Roof Work Safety Toolbox Talk
Roofs kill more trades workers than almost any other place on a job. People fall from edges, through skylights and through old fragile sheets that look solid. Before anyone gets on a roof today, we need edge protection, a safe way up, and a plan for anything fragile.
Takes about 5 minutes.
Key points to read out
- No one goes on the roof until edge protection or a safe system is in place for the whole area you will work in.
- Treat skylights, roof lights, plastic sheets and old cement sheeting as fragile. Cover them, fence them or put mesh under them.
- Assume older roofing and sheeting may contain asbestos. Check the register before you cut, drill or walk on it.
- Use a proper access point: a secured ladder, stair tower or scaffold. Never climb up gutters or downpipes.
- Steep or wet roofs need extra controls: roof ladders, crawling boards or harness systems.
- Never throw materials or rubbish off the roof. Use a chute, a hoist or lower it, and set up an exclusion zone below.
- Stop work on roofs in strong wind, rain, frost or dew. Sheets can catch the wind and pull you off.
- Metal roofs get very hot in summer. Plan heavy work for the cooler part of the day and keep water up top.
- Keep tools and fixings in a bag or bucket so they cannot slide off the edge.
Questions to ask the crew
- Which parts of this roof are fragile?
- How are we getting on and off the roof today?
- Where is the exclusion zone below us?
- What weather would make you stop work up there?
Reference: 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M (Fall Protection)
Sign-in sheet
Print this page or download the sign-in sheet. Or run it in the app and the crew signs on the phone.
| Name | Company | Signature |
|---|---|---|
Get it signed
Run this talk in the app. The crew signs on your phone and you get a dated attendance record as a PDF.