New guidelines to help prevent workers falling from roofs have been launched to the roofing industry.
Best Practice Guidelines for Working on Roofs was prepared by the Department of Labour in association with the Roofing Association of New Zealand.
It provides practical guidance to employers, contractors, employees, designers, principals and people who control a place of work, and architects who are involved in work associated with roofing.
Construction is one of five sectors where specific action plans have been developed to reduce the death and injury toll.
The roofing guidelines have been launched as part of the Preventing Falls from Height project which aims to raise awareness about working safely at height and reducing the human and financial toll caused by falls from height.
The Department of Labour has recently set a target of a 25% reduction in serious injuries and deaths by 2020, and these guidelines will help regulators, employers, employees and industry associations contribute to meeting that target.
Roofing Association president Graham Moor says to see scaffolding and edge protection being used on single-level dwellings and becoming a common practice is a quantum leap from where the industry was, but that there’s still work to do.
From this month the Department of Labour will begin targeted enforcement in the construction sector, particularly focusing on residential building sites, to prevent falls from height.
Best Practice Guidelines for Working on Roofs is available from the Department of Labour and the Roofing Association of New Zealand. For more information visit www.roofingassn.org.nz.
