ROOFER DIES AFTER GUST OF WIND KNOCKS HIM AND CO-WORKER OFF ROOF
SUMMARY:
The
roofer was a part-time employee for the past five years. He had been a brick mason and was still
employed as a part-time farmer who helped the family owned business as he was
needed. The roofing company has been in
business since 2006 and employs six workers, two of them are roofers.
The company has a worker safety program in
place and had trained all their employees on working safely. However, the training wasn’t specific to fall
protection or documented. There was no
written fall protection plan but there was a competent person assigned and
trained at the time of the incident.
Around
11:00 a.m. on a windy fall day, a 73-year-old roofer and a roofing coworker
arrived at the commercial construction site to roof a newly constructed
building. The two roofers climbed an
extension ladder to access the roof to determine where they were going to place
their anchors to tie off.
While
reviewing the backside of the commercial structure, a gust of wind around 33 m.p.h.
made the two roofers lose their balance and fall from the roof. The 73-year-old roofer landed first and the
second roofer landed on top of him. Both men fell 15 feet and 6 inches and
landed on a sloped grassy area.
To
prevent future occurrences of similar incidents, the following recommendations
have been made:
Recommendation No. 1: Employers should not allow their roofers to access roofing areas in times of windy, wet, or icy or conditions to prevent falls.
Recommendation No. 2: A roofer should use a personal fall protection system during all phases of a roofing job.
Recommendation No. 3: Employers should have a written fall protection program in place.
Recommendation No. 4: Employers should fully plan their fall protection system before it is used.
ALWAYS REMEMBER:
WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS KILLED
OR INJURED BY A PREVENTABLE WORKPLACE HAZARD, THIS IS NO ACCIDENT. IT MEANS THE EMPLOYER FAILED TO PROTECT
WORKERS FROM DANGERS THAT CAN CAUSE INJURY, ILLNESS OR, NEEDLESS DEATH