The United States Department of Labor, Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are faced with addressing a variety of workplace and construction accidents every year. With half of our country receiving snow during the winter months, concerns of worker safety while cleaning roofs during construction is a top concern. Based on the number of these serious and fatal injuries, they have created a precautionary list for those removing snow.
Avoid removing snow by standing on the roof when possible
Common accidents for roof cleaning include slipping and being unaware of temporarily covered holes and openings that employees fall through. To avoid these accidents, OSHA suggests using ladders to apply de-icing materials or using snow rakes from the ground.
Have workers use lifts, ladders, and scaffolding appropriately
Much like other areas of construction, work should rarely be completed from a ladder, and this applies to snow removal. Be sure your workers are practicing safe ladder use, like not snow raking from a ladder, checking ladder rungs for ice, and cleaning snow off of shoes before use.
Calculate snow and employee weights with roof weight limits
Many people do not consider the weight of snow added to the strain put on a home, and evaluating your equipment and employees weight is essential to avoid a possible collapse. This potential failure can be additionally avoided by evenly removing snow from the roof.
Minimize overexertion in cold temperatures
On top of your employees using all equipment correctly, you want to be sure they are protected from the elements. Frostbite and other illnesses can be a concern in these conditions. Furthermore, cold temperatures can impact the body drastically, and employees should avoid overexertion to prevent dehydration, exhaustion, heart attacks, and more.
Invest in fall protection
Employees have the right to a safe work environment, and one way to avoid serious injury and harm is by utilizing the fall protection that can be provided for your construction equipment, such as scaffolding in states like MA and NH who face a tremendous amount of snow.
Luckily, there are businesses out there like Nation Wide Ladder who are fully committed to providing our customers with the best products possible. To learn more about our scaffolding systems, ladders, fall protection, and more, please contact us today by calling (800) 228-2519.
