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Maintaining safety on your commercial or industrial rooftop is compulsory under OSHA rooftop safety regulations. While the most obvious fall risk on a roof is the leading edge, it's certainly not the only one. In fact, many of the fall hazards on a rooftop are away from the edge and falls onto rooftop surfaces and through openings are constant dangers. One area that you must pay special attention to when it comes to fall protection are skylights.
There's no doubt that fall protection is necessary for skylights, but what does OSHA require? While a skylight guardrail is the most common choice of fall protection for these hazards, skylight screens may also be used to protect workers. However, because of recent changes of the language within OSHA regulations, there may be some confusion regarding what constitutes OSHA compliant skylight screens.
Skylights are an effective way to bring natural light into a warehouse, distribution center, or manufacturing facility. It's beneficial for the people who work inside the building and it can reduce the amount of energy required to provide lighting. However, skylights also represent a serious fall hazard on industrial rooftops for several reasons, including:
Skylights are made of glass, acrylic, or polycarbonate which are all fairly fragile materials.
Regardless of the material, skylights aren't designed to be walked or stood on.
When the skylight is covered by leaves, snow, ice, or debris it becomes an invisible fall hazard.
Employees can easily walk over unprotected skylights as they move about and carry items.
It's vital that you take action to address these weaknesses and vulnerabilities with fall protection systems. To do so, you must perform a thorough inspection of your building's rooftop, paying special attention to the areas around and over the skylights.
Skylights are openings in the roof that potentially expose a worker to a previous level several feet below. OSHA 1910.29 states that it is the employer's duty to provide fall protection and falling object protection at heights of 4 feet above a lower level, which is certainly the case for a skylight opening on your rooftop. There are two forms of skylight protection that are commonly used on industrial roofs, skylight screens or a skylight guardrail.
If you choose to use OSHA compliant skylight screens, you must keep in mind that OSHA has changed the language it uses to describe the requirements. Once you understand the key differences, it's easier to choose the appropriate form of skylight fall protection.
In OSHA 1910.23 (e)(8) used to say that skylight screens must be made in a way that makes them capable of withstanding a load of at least 200 pounds applied perpendicularly at any one area on the screen. It also stated that skylight screens cannot deflect downward sufficiently to break the glass below them if a load is applied.
In January of 2017, the language describing OSHA compliant skylight screens changed significantly in 1910.29(e)(1). In fact, the new rule is much less descriptive. It simply states that the skylight screen must be capable of supporting without failure, at least twice the maximum intended load that may be imposed on the cover. The rule also states the screen must be secured in place to prevent accidental displacement.
If your current skylight protection screens were installed prior to January 2017, there's a good chance that you are not in compliance with current OSHA rooftop safety guidelines. This could significantly impact the safety of your employees as well as putting your company in jeopardy of facing stiff fines and penalties for non-compliance. It's vital that you address this issue so you can bring your facility back into compliance and to avoid injuries. You can remedy the situation by:
Installing new skylight screens that meet the current standards per OSHA 1910.29(e)(1) over each skylight on your rooftop, or;
Installing a skylight guardrail that meets the guardrail standards in OSHA 1910.29(b) around the perimeter of your skylights.
When it comes to choosing fall protection systems for roofs, it's not always straightforward. However, for most applications, it's not necessary to install both OSHA compliant skylight screens and a skylight guardrail. If you choose, you may use guardrails instead of installing new skylight screens or you can upgrade your skylight screens. That said, there's no reason that you can't use both; it's just extra fall protection.
The reason that OSHA rooftop safety standards are in place is to ensure that all employees have a safe workplace. OSHA goes beyond suggesting best practices for fall safety and sets definitive standards as to what must be done. If you fail to comply with the regulations regarding fall protection systems for roofs you could face serious consequences including:
Penalties for Serious Violations: If an employer knows or should have known about a hazard that can cause serious harm, fines could be imposed up to $14,502 per violation.
Penalties for Willful Violations: OSHA fines and penalties of up to $145,027 may be proposed for every willful violation.
If you don't rectify the problem within the appropriate amount of time or in the right way, you may incur additional fines and penalties. In addition, your facility may be shut down by OSHA inspectors until you can prove that you are once again in compliance. Your organization's reputation and market share may be at risk.
It's absolutely imperative that you provide your employees with the proper fall protection equipment. When it comes to your skylights, you need to make sure that your skylight screens are up-to-date and meet OSHA rooftop safety standards. Otherwise, you may put workers at undue risk of falls and yourself at risk of penalties from OSHA.
Contact the skylight fall protection experts at BlueWater today to discuss OSHA compliant skylight screens or a skylight guardrail for your building. We are happy to answer any questions you have regarding recent changes in OSHA regulations or any other fall protection questions.
