OSHA 1910.28(b)(13):

“When work is performed less than 6 feet (1.6 m) from the roof edge, the employer must ensure each employee is protected from falling by a guardrail system, safety net system, travel restraint system, or personal fall arrest system,” as per 29 CFR 1910.28.

According to OSHA, “Falls are the leading cause of work-related injuries and deaths among roofers. Working six feet or more above lower levels put roofers at risk for serious injury or death if they should fall. A lack of fall protection, damaged fall protection equipment, or improper setup will increase their risk of falling from height.”

Solutions:

SRS offers multiple solutions to protect workers from the danger of a rooftop fall including and satisfy the OSHA standards:

1. Guardrail systems compliant with 1926.502(b):

• NextGen 3000™ Universal Guardrail – non-penetrating, modular rooftop safety railing also available in custom lengths.
• NextGen Custom Railing™ - a permanent solution, based on your specific layout, which can be easily assembled with a 5/16” hex key
• Kee Guard^® Railing – non-penetrating, modular rooftop safety railing with recycled PVC counterbalance weights.

2. Personal Fall Arrest Systems compliant with 1926.502(d):

• Mobile Fall Protection - Penetrators - the Penetrators work by releasing spikes that pierce into the roof when a fall occurs by one of the workers who have connected to it.
• Roof Anchors - See Hippo Anchor™  -  a free-standing, movable, non-penetrating, deadweight anchor system for use on roofs with up to 5-degree pitch.
• Harnesses and Lanyards - bodywear, along with energy absorbing SRLs and lifelines connect to roof anchors for total fall arrest safety.

3. Warning Lines compliant with 1926.502(f): 

• NextGen Warning Lines™ -  yellow safety lines used to de-mark roof edges and identify hazardous areas ultimately providing fall protection. For use when workers are more than 15ft from a leading edge:

Additional OSHA Code Detail:

1926.502(b)(3): Guardrail systems shall be capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 200 lbs. (890 N) applied within 2 inches (5.1 cm) of the top edge, in any outward or downward direction, at any point along the top edge.

1926.502(d)(9): Lanyards and vertical lifelines shall have a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 lbs. (22.2 kN).

1926.502(d)(12): Self-retracting lifelines and lanyards which automatically limit free fall distance to 2 feet (0.61 m) or less shall be capable of sustaining a minimum tensile load of 3,000 lbs. (13.3 kN) applied to the device with the lifeline or lanyard in the fully extended position.

1926.502(e)(2): Positioning devices shall be secured to an anchorage capable of supporting at least twice the potential impact load of an employee's fall or 3,000 lbs. (13.3 kN), whichever is greater.

1926.502(f)(1)(ii): When mechanical equipment is being used, the warning line shall be erected not less than 6 feet (1.8 m) from the roof edge which is parallel to the direction of mechanical equipment operation, and not less than 10 feet (3.1 m) from the roof edge which is perpendicular to the direction of mechanical equipment operation.

OSHA Code: 1910.28(b)(13) replaces OSHA Code: 1910.23(c)(1).