Roof Access Permits
What is roof work?
Roofs can be hazardous work areas particularly when working on pitched roofs or when working on roofs with fragile surfaces or no edge protection. Some roofs also carry plant and have flues and outlets from chemical processes terminating on them. All roof access is controlled by card access and permit to access and permit to work systems.
Permit to access roofs are issued to DEL staff, departments and contractors who need to access roofs. This type of permit does not cover the work activity.
Roof Hazard Reports
The Estates Office has undertaken roof hazard surveys relating to the condition of the roof and the access to the roof of each building. The roof hazard report should be referred to when writing and evaluating risk assessments and method statements for entry onto these areas.
Hazards in roof work
Falling – this could include persons tripping over plant and other services on the roof surface causing a fall on the level or a fall from height. In the most serious case this could result in a fall from the roof to the ground below.
Loss of consciousness of personnel due to the presence of poisonous gas, fume or vapour – this could be from local exhaust ventilation, fume cupboards, pipe work and ducts in buildings that are used to extract toxic and other hazardous substances and vent them externally at roof level.
Falling tools, equipment and debris – building materials, loose masonry, tools and equipment could fall from roofs creating a hazard for any pedestrians and vehicles below.
Exceeding the roof’s safe working load – The design of the roof may include materials that are either fragile surfaces or are of a construction that is not intended to have any significant load placed upon it.
Extreme weather conditions – high winds, heavy rain and ice and snow can increase the likelihood of a fall on or from a roof. Heavy winds can cause materials to be blown off the roof.
Precautions for Roof Work
As a minimum, the following precaution should be applied to all roof work; entry onto the roof must be subject to the University’s Permit System; unless working under F10 or licence to occupy issued by the University. The permit will not be issued until a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and safe system of work has been supplied by the company or individuals undertaking the work and approved by the Permit Requester and the Permit Officer/Approver.
The whole activity should be supervised by the Competent Person who has the responsibility to ensure that all of the necessary precautions are implemented and must have received training in working on roofs and signed off by the Permit Requester.
Where no edge protection is available on a roof, temporary edge protection should be considered in the first instant before resorting to fall restraint and fall arrest equipment.
If fall restraint equipment is used, a full body harness should be worn by all staff working on the roof with a fixed length lanyard attached to a tested and certified anchor point. The fixed length lanyard should be sufficiently short that the worker cannot reach within one metre of any point of fall i.e. the roof edge.
If fall arrest equipment is used, a full body harness should be worn by all staff working on the roof with a deceleration / shock absorbing lanyard attached to a tested and certified anchor point. Fall arrest equipment should only be used as a last resort when all other methods of fall prevention have been exhausted. The use of fall arrest equipment will require a minimum of two people to be working on the roof at all times so that a rescue can be initiated should a fall and unintended suspension occur.
Where fall arrest equipment is used there should be a suitable rescue plan developed in writing and in place to recover workers who fall and become suspended during the work; this must not rely on the fire and rescue service, University Community Safety Team or any other emergency services. The rescue plan must be able to be initiated and the suspended worker rescued within 30 minutes of the fall occurring.
There must be a suitable method of communication between those working on the roof and the project manager (Permit Requester) overseeing the work. This could be by radio and or mobile telephone where network coverage permits.
Suitable lighting should be available during the task where work is undertaken during hours of darkness. This can be either from existing lighting in the area or supplementary lighting installed for the task. In either case emergency lighting should be available to aid escape in the event of a power failure.
All tools used within one metre of the point of fall should be tethered on tool lanyards to help prevent falling objects.
All method statements relating to roof work should include a statement relating to the controls for working on fragile surfaces and any weight restrictions on the roof. This information should be taken from the roof hazard report.
The risk assessment should include a statement regarding adverse weather conditions and the point at which work would be suspended until the weather conditions improve. The Permit Office may suspend any roof/work at height permits if they believe weather conditions are not suitable for roof work or work at height.
If the work also involves hot work, work at height, or entering a confined space then you must apply for a linked permit before commencing.
RAAC
RAAC Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is a reinforced version of autoclaved aerated concrete, commonly used in roofing and wall construction, usually formed as horizontal or vertical panels. It was used in construction in the 1950’s to the 1990’s.
In common with thousands of public organisations across the UK, we have been inspecting our buildings for RAAC. Following a detailed survey of more than 500 buildings involving expert external consultants, we are pleased to confirm that very little RAAC has been found in our buildings.
Please click on the building name below to access the drawings for that building.
List of roofs containing RAAC:
- Humanities (lower roof)Link opens in a new window
- Main Boiler House (Central Campus)Link opens in a new window
- Physics (upper roof)Link opens in a new window
- Substation 1Link opens in a new window
- Science D (Engineering Hall)Link opens in a new window
- Science E
- Warwick Arts Centre (Butterworth Hall)Link opens in a new window
- Westwood Furniture and Drama StoreLink opens in a new window
If you need a permit to access any of these roofs, please refer to the guidance in the link on the right of this page.