An absence of roof rails to prevent people and objects from falling during re-roofing work has led to one contractor being prosecuted and fined. In November 2014, the Health & Safety Executive inspected re-roofing works on a property in Neston on the Wirral, and found roof access was being achieved via two poorly constructed scaffold […]
An incident in which four roofers were put at risk serves as a reminder of the need for roof rails, and of the HSE’s willingness to take punitive action even where no injuries are sustained. In this case, in July 2013, four employees were seen replacing the roof of a house in Hermitage Way, Stanmore, […]
Farmers have been told that their ‘FATE’ is in their own hands – and roof rails are just one way to help safeguard against potentially tragic accidents. The HSE Don’t leave it to FATE campaign has been launched in response to a recent fatality in the farming industry, when 66-year-old Jim Sharp became entangled with […]
A speech given on behalf of RoSPA has highlighted how workplace safety precautions like roof rails and edge protection have helped to substantially decrease the number of injuries suffered by people on the job. Dr Clifford Mann, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, delivered the RoSPA-hosted Allan St John Holt Memorial Lecture on October […]
It’s September, and that means children everywhere are going back to school – but it’s perhaps a time to think less about the risks of taking a conker to the eye, and more about the importance of edge protection. The HSE is urging parents and teachers alike “not to wrap kids in cotton wool”, and […]
The roof rails at Roofing House, headquarters of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, may be needed this week to protect telecommunication engineers as they restore the organisation’s telephone lines. A statement by the NFRC on July 24th revealed that their landline numbers were not working, adding: “We are currently experiencing a fault with our […]
Business premises often need more regular maintenance access than residential properties, and with the construction sector seeing an upswing, office roof rails may be in greater demand in the years to come as well. Figures from the Construction Products Association, published by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, show an estimated 7% increase in construction […]
Roof rails could be instrumental in reducing the total number of HSE prosecutions brought in the north-west each year, by preventing falls from height in the workplace. Figures from the HSE show that of the 65 court actions it brought in the past 12 months in the region, 14 related to work at height. At […]
Roof rails could see a substantial increase in demand in the coming years, as part of an upswing in global construction led by installations of solar panels and other renewable technologies. The latest Machinery Production Market Tracker from IHS Technology highlights construction equipment as a key growth area worldwide in the immediate future. “Increased demand […]
An infographic published on the RoSPA Workplace Twitter profile demonstrates the importance of roof rails, even within a fairly niche discipline. The data drills down into the general construction industry, and further into the particular niche of roofers, who are understandably at a greater risk of suffering a fall from height than those workers who […]