Warning
Lines
It’s time to talk a little about the use
of the warning line system. Being part of the OSHA Advisory
Board is bringing some issues to light. Particularly, between
the years of 1997 and 2001, there were over 600 falls to lower
levels and falls from roofs in construction. It is my belief
that some of these could have or would have been prevented
with the sharing of our warning line system. The Construction
Advisory Committee decided to form a sub-committee to clarify
the related issues and work processes to generate a best
practices document as part of its efforts to reduce exposure
to falls in construction. So, let’s review the warning line
system.
A warning-line system for roofing work
consists of ropes, wires or chains, and supporting stanchions
that mark off an area within which roofing work can be done
without guardrails, personal fall-arrest systems, restraint
systems, or safety nets. Warning-line systems can only be used
for roofing work on roofs that have slopes of 2:12 or less,
vertical to horizontal. The purpose of the line is to warn
roofers that they are near an unprotected edge. The warning
line must be at least 6 feet from an unprotected edge and meet
the following criteria:
■
Be flagged at least every 6 feet
with high-visibility material.
■
Be rigged so that the line is 34
to 39 inches from the walking/working surface.
■
Have a minimum tensile strength
of 500 pounds. Don’t use plastic caution tape for a
warning line.
■
Be attached to each stanchion so
that tension on one section of the line will not cause an
adjacent stanchion to tip over. Stanchions must be able to
support a force of at least 16
pounds applied horizontally in
the direction of the roof edge without tipping over.
Those who do
roofing work between the warning line and an unprotected roof
edge must be
protected
with personal fall-arrest systems, restraint systems,
guardrail systems, safety monitoring systems, or safety nets.
Warning line system where no
Warning line system where
mobile
mobile
equipment is used
equipment is used
When
mobile equipment is used, the warning line must be at least 10
feet from the roof edge that is perpendicular to the direction
the equipment moves.
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