Osha Flat Roof Fall Protection

Osha s fall protection standards at 29 cfr 1926 subpart m to protect workers exposed to falls six feet or more above a lower level.

Osha flat roof fall protection.

The osha general industry standards exclude construction as well as agriculture and marine industries which also have their own standards but both standards can sometimes apply to the same. If there is a fall risk it needs to be addressed. Two osha standards can apply 29 cfr 1910 which governs general industry safety standards and 29 cfr 1926 which governs construction sites specifically. If work on steep roofs involving application of hot or cold systems as sublayer osha would permit the use of the more flexible fall protection systems specified for low slope roofs warning lines and safety monitor or safety monitor alone for roofs 50 feet or less in width or other alternative systems.

Fall protection requirements for construction workers doing work while on a roof alert. Supervise workers to ensure fall protection equipment is used and maintained correctly. When the fall protection measures listed above are not used mark the edges of the flat roof with headers and warning lines to notify workers of potential fall hazard areas using the following guidelines. Osha s fall protection standard for construction 29 cfr part 1926 subpart m beginning at 1926 500 generally requires fall protection when there is a fall distance of 6 feet or more.

Except as otherwise provided in paragraph b of this section each employee engaged in roofing activities on low slope roofs with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet 1 8 m or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by guardrail systems safety net systems personal fall arrest systems or a combination of warning line system and guardrail system warning line system and safety net system or warning line system and personal fall arrest system or warning line system and. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph b of this section each employee engaged in roofing activities on low slope roofs with unprotected sides and edges 6 feet 1 8 m or more above lower levels shall be protected from falling by guardrail systems safety net systems personal fall arrest systems or a combination of warning line system and guardrail system warning line system and safety net system or warning line system and personal fall arrest system or warning line system and. Lay headers sheets of roofing or other materials no closer than 5 feet inside the edges of the roof and parallel to the roofline. With regard to fall protection requirements applicable to the construction work itself 1926 501 b 10 low slope roofs requires conventional fall protection a combination of a monitoring system and warning line or on roofs of 50 feet or less in width a monitoring system alone i e without a warning line be used.

Due to routine maintenance on the osha website some pages may be temporarily unavailable. Subpart m 1926 501 b 10 of the osha construction standards specifies that under certain conditions roofing work can be conducted with a warning line in place 6 feet from the edge and a safety monitoring system. Osha safety standards especially for roof fall protection can be a source of confusion for many industrial companies.