Food and beverage manufacturing facilities need to coordinate multiple different types of safety. Staying on top of all of your business's safety obligations and compliance requirements doesn't just mean creating one comprehensive safety plan that houses all of the applicable OSHA and local compliance requirements. Instead, it means creating a comprehensive plan for each area, with appointed safety professionals and key stakeholders, specific resolutions for OSHA regulations, and detailed documentation for likely incidents. Your plan for roofing fall protection (which requires industrial railing systems) will differ from your plans for interior fall protection.
The more documentation you have that tightly addresses all of the safety obligations your company has, the better. This guide zeroes in on fall protection and then zooms even closer into specific requirements for rooftop fall protection so you can confidently address every hazard.
Fall protection standards can be found in two broad sections of OSHA standards: in 1910, which applies broadly to most industrial operations and facilities, and in 1926, which applies more specifically to active construction zones and agricultural sites. As a food and beverage manufacturing company, you'll need to have a thorough understanding of both so you invest in the right fall protection equipment and non-penetrating roof railing for different circumstances. For example, if you are expanding your company facilities to include new equipment or structures, your OSHA leading edge fall protection will need to comply with OSHA's 1926 standards. But for standard operations on a permanent, complete structure, such as accessing a rooftop HVAC for preventive maintenance, OSHA's 1910 standards apply, instead.
Good housekeeping practices should entail knowing the differences between the two, knowing when one goes into effect over the other, and even defaulting to the higher standard between the two if your facility is constantly in a state of growth. But as a general rule, the 1910 fall protection standards should guide your day-to-day decisions.
Even when you're isolating the scope of improvements or compliance protection to the rooftop, there are still multiple areas and hazards to consider. Make sure your plan addresses all five of these areas: access, edges, equipment, openings, and navigation.
How do personnel reach your building's rooftop for routine maintenance, inspection, and repairs? Depending on your building type, you might have exterior ladder access, interior access points such as doors and hatches, or both. Ideal fall protection systems start before people even get onto the roof, and access point fall protection is key. Consider these essentials:
Ladders:
Install vertical lifelines to your ladders and ensure the ladder can handle the force of arresting a fall. This system doesn't prevent falls, but it protects workers if a fall happens.
Industrial railing systems and guard rails around the top of the ladder: These roof safety railing solutions prevent personnel from accidentally stepping into ladder chutes from the top. They also help workers transition from the ladder to the rooftop. They are a vital part of any comprehensive rooftop railing system.
Interior access points:
Guardrails: Industrial railing solutions around the hatch provide multi-faceted safety at once. The handholds help users transition to standing on the roof, they visibly mark the change in ground conditions, and they act as a physical barrier to prevent personnel from tripping into open hatches.
Under OSHA standard 1926.501, any worker who is doing work six feet or more above the next lower floor on a platform with an open edge should have fall protection systems such as guardrails, safety nets, or other OSHA-compliant solutions.
Open edges are carefully regulated by OSHA to maximize safety. The regulations describe acceptable OSHA leading edge fall protection for the open edges of an in-progress construction, as well as the open edges of permanent spaces like mezzanine and loading dock spaces. That same OSHA standard 1926.501 applies to all edges where work can take place, such as on rooftop pathways, near the edges of the building itself, and around any tall installations.
There are different standards mandating specific types of OSHA leading edge fall protection depending on the workers' proximity to the edge. Being very close to the edge, or within six feet, requires industrial guardrail systems, fall restraints or fall arrests, and the highest level of diligence. For work between six feet and 15 feet away from the edge, there still must be safety hardware, but it can be non-penetrating or removable. Here, facilities can implement non-penetrating roof railing products and create defined, well-marked work areas with visible warning lines and explicit training on fall hazards rather than fall arrest harnesses.
We recommend having clearly outlined instructions and checklists for each type of scenario based on proximity to the edge so all applicable standards are met and you choose between rooftop guardrails and warning lines correctly.
Rooftop equipment also must comply with OSHA standards. Consider that same specific standard about fall protection hardware if workers are more than six feet above the ground—that applies to working on industrial-scale rooftop systems that are taller than six feet just as it does to working on raised platforms and mezzanine areas.
Consider adding industrial railing systems around large-scale equipment that workers will need to climb during routine maintenance and repairs. Also, look for railing solutions that fit around parapets and protruding equipment so rooftop workers can safely access it from all sides.
While you may have partially addressed this category in your plans for improving access safety, it's just as important to evaluate rooftop openings as a separate category. There are two main types of openings: hatches and skylights. Both openings should be surrounded by industrial railing systems that are appropriately tall (generally with a top railing between 39 and 42 inches) and can withstand at least 200 pounds of force.
Depending on the nature of the work around the openings, you can also install warning lines at an appropriate distance.
Finally, develop a thorough plan for addressing rooftop navigation. Here are some common setups and what roof safety railing solutions you might implement for each one:
Raised railings and platforms: Some structures have very defined paths created through stairs, platforms, and pathways. These should always have industrial railing systems on either side so there is minimal risk of danger.
Preferred paths across a flat roof: If the rooftop is stable ground, you might still delineate preferred paths from one work zone to another. There may also be unreinforced parts of the roof where people shouldn't walk. These should be cordoned off by non-penetrating roof railing or bolted-in roof safety railing, depending on the circumstances.
Start with these five elements of every commercial or industrial rooftop. They address how workers access the roof, navigate across it, and stay safe from common fall hazards (either by preventing them in the first place or by mitigating the potential harm). BlueWater by Tractel provides fall protection systems that are built to comply with OSHA and CCOHS standards, as well as local safety requirements and regulations.
Contact us today for help finding the right equipment for each facet of your complete rooftop fall protection plan.
