Working on the roof of a building will naturally have that person working at height. Doing so safely is imperative, and by putting the correct measures in place will help achieve this goal.
When one of the country’s leading families of independent day schools approached local manufacturer Planet Platforms for expert advice, they were only too happy to help.
The Wakefield Grammar School Foundation, consisting of three local grammar schools, had rooftop safety issues at their QEGS site. These broadly covered the two issues of edge protection and fragile surfaces at various rooftop locations around the complex.
Kee Guard
Suitable for virtually any flat roof with up to a 10° slope, Kee Guard is the industry-leading rooftop edge protection. It is a non-penetrating solution and therefore does not affect the integrity of the roof, eliminating the risks of leaks and damage to the roof surface. It achieves this by setting a Kee Guard system on a series of counterbalanced weights.
All areas of the roof area above the swimming pool had no edge barriers and Kee Guard was installed to give collective protection.
In some areas of the roofs, there were limited amounts of space, and the standard Kee Guard counterbalanced weight system was too large to fit. Here, Kee Guard offers an innovative approach to guardrail edge protection for limited spaces. These unique base weights eliminate the need for offset counterbalances, being compact in design and allowing for maximum space-saving, perfect for the area around the small atrium at QEGS. Once installed, there was still sufficient area for maintenance personnel to pass and reach the cat ladder located at one end of the atrium.
There are hazards other than potential falls from the edge to consider when working on a roof. Statistically, more people are killed or seriously injured each year by falling through a roof, than falling off them. Skylights naturally let light into the space below and to do so, they can often be thinner than the surrounding roof area. They are also prone to accidental damage and the elements; over time, they can become fragile. This presents the real hazard that someone stepping onto them would run the risk of falling through them. A distance that will often be as great as that from the edge of the building. It is vital therefore that areas of roofs that are fragile are protected against someone accidentally standing on them.
Kee Dome is a free-standing fall protection product designed to fit around roof lights, skylights, dome lights and ventilation points. They can allow the unhindered opening of these points on the roof without the need for personnel having to first access the roof.
Base units feature specially designed adjustable clamping rings that secure to the corners of the roof light, eliminating the need to penetrate the roof surface. Posts and handrails are then locked into place with Kee Klamp corner fittings.
At QEGS, the area above their swimming pool had a series of skylights, all of which needed to be protected. By varying the height of the Kee Domes, that they were less visible from ground level, personnel were given complete protection around the skylights.
With all areas on the roofs where hazards existed, subsequent collective fall protection was installed. This enabled the QEGS to be fully compliant and gave them peace of mind to know that whenever maintenance personnel had to access and work on the roof, they would be protected at all times.
