RAMS for Roof Work

Working at height remains the single largest cause of fatal injuries in UK construction. A RAMS for roof work is not a formality — it is the primary mechanism by which the responsible person demonstrates that every reasonably practicable measure has been taken to protect operatives and others who may be affected.

Legal Basis

The duty to produce a suitable and sufficient risk assessment sits in Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR). The specific controls that assessment must generate are governed by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR), which impose a strict hierarchy: first, avoid work at height altogether if it is reasonably practicable to do so; if not, use work equipment or other measures to prevent a fall; if residual risk remains, use equipment or measures to minimise the distance and consequences of any fall.

CDM 2015 requires a construction phase plan — it does not independently require a RAMS, though a RAMS will ordinarily inform and support that plan.

Key Hazards and Controls

**Fragile surfaces** are the most underestimated risk. Roof lights, asbestos cement sheets, and corroded metal decks may appear sound but cannot be trusted. Never assess a surface as safe based on appearance alone. Controls in hierarchy order: avoid access to fragile areas by using remote methods where possible; install permanent or temporary edge protection and bespoke staging or crawl boards to distribute load; never rely on a harness as the primary control for fragile surface work — a harness arrests a fall after it has begun, it does not prevent one.

**Falls from edges and roof perimeters** require collective protection first. Scaffold, edge protection systems, or safety nets must be assessed before personal fall arrest is considered. Where a leading edge cannot be protected by collective means, a fall restraint system (preventing the operative reaching the edge) is preferred over fall arrest. Fall arrest via a harness and anchor is the last resort — it requires a written rescue plan, anchor point certification, and operatives trained and instructed in its use.

**Falling materials** onto persons below must be addressed through exclusion zones, netting, fans, or toeboards. Pedestrian exclusion is a collective control and must be established before work begins, not after.

**Access equipment** — MEWPs, scaffolding, and podium steps — must be selected against the task, inspected before use, and operated by competent persons. MEWP operators require task-specific training; the ground bearing capacity must be verified before positioning.

**Weather** is an active hazard. Wind speeds above 6 m/s (Beaufort 4) present a recognised risk for lightweight sheeting and for operatives using fall arrest lanyards. The RAMS must state weather thresholds at which work stops, not simply note that weather "will be monitored."

**Asbestos**: any pre-2000 building requires a CAR 2012 asbestos management or refurbishment/demolition survey before disturbance of roofing materials. Discovery of unlicensed ACMs must halt work until a register is consulted and re-assessed.

Common Failings That Get This RAMS Rejected

- Stating "harness will be worn" as the primary control without demonstrating why collective protection is not reasonably practicable - No specific reference to fragile surface identification or crawl board deployment - Generic weather controls ("work will not proceed in bad weather") without defined thresholds - No rescue plan where fall arrest equipment is specified - Ladder access listed as primary access for multi-day or multi-operative roof tasks without justification - Asbestos not addressed for buildings constructed before 2000

What the Document Must Include

The RAMS must identify the specific roof type and its condition, the access method and its selection rationale, collective protection measures and their positioning, any residual personal protective equipment and the competency evidence for its use, weather stop-work criteria, a hierarchy-compliant control set for fragile surface areas, rescue arrangements where harnesses are specified, asbestos survey status, and the emergency procedures operative-by-operative. It must be site-specific — a generic roofing RAMS that does not reference the actual roof geometry, materials, or access constraints will not satisfy Regulation 3 MHSWR.