05 Feb 3 Precautions That Need to be Taken When Doing Roof Repair on Government Buildings
When conducting roof repairs on government buildings, many important precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of both the roofers and the employees working inside the building.
As government buildings typically have larger, more complex roofing, completing repairs comes with more risks than your average residential property, so it’s vital to be fully of aware of these and take necessary precautions.
Let’s take a closer look at 3 precautions that need to be taken when doing roof repair on government buildings:
Inspect Structural Integrity
Prior to starting repairs, it’s important to inspect the entire roofing area for signs of deterioration, as any sort of rotting or decay could pose a massive safety risk.
Many government buildings were built many decades ago, so the structural integrity is likely to have deteriorated over time, which is why it’s so vital that an inspection is completed before any repair work begins.
Should some sort of deterioration be detected during repairs, then further evaluation and assessment of the risk is required by an appropriate employee.
Providing Suitable Roof Accessibility
As mentioned, government buildings are typically much larger than residential properties, often being several stories high, significantly increasing the fall risk for roofers.
To minimize these risks, suitable access to the roof must be identified, and several forms of access may be necessary depending on the building and the repairs needed.
For example, when completing repairs around a roof edge, stable platforms are necessary for the safety of the roofers, with guardrails offering additional protection against accidental falls.
Scaffolding is typically used on government buildings that are a few stories high, although there are other options available and these may be required depending on the building, such as using a lift.
In fact, a lift can often be preferable to scaffolding, such as when smaller repair tasks are needed or when the roof is located at a much higher height.
Taking Necessary Safety Precautions
One safety tool is widely used by most roofers – a personal fall arrest system (PFAS). It’s a vital piece of equipment that must always be inspected before starting repairs, because if any part of the safety equipment should fail it could prove disastrous.
PFAS protects roofers in the worst event, stopping the from falling to a lower level should they lose their footing and begin to fall. The roofer wears a full body harness, which connects to an anchor installed on the roof, with a lanyard connecting the harness and anchor together.
Should anyone fall, the safety harness will prevent them from falling into a lower level from the roof, likely saving them from severe injury or even death.
Given the importance of this safety device, it must be properly installed to a secure point of the roof, while any existing anchors (which are uncommon) must be inspected before using a PFAS. This can be installed at various locations, so inspection of each part of the roof and the anchor itself is essential, whether on the truss or peak.
Other important safety precautions for government buildings may include adding guardrails around skylights and/or roof openings, protecting people below from falling debris, safe handling of power tools, and placing roofing materials in safe locations to avoid tripping hazards.
Single Ply Roofing Experts is an OSHA trained and certified California Licensed Contractor that provides commercial roofing services throughout the state of California. With a major emphasis on safety, we offer 24 hour service and roof repair, installation / new construction, roof removal, preventative maintenance, energy roofing, inspections and pre-inspections, mechanically attached, adhesive, and tapered systems for Supermarkets / Retail, Hotel, Apartment Building, Car Dealerships, Distribution Centers, Government Buildings, Military Bases, and More. For any questions, or to receive an estimate, call us at (714) 631-6773 or fill out our online contact form.