Are your roof lights safe lights?
In this example, we had serviced this client for over ten years. We have had to retract our services, simply because as a specialist and professional company we do not wish to waste their money moving forward for a certificate for a cable protection system that would prove ineffective in this scenario. We will never take on any project for cost vs safety, nor be part of irresponsible management.
Fragile roof lights are a major concern for roof safety! Roof lights are not safe to walk on, regardless of what the manufacturer may say or what the end-user may think! Granted, when a roof light leaves the factory it may have a certificate to say that they are safe lights, but in reality, once they hit the site that certification ends! Why? There are many reasons, but the maintenance of and including UV rays contribute to the weakening of the product. Safe lights are designed for accidental foot traffic, or dynamic falls! Old and brittle roof lights can also have a dramatic effect on your electricity costs! Brand new lights will bring in up to 70% more light into the building!
Once a roof light reaches its end of life they need changing or protection by way of roof light covers. The worrying issue is that our clients do not believe us when we advise this in our reports. The client pays for our services to test & certify their working at height safety measures, but when we advise of the roof light issue we often receive the following response;
‘we have a certificate so we are happy’
Ok, you have a certificate that was issued at the point of the manufacturer, the roof light is 25 years old, your certificate is worthless, and rather than a tick box exercise please accept our advice based on specialist contracting and 25 years of experience vs your lack of. These are very high-risk cases and examples where very serious injury or death can occur. Cost vs health, safety, and life, it’s a no-brainer for us!
Please keep checking back because we aim to name and shame these such companies, for one it’s recorded in the event of an accident in order to aid the HSE, and secondly maybe this will give them the push that they need, and ultimately we save heartache and ensure that personnel who go to work in the belief that they are safe, are safe, as this creates awareness all around.
If you’re trade means that you are accessing these type of roofs, do not accept it, do not undertake the works, trust it when the expert advises that one lack of concentration, one slip, could be the last mistake you ever make!
