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How owners should comply with OSHA roofing safety guidelines

Codes and Standards

How owners should comply with OSHA roofing safety guidelines

Buildings should have fall protection and restraint provisions for those who go on roofs.


By Peter Fabris, Contributing Editor | June 1, 2020

Courtesy Pixabay

Building owners have a responsibility to protect people who venture on their roofs, according to OSHA.

OSHA prescribed certain safety requirements that were introduced in January 2017. Among them are a raised warning line 15 feet from the roof edge, and a guardrail or cage around skylights.

OSHA has designated three work zones on low-slope roofs with unprotected edges that are four feet or more above a lower level. The extremely high danger zone (less than six feet from the roof’s edge) requires a protective feature such as a guardrail system, safety net system, personal fall protection systems (e.g., personal fall arrest, travel restraint, positioning system), or a 42-inch-high parapet.

Guardrails are typically installed six feet from the roof’s edge. If there is something near the edge like a condenser unit requiring periodic maintenance, then guardrails must be placed right up to the roof edge.

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