A new safety bulletin warning of the risks of using rooflight safety nets has been published by The Rooflight Association and FASET, the Fall Arrest Safety Equipment Training association.
While FASET supports the use of underslung nets, the Rooflight Association has more recently expressed concern over netting products which are offered for use over rooflights, as a means of fall arrest onto a ‘fragile’ rooflight.
It warns that some manufacturers’ installation instructions show nets being secured over out-of-plane rooflights by a ratchet strap to the upstand, or freestanding unfixed and unsecured temporary framework.
Rooflight Association safety representative Mark Wilcox said: “These practices are potentially a danger to life. Typical rooflight upstands are not designed, tested or attached in such way as to be able to provide reliable anchorage for a safety net or safety line of any kind.”
FASET managing director Tony Seddon concluded: “This is an important safety issue which needs to be urgently addressed. Our ongoing collaboration with The Rooflight Association has resulted in the publication of this succinct bulletin, which provides a clear explanation of the potential dangers to avoid – to help keep roof workers safe.”
The organasitions stress that anchorage points for roofwork safety nets must comply with the requirements of BS EN 1263-2 and BS 8411, and safety lines must comply with BS EN 795 and should be clearly labelled as such. Rooflights are rarely designed and tested to be used as anchorage points so should not be used for this purpose.
The bulletin can be downloaded free of charge from both organisations:
www.faset.org.uk/guidance/safety-netting/
