Working near roof edges

Key points

1. 1Before you go up, know the fall protection plan for this roof: guardrails, safety nets, or a personal fall arrest system. If you don't know it, ask before you climb.
2. 2Inspect your harness, lanyard, and connectors every day. Look for cuts, frayed webbing, burns, bent hooks, or a deployed shock pack, and take bad gear out of service.
3. 3Tie off only to an anchor that is meant for it and set up by someone who knows how. Never clip to a vent pipe, conduit, or gutter.
4. 4Keep your lanyard short and your anchor overhead or at your back when you can. Check that you would not hit the ground or a lower level before the line stops you.
5. 5If guardrails are up, don't lean on them, sit on them, or remove a section without telling the foreman and putting other protection in place first.
6. 6Treat skylights and roof openings like edges. Make sure they are covered with a secured, marked cover that can hold the weight, and never step on a skylight.
7. 7Keep the area near the edge clean. Hoses, cords, scrap, and loose shingles can trip you right where a slip hurts most.

Talk it over

• Where on our roof today is there an edge or opening that isn't protected yet?
• What are our anchor points on this job, and who checked them?
• If someone falls and is hanging in a harness, what is our plan to get them down fast?

Also in the other language: Trabajo cerca de orillas de techo

Official sources

• 29 CFR 1926.501 — Duty to have fall protection
• 29 CFR 1926.502 — Fall protection systems criteria and practices

More toolbox talks

• Respirators
• Circular and table saw safety
• Backing vehicles and spotters