New guidance on the safe installation of roof trusses on new homes of masonry construction has been published to help reduce risks on site to builders working at height.
‘How to safely install roof trusses’ has been produced by the Trussed Rafter Association (TRA) in partnership with health and safety consultants Paramount Safety Solutions, and is available as a free download from the TRA website.
Despite an overall drop in fatalities, working at height remains the biggest danger for construction workers, and the biggest risk of non-fatal injury.
The three main sources of falls from height injuries and fatalities are fragile roof lights, scaffolding and ladders, but installing roof trusses is another complex and potentially risky job for housebuilders.
It requires specific construction skills which involve both working at height and handling dynamically unstable materials.
The new TRA guide gives information needed on preparing and installing roof trusses safely, and will provide principle designers and main contractors with a basis for their CDM construction phase plan.
Dangerous combination
Jonathan Fellingham, TRA chairman, said: “With the dangerous combination of a strong drive to build more new homes faster than ever before and a significant skills shortage in the sector, we have real concerns about whether contractors are receiving the right training and guidance when it comes to working on the roof.
“Roof truss installation must be properly planned, carefully supervised and only carried out by qualified and experienced workers, such as those with a Level 2 diploma in site carpentry. There can be no short cuts to keeping our workers safe.”
Jake Tyrell, health and safety director at Paramount Safety Solutions, said: “Due to how unstable roof trusses are in the first stages of installation, a full site-specific risk assessment must be undertaken by either the contractor or installer. Only once it has been deemed safe should anyone progress with the installation.
“This installation guide is an essential read for anyone involved with installing roof trusses on site.”
Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.
Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.
