Six Workers, a 6:12 Roof at 21 Feet, and a Skylight Opening
Your crew of six is replacing a 6:12 shingle roof on a two-story house. The eave is 21 ft above grade at the front and 23 ft at the back, where the ground slopes away. The plan is two 32-ft extension ladders for access and roof jacks with 2x10 planks for staging, tearing off into a dumpster in the driveway. There is a 2 ft by 4 ft skylight in the middle of the back slope that will be removed and replaced later in the week, so the opening will sit uncovered for several days. Two of the workers are new hires in their first week. The afternoon forecast calls for building wind to 20–25 mph. The company's written safety program is a three-page generic handout from a trade association.
1. Identify the fall hazards and the controls that must be in place before anyone goes on the roof.
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- Height: 21–23 ft to grade is well past any threshold where fall protection is optional. A warning line alone is not adequate protection for workers at the edge performing roofing work.
- Primary control: guardrail systems at eaves and rakes where geometry allows. Where guardrails are impractical (a rake with no anchor), use personal fall arrest: full-body harness, shock-absorbing lanyard, 100 percent tie-off, and an anchor capable of supporting 5,000 lb per worker attached or designed by a qualified person. Anchor points on a wood roof need engineering, not a nail in a rafter.
- Ladder access: extension ladders 3 ft above the eave, secured top and bottom, set at a 1:4 angle on firm footing. Two 32-ft ladders for six workers plus material handling is thin - plan the traffic.
- Staging: roof jacks and planks are a work platform, not fall protection. Planks must be secured, jacks fully seated and bearing, and the fall-arrest system must be independent of the staging.
- The skylight: a 2x4 opening is a fatal-fall hazard. It must be guarded or covered with material able to support twice the weight of the crew and marked "HOLE," from the day it is opened until it is closed. "Later in the week" is not a plan.
- New hires: documented training and orientation, direct supervision, and a competent person on site for the duration.
2. How do you deal with the wind forecast and the open roof, and what should the daily close-out look like?
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- Set a written stop-work trigger before the day starts - for example, sustained wind near 20 mph with gusts, or any moment a worker cannot control a sheet or bundle. Handling 4x8 sheathing and shingle bundles in a 25 mph gust on a 6:12 is how people go off roofs and how material ends up through a window.
- Sequence so the roof is never left open: strip only what can be dried in the same day, install underlayment lapped and fastened per the manufacturer, and secure it against wind uplift at the end of the shift - loose laps at 20 mph will peel by morning, and then you own the water damage.
- Secure or remove loose material, tie down bundles, and never leave a bundle sitting on an unsheeted area.
- Account for the ground: the sloped back yard changes ladder footing and the distance a dropped object travels; keep the dumpster and the fall zone clear and barricaded.
- Close-out checklist each day: opening guarded, underlayment secured, tools and material tied off, ladders secured, site swept, and a note in the log signed by the competent person.
3. The company's three-page trade-association handout is the entire safety program. What is missing that matters on this job?
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- In California, the employer needs a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program specific enough to identify who is responsible, how hazards are found and corrected, how employees are trained and how training is documented. A generic handout does not meet that bar.
- Missing pieces relevant here: a site-specific fall protection plan naming anchor points and systems for this roof; a rescue plan for a worker hanging in a harness (suspension trauma makes minutes matter, and the fire department is not a rescue plan); competent-person inspection records; ladder and staging inspection; hazard communication and silica/dust controls for tear-off; heat illness prevention for a summer roof crew; and an incident-reporting procedure.
- Training records: names, dates, topics, and who delivered the training, kept for each employee - including the two new hires before they climb.
- Assignment: name the competent person in writing for this job, and make clear that any crew member can stop work for an unsafe condition without retaliation.
- Practical fix: rewrite the program around the work you actually do - steep-slope tear-off, skylights, ladder access, and material handling - rather than filing another generic document.