Rooftop safety when working at height

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Rooftop safety is paramount as roofing accidents can put workers out of action for months or even years. Some injuries could include broken bones, spinal cord and back injuries, brain trauma and even death.

Within the construction industry over ⅓ of accidents are caused by workers falling off of roofs. Moreover, almost ⅕ of deaths are caused by roofing accidents.

It is UK law for there to be a system in place to keep the public and workers safe when on roofs at large heights through fall protection. This includes proper equipment being used to prevent such accidents.

How to implement rooftop safety:

There are several ways to keep members of the public as well as workers safe when they are on the roofs of high buildings.

One of these ways is through edge protection using a structure such as a fixed or freestanding guardrail.

The job of a guardrail is in its name. To guard the edges of the roof and prevent people from either slipping, tripping or falling off.

Guardrails are a really common and efficient way to protect both people, property and equipment.

Types of Guardrail

Depending on the type of roof material, height, angle and preference there are 2 main guardrails:

Freestanding- No need to drill and cause punctures into the roof as these are weighted down. These are also great to prevent water damage and are typically used on flat roofs.
Fixed- Permanent rail added to the roof by fixing down upright posts. Typically used on clad roof surfaces.

fixed guardrail for cladding on top of school

Here at Lockinex, we stock and sell these systems, all of which are compliant to relevant British standards including the latest BS 13700:2021 for permanent freestanding roof guardrail systems.