FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW OSHA GUIDELINES EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 2018
TO IMPACT THE INSPECTION AND REPAIR OF COMMERCIAL ROOFS
BOULDER, Colo. (Nov. 14, 2018) – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has approved two new rules will become effective Nov. 19, 2018, which further regulate the use of ladder safety systems as used by commercial inspectors and workers in related building industries.
Specifically, employers must:
- install personal fall-arrest or ladder safety systems on new fixed ladders over 24 feet and on replacement ladders/ladder sections, including fixed ladders on outdoor advertising structures; and
- ensure that existing fixed ladders over 24 feet, including those on outdoor advertising structures, are equipped with a cage, well, personal fall-arrest system, or ladder safety system.
How these new OSHA requirements will affect home and/or commercial property inspectors (or roof installers) will also depend on local building codes, which may need updating as a result of these new rules. Any home inspector who chooses to walk a commercial roof will need to use roof anchors and safety cords or a fall-arrest system in order to be in compliance.
If you offer commercial property inspections as part of your services and you inspect commercial roofs, be sure to discuss this with your E&O and GL insurance broker, as damage and/or injuries resulting from non-compliance with OSHA’s new safety rules may affect you in terms of coverage and liability.
Read OSHA’s announcement in its entirety online at www.osha.gov/walking-working-surfaces
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Press release about OSHA’s new safety guidelines for commercial roof inspections.