A Roof plan provides workers with a clear and concise overview of a height safety system before they use it.
Having a roof plan associated with your safe access or fall protection system is something that can assist tremendously in improving efficiency of work undertaken on your site as well as helping workers better understand what environment they are going to be working in.
Roof plans as part of a site’s administrative controls
On the hierarchy of risk controls, roof plans fall squarely into the administrative control box. They are a part of a system’s documentation.
This means that anyone needing to access the system to perform a task – be it maintenance, repair work, the installation of solar panels or something else – should spent time reviewing the roof plan so they understand the system, the extent of the area it covers and what other potential risk areas may exist in the work area.
Roof plans would be included along with system operating manuals, safe work procedures and rescue plans as part of the requirements of a site induction.
Purpose of a roof plan
The main purpose of a roof plan is to provide a visual representation of the roof layout, and the installed safety system.
Upon reviewing the roof plans, a worker should be able to understand many different aspects of the work area including points of access, safe working areas, unsafe working areas, restricted access areas as well as areas of additional risk outside those covered by the safety system.
The roof plan provides guidance to workers on how to navigate across the roof to the roof area, using the installed fall protection system. Workers will also be able to use the roof plan to locate plant and other items within the roof area.
In addition, the roof plan provides workers with details about what PPE and other equipment they may require to safely use the system and access the work areas they need to.
Reading a roof plan
Although roof plans can take the form of a technical drawing, like what you might see come from an architect or surveyor there are no formal standards to how these can be presented. As a result, much like with roof anchor tags, what a plan could look like will differ depending on who and how the plan was compiled, along with the building the plan relates to.
How a roof plan looks could also change depending on what information is deemed important for workers to know. For example, fall protection systems designed for restricted access to a roof area may include linework and shading to indicate the extent of the area where the system will protect workers against the risks of a fall.
Plans should also contain distinct symbols that represent fall arrest anchor points, abseil anchor points, davit locations, static lines and other safety system components. Workers should check the plan’s legend carefully to ensure they are interpreting the roof plan correctly.
Talk to Height Safety Engineers
The team at Height Safety Engineers include roof plans as part of every compliance inspection our team undertakes. Our experts will work with you to help determine whether your system, in its current state, is adequately meeting your needs.
Start your safety journey with us today by calling 1300 884 978, sending an email to enquiries@heightsafety.net or jump up to the contact form at the top of this page.
