign findings

“This campaign took place over one week (13-17 June 2016) and focused on the prevention of occupational ill-health when working on construction sites. During the week 302 inspections were carried out.
The inspectors looked at the prevention of silicosis, COPD and cancer from silica dusts generated by, for example, cutting concrete kerbs and slabs with concrete saws without adequate controls.
They recommended the use of water suppression systems and on-tool extraction, using the correct respiratory protective equipment to FFP3 level protection, particularly during wall chasing, floor scabbing and when sweeping up internal spaces. Inspectors also advised duty-holders and workers on preventing skin cancers from the effects of excessive sunlight, on using sun creams and wearing long sleeved tops.
Preventing cancers from disturbing asbestos containing materials during demolition work and when refurbishing older buildings was also considered. Inspectors looked for evidence of asbestos surveys being carried out before demolition or refurbishment work started. Inspectors promoted compliance with the Authority Guidance on Asbestos in older buildings. Poor manual handling leads to increased risks of back problems and inspectors concentrated on the manual handling of glazing units and compliance with the recently published Authority Guidance on this issue.
Some positive findings from the campaign included more prevalent use of con saws with water based dust suppression systems, block splitters in use, asbestos surveys being carried out prior to demolition, correct filtered hoovers being used for housekeeping , FFP3 level protection RPE being used and method statements and risk assessments prepared which covered dust controls.
Adverse findings included inadequate control measures when cutting roof tiles, ordinary non CE marked face masks being used for dust control and no RPE being used when coring concrete. Our analysis of how contractors’ had dealt with the risks from dusts on their sites showed that over 60% had analysed the risks correctly and taken the appropriate safety measures.
We used our social media channels to promote the campaign and greater awareness of occupational ill-health among construction workers. The topics promoted included the campaign launch, the role of the Construction Safety Partnership Committee in promoting better occupational health in construction, the adverse effects of silica dusts, manual handling hazards on site and occupational skin cancers. On our Facebook page we reached 41,241 people and on Twitter we reached 8,716 people.
Further Guidance on Occupational Health for Construction workers is available on the Authority website.”
 
Courtesy Of The Health & Safety Authority.
 
 

Introduction

“One of the key objectives in the Authority’s Strategy 2016-2018 is an increased focus on health and wellbeing. This has come about for a number of reasons:

• Recent Central Statistics Office (CSO) Quarterly National Household Surveys and Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) reports citing more absence due to work related illnesses than accidents at work.
• Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and work related stress (WRS) are stated as major causes of absence on Department of Social Protection (DSP) Illness Benefit (IB) certificates by general practitioners (GPs).
• Reflects similar developments in other European countries.

Actions

The increased focus on workplace health and wellbeing will be achieved over the 3 year period of the strategy in a number of ways:

• Increased training and involvement by inspectors in areas such as ergonomics and manual handling (MH) risk management, respiratory dust control and sun protection for outdoor workers.
• Continued development of occupational health section of the HSA website.
• Involvement of inspectors dealing with psychosocial issues such as work related stress (WRS) and bullying.
• Continued guidance on management of manual handling and MSDs in different sectors.
• Manual handling projects in sectors such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing.
• Gathering data on work related illnesses from sources such as CSO, ESRI and DSP.

Alliances

The Authority cannot achieve this strategic objective on its own. For this reason it supports and is involved with a number of organisations as follows:

• Financial support annually to The Health and Occupation Research (THOR) ROI network by physicians in Ireland. This involves occupational physicians, chest and skin specialists and GPs reporting cases of occupational illness online to the University of Manchester. An annual report is produced showing the number of new cases, the total number of cases since reporting commenced in 2005 and comparisons between ROI, GB and NI.
• Membership of the across Government Health Ireland (HI) steering group and workplace subgroup.
• Membership of the board of the Anti-Bullying Centre in Dublin City University.
• Membership of Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)/National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) steering committee on workplace behaviours study.
• Membership of European committees involved in MH, psychosocial risk and occupational illnesses.

 Awareness

The increased focus on workplace health should bring about a change by employers in how they manage health. Many employers now have the knowledge and tools to manage safety in their workplaces and the results are evident in reduced accident rates. Health is more difficult as it is not as visible as safety and workplace illnesses tend to develop over long periods of time.
Employees develop back problems, repetitive strain injuries, respiratory illnesses and illnesses associated with stress over many years. However once developed these illnesses tend to result in longer absences from work than accidents and long term health problems that don’t go away easily. The thinking has to change, so that workplace health is proactively managed and illnesses prevented and employees can remain productive and in good health up to and beyond retirement.”
Courtesy of The Health & Safety Authority.

Courtesy of Construction Industry Federation.

“The Health and Safety Authority is issuing this alert to highlight the importance of ensuring that any scaffolding component used is in safe working order and in an appropriate condition for the task being undertaken. Corroded and rusting scaffolding components can lead to serious issues with the scaffolding’s structural integrity and can lead to catastrophic failures and scaffolding collapses.
Rusting is most prone on non-galvanised scaffolding systems and in particular on the wedge type painted steel scaffolding systems common in Ireland.
A thorough inspection routine must be in place for inspection of scaffolding components to ensure that any components with corrosion or defects that would impact their safe use are removed and not used.
This is particularly important if scaffold elements are coming out of storage having not been in use for some time.
A thorough visual inspection will identify most corrosion, rust and pitting. Other signs of corrosion include loss of weight of the component, reduction in the tube wall thickness, corrosion around welds and on the inner tubes.
Surface rust should be cleared in order to inspect a component correctly. If the component is damaged it needs to be put out of use or repaired by a competent person and repainted.
Note: Sand blasting and painting only of scaffolding components, while reducing further deterioration, does not repair damaged components and may actually hide damage.
Rusted scaffolding components can also cause tetanus which is a serious disease caused by bacteria entering the body through open wounds or cuts.
Key Steps:

• Inspection of scaffolding components must be carried out by a competent person and the condition of components should be continually inspected as part of the scaffolding inspection routine.
• Excessively rusted or corroded scaffold should never be used in a scaffold assembly.
• Any defective components should be put out of use or repaired by a competent person.
• The manufacturers manual for all system scaffolds must be available when erecting, modifying and dismantling scaffolds. This should also inform the user in relation to maintaining the scaffold in good order.”

Courtesy Of The Health & Safety Authority.