Steep-Slope Fall Protection and Storm Deadline
Your crew is replacing a steep-slope asphalt shingle roof on a two-story house with a 7/12 pitch and a 26-foot eave height. There are 12 workers on site. The general contractor has not installed guardrails. Crew members are using roof jacks and 2-by-10 planks as work platforms. One worker has tied his lanyard around a 2-inch PVC plumbing vent pipe. Two skylight openings, each 2 feet by 4 feet, are uncovered and unmarked. A thunderstorm is forecast with 25 mph gusts. The foreman says they need to finish the dry-in before lunch because the homeowner is worried about rain. Your safety director is off site. A city inspector is scheduled for 2 p.m. Workers are wearing harnesses, but two lanyards are unconnected and one anchor is a 1/2-inch eyebolt lagged into a 2x6 fascia with two 1.5-inch screws. The crew has no written fall-protection plan.
1. Identify the fall-protection and opening hazards and the immediate corrective actions.
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Several hazards require immediate correction. Employees are exposed to falls of 26 feet, well above the 6-foot threshold; roof jacks and planks are work platforms, not fall protection. The unconnected lanyards provide no protection. The PVC vent pipe is not an anchor; it can break or pull out. The eyebolt with two 1.5-inch screws is unlikely to meet the 5,000-pound anchor requirement unless an engineer confirms it. The skylight openings must be guarded or covered and marked; they are fall holes.
The crew needs a fall-protection system with approved anchors, full-body harnesses, lanyards, and a rescue plan. Stop work, clear the roof, install guardrails or a compliant personal fall-arrest system, cover and secure the skylights, and train workers. The foreman should not allow work to resume until a competent person inspects the corrections.
2. What should be done about the approaching storm and the inspection?
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With lightning and 25 mph gusts forecast, the priority is to stop work and secure the site, not to rush the dry-in. Workers should leave the roof, materials should be stacked or tied down, and loose sheet goods should be removed. The foreman should not send workers back up during lightning or unsafe wind.
If a temporary dry-in is truly necessary, it should be done only within a safe window and with full fall protection. The city inspector should be told that the inspection may need to be rescheduled or that the site is secured but work is paused. Document the weather decision in the daily log.
3. What fall-protection planning and competent-person requirements apply?
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The firm needs a written fall-protection plan for this site, not an oral understanding. The plan should identify the fall hazards, the systems to be used, the anchor points and their capacities, the procedures for erecting and inspecting the system, worker training, and rescue procedures.
A competent person must inspect the roof, anchors, and skylight covers before each shift and after any event that could affect the system. The plan should also address the skylights as holes and the roof jacks as platforms. Because the safety director is off site, the foreman should have designated authority to stop work. The plan and inspection records should be kept on site.