In certain situations, skylight guardrails aren’t the only solution for protecting workers. Still, roofers need to have some type of protection to keep skylight risks at a minimum. Consider that falls continue to be a leading cause of injury and, G-d forbid, death in the roofing and construction industries.
Of the 92 fatal falls from heights in Ontario between 2009 and 2016, 60 fatal falls were in construction. Of these, 35% were attributed to roofing contractors. What solution did we find when doing a tear-off while keeping an atrium skylight intact?
The Issue: Skylight protection covers for over 350 lineal feet of atrium skylights in a shopping mall
If the scope of work doesn’t require replacing skylights, a roofer can consider alternative solutions such as skylight protection covers in place of guardrails. Roofers all have their share of unexpected situations during projects. We recently faced a challenge while replacing the roof at a mall located in Northumberland County about an hour from Toronto. We encountered large rows of atrium skylights that presented a risk to our workers.
The challenge: Unexpected need for skylight guards
Protective skylight covers were an innovative solution to an unanticipated roof replacement issue on this project. The mall’s roof had over 350 lineal feet of skylights over the atrium area. Seeing a roofing project underway, a Ministry of Labour inspector approached us to ensure we had a Notice of Project. At the same time, he saw the long row of atrium skylights.
After mentioning that falling through skylights was the #1 risk factor on roofing projects, he asked us about our plans to prevent a fall through the skylights. The skylight perimeter required a safe, fast, cost-effective solution to protect our workers and prevent damage to the skylights.
Making it work: Creating efficient skylight protection covers
We found an ideal skylight guard solution to keep our workers safe. An important consideration was that we hoped to find a workaround for bolting guardrails around the skylights. Our solution was building protection covers that were inexpensive, temporary, easy to build and remove. How we built A-frame plywood structures that draped over the rows of peaked skylights. We screwed two pieces of plywood to opposite sides of a safety strap. We placed the safety strap on the peak, hanging the two plywood boards over the sides of the skylights, continuing the process across the entire row.Â
This elegant solution for skylight protection covers met all of our goals: Keeping workers safe, not damaging the skylights, and finding an efficient solution for this issue.
Ensure safe solutions to skylight guarding with innovative solutions
When a project includes skylights, a top priority for roofers and landlords is to avoid the potential dangers facing rooftop workers. Elite Roofing takes special care to meet unique requirements, going the extra mile when innovative solutions are needed. Contact Elite Roofing for your commercial roof and ensure the safety of workers and your property. Get the #EliteAdvantage.
