Retrofitting roof clear-sheet (roof light) with safety cages

sh1tstirrer wrote: »

My neighbour got a traveller to paint his sheds he asked him had he insurance and rang the legit insurance company to be told he was insured. There was no safety gear or any of the things you mention so how would an insurance insure him then?

Btw it was very easy for the insurance company to say he had a policy no lie in that at all. What they didn't say was that it was your neighbours yard and totally his responsibility to ensure regs were complied with. Sub contractor has very little responsibility. It's possible your neighbour could have been sued by the insurance company in question had there been an accident they had to pay out on.

First of all on the proposed safty cages. these will be fitted under the roof lights. I think the spec is 16mm rebar welded into a 6'' mesh or smaller i believe that these will align with valleys in box profile. The bar running lenghtways on (in valleys) will be left longer than distance between purloins. These will be shoved up through valleys and out far side of purloin. Then other end will be pushed back down over lower purloin in same fashion.

The bars over upper purloin will be bend and strapped to upper purloin.

freedominacup wrote: »

From a hsa point of view there is no safe work method that would allow you to walk around on a roof without fall arrest gear and safety rails that would negate any need for meshes/safety cages. And this would only be in an emergency situation. For normal access cherrypickers/scissors lifts would be a basic requirement again with fall arrest gear and properly trained operators. This talk of safety cages is utter bollocks in the event of an accident/hsa inspection where people are working without the correct equipment. It would be a nice extra but it doesn't begin to address the safety issues.

Not entirely true. safety rails can be used along edges and around fall points if possible. In the case of rooflights this would not be possible. Fall arrest equipment is to prevent a fall causing death. However cages will still be required below rooflights. The problem is that in the case of a person being suspended the next issue is rescue and if this is not possible a fellow worker has to keep his circulation going. No way on a shed roof would a fall arrest system be totally compliant with H&S by its self or even with safety rails. Cages would be required under rooflights to prevent workers falling through same.

Timmaay wrote: »

Only one solution there, don't let the fcukers do the job in the 1st place.

Agreed fully with Freedom on this whole issue, safely cages just kicking the can down the road, it's a total change of attitude needed, nobody who isn't correctly trained and obeying basic H&S guidelines should be up on a roof, simple as is.

The big issue with H&S is that it has now become a burden on employment. This is why in the area of manual type labour big companies sub contract this type of work out. This has lead to agency type work by small to medium subcontractors. By subcontracting out this work in general it gives a bit of arm length safety large firms (Utility companies, Telecoms Operators, energy companies). The upshot of this is poorer paid jobs for workers and I think time will tell lower levels of safety,

It all very well to talk about H&S guidelines. However farmers are generally sole traders. In the drystock area it is a low margin business. If I want to clean the eve shoots of the shed more than likely I get a ladder go up on the roof and work away. Most farm death and serious accidents are often farmers working by themselves doing a job they cannot afford to pay someone else to do.

Believe it or not safety cages may well save a few lives down the road where a farmer goes up on a shed roof to secure a sheet or fix a leak will not drop through a rooflight.

Fair point FP, I guess it's easier for me as I'm full time with a decent enough margin (for now ha) in dairying, if a roof needs fixing usually me climbing up to fix one or to bits is only a sticking plaster job, we re roofed one shed 2yrs ago and got another one badly needing replacing now, I haven't even bothered to do anything with it yet. However even if I do go up, I will be treating it as a risky job, will be staying away from skylights, only go up when the roof is good and dry, and walk along battens of timber where there are nails to provide some grip. I've only been on a roof twice this while year I think, if I'm up there much more often, then that's a warning signal that I really need to have a professional in fixing the problems and not me wasting my time when I have enough other jobs to do.

Ultimately I dunno if I buy this argument that farming doesn't have the margin to implement H&S properly, for me farming is simple as is a business and a way to earn a living, if this involves taking serious risks which could cause death or life long impairment then to be honest I'll find a different job.

Greengrass1 wrote: »

I think but I'm not sure but I heard somewhere you can get clear sheets that will take weight of a person. Unbreakable I think

I heard this too, I think Tegral make them.

keep going wrote: »

Im putting on sheeting at the moment and yer man selling the sheet said that you can stand on it but he can do it if he wants but I have bars under it

What bars are you putting in? I have to replace 14 roof lights, they are 2.5 x 5 foot how many bars do you think I'd need per sheet, 3 ?, and how big 16mm ?

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/farmingschemesandpayments/farmbuildings/farmbuildingspecifications/pdfversions/S101CDecember2014231214.pdf