–Carola Mittag
Every day, rain or shine, my husky, Quin, demands to be taken for a walk. She needs a lot of exercise and, to be honest, it doesn’t do me any harm either. We take different routes and encounter many different areas both rural and residential.
On these walks I regularly see roofers at work. All too often the workers are young, students perhaps or those with minimal education and doing a job that is both hard and hard on the body. Naturally I wonder what kind of training they’ve been given. How often I shudder when I see them working without the personal protective equipment needed for the job. Worse still are the workers who are wearing their safety harnesses, however, attached to nothing. Usually, the ropes and lanyards are lying on the roof.
Three hazards in one:
- The workers are wearing harnesses that hamper them but aren’t doing the job for which they are intended because they’re not attached to a lifeline.
- The ropes and lanyards just lying on the roof are a tripping hazard.
- Worker lack of understanding of the purpose of the PPE and frustration, maybe even anger that the equipment is more of a bother than a help.
Then I look at the vehicles that these workers have arrived in. In most cases, and this is not precise research, but an observation over years, these vehicles do not identify the roofing company. That tells me that the owners do not take pride in their company, do not want to be identified by showing their name on their vehicles and are avoiding possibly being reported to the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) by passersby.
Twice this summer I confronted onsite workers asking why they weren’t wearing their lifelines. In the first instance it was actually the owner/supervisor who told me that they would attach once the shingle packs had been offloaded the lifting device. The building being re-shingled was a three-story commercial establishment with a steep pitch. The workers had their harnesses on and were carrying the heavy shingle packs up the incline while having to step over the lifelines laying on the roof. I walked away and when I passed later in the day, not one of the workers was attached to a lifeline but hey, they had their harnesses on. Yes, I called the MLITSD.
I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts that the workers had working at heights training to satisfy Ministry requirements; however, the supervisors did not have the training to know what their personal liability was in the event of a tragic accident.
It’s all about knowing the facts, having responsible owners who value their employees and provide the right training, equipment and supervision. Those are the employers who proudly display their logos and brands on their vehicles. Those are the employers potential workers should be looking for to keep them healthy and safe.
If you’re not comfortable with it, DON’T DO IT!
Watch for next month’s Blog published in the first week of November.
Sincerely,
Carola Mittag
Consultant and Editor for Mentor Safety Consultants Inc.