Solar panel installation on a commercial rooftop can be a great investment - both financially and for the environment. However, the installation process can be dangerous work. And whether it’s your own employees doing the installation or an outside contractor, certain precautions must be taken to help protect them from rooftop falls.
When installing solar panels on your roof, workers are often exposed to trips and falls from the following hazards:
Here’s the good news: You can mitigate these hazards and help protect your workers by ensuring the right procedures and safety equipment are in place.
Kee Safety offers fall protection systems for each of the hazards that your workers will be exposed to on solar panel installation projects.
Transitioning from a ladder to a rooftop through a hatch often results in accidents and injuries. You can make the transition process safer and easier by providing workers with a roof hatch railing and self-closing gate that doubles as a grab bar for entering and exiting.
The other reason why rooftop hatches can be hazardous during the solar panel installation process is because workers can accidentally trip over them when walking and working on the roof. A hatch railing will redirect workers and force them to walk around this common trip hazard.
Skylights can be especially dangerous because they are often located within the walking path of people working on the roof. In 2021 alone, OSHA reported 22 incidents where workers fell through a skylight. Of the 22 cases, 15 of them resulted in a fatality.
Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents happen every single year. You can help prevent these fatalities from happening on your job site by installing skylight screens that protect workers from falling through fragile and brittle skylights.
Remember, skylights are not meant to be walked on and will not support the weight of a falling person. It’s best to protect your workers by providing them with an OSHA-Compliant skylight cover.
Solar panel installation often requires workers to work near the edge of a roof. They are exposed to fall hazards from significant heights. Protect your workers by installing a rooftop safety guardrail solution that prevents them from falling over the rooftop edge.
Kee Safety offers a modular, free-standing safety guardrail system that is not fixed directly to the roof membrane. It’s an OSHA compliant, permanent, and dependable safety guardrail barrier for protecting workers from the edge of a roof.
Of course, you may also want to consider if and when a personal fall arrest system should be used when working from a roof. The proper use of a body harness, connection device, and approved anchor point will help protect your workers in the event of a fall.
Horizontal lifelines are an excellent option for allowing your workers to move about freely on the rooftop while still keeping them securely attached to the lifeline at all times.
Solar panel installation is something that needs to be carefully planned out ahead of time in order to ensure the safety of your workers. Start by evaluating the trip and fall hazards on your roof. Then, determine which fall protection solutions are right for you.
The dedicated team at Kee Safety is here to help. We’re a global leader in intelligent safety solutions, supplying innovative components and custom systems for railings, barriers, roof edge protection, fall prevention and safe access equipment.
Contact us today – we’ll help you assess and solve your rooftop hazards.
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