Osha Solar Roof Requirements

The occupational safety and health administration osha has developed a set of standards regarding fall protection as a way to prevent work related injuries and deaths.

Osha solar roof requirements.

Place warning lines and headers around the entire roof perimeter. Osha has different fall protection requirements for construction installation of solar panels and general industry maintenance. These include using roof anchors and safety cords for roof inspections. Osha regulations for commercial roof inspections the occupational safety and health administration has set new guidelines for inspecting commercial roofs.

Related to installing solar panels. Osha requires that fall protection is provided at elevations of 6 feet in the construction industry like on top of a roof and when working with dangerous equipment and machinery such. Court of appeals for the ninth circuit resulted in a significant implications for safety standards for contractors performing roofing work. When contractors are hired to install solar panels on roofs with unprotected sides and edges more than six feet above a lower level they have three options.

If you choose to walk on a roof without these you will be out of compliance with osha regulations and subject to fines. The court determined that rooftop solar panel installation is not roofing work under osha regulations. Lay headers sheets of roofing or other materials no closer than 5 feet inside the edges of the roof and parallel to the roofline. Construction workers involved in the installation of solar panels exposed to fall distances of 6 feet or more must be protected from falls by using one of the following methods.

A california based electrical contractor was working on a rooftop solar installation and assumed its workers were expected to comply with osha fall protection standards for roofers instead of the more stringent. In addition the act s section 5 a 1 the general duty clause requires employers to provide their workers with a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death. Solar panel installation is not roofing work. What can contractors take away from the osha enforcement standard and the decision in bergelectric corp.

A june decision by the u s. If you run a solar installation company these are important to be aware of because it is your responsibility to ensure a safe workplace. For electrical contractors involved in solar roof installations who think that the same occupational safety and health administration osha safety requirements apply to their workers that apply to roofers a recent court ruling may come as a surprise.