Roof Anchor Points – What you need to know!

What are roof anchor points?

Roof anchor points are typically used in conjunction with other personal protection equipment (PPE); which helps protect employees or contractors working at height from potential fall hazards that may be present on site.

One important piece of information about a roof anchor is that they’re not all the same; with the varying types used for specific situations and structure types.

Different types (which we’ll cover in more detail below) are designed for:

• – Specific areas and surfaces on the structure.
• – Have different force resistant capacities.
• – They even come in permanent and temporary fixtures.

Why it’s important to use anchor points in your height safety solution

As has been well documented; height safety should be a priority for all businesses and commercial building owners. Not only are their codes of conduct, and legal implications around height safety – nobody wants to see one of their workers suffer a possibly fatal injury while at work.

However; as has been mentioned previously – there are different types for different situations. This means that there is a lot to think about when selecting and configuring anchor points onto a structure.

What are the different types of roof anchor points?

There are three main types of roof anchor points which Essential Height Safety rely on when designing any client’s height safety systems:

(1) Energy Absorbing Surface Mount Roof Anchors: This type of roof anchor is designed to reduce the load on the operator as well as supporting structure; reducing the impact in the event of a fall arrest situation.

(2) Masonry Roof Anchors: Used for abseiling and fall arrest scenarios; and best to be deployed when concrete is the primary material the connecting surface is made of.

(3) Surface Mounted Abseil Roof Anchor Point: Fixed through the roof structure and utilises a swivel to cater for easy rigging.

Selecting the right anchor point for the job…

There are a few specific details to remember when selecting roof anchor points for the job. These include:

– Careful inspection and testing for load-bearing capabilities.
– Fastening onto steel is always the recommended method where available; other types of surface materials (such as wood) may be required to be fully certified by an engineer.
– Make sure that the quality of manufacturing of the roof anchor points used is up to the Australian Standards and regulations.
– Lastly; have a professional inspect and install the system correctly

Talking about using professionals…

Essential Height Safety are Australia’s leading height safety Experts providing roof safety solutions, audit and certification services.   To ensure compliance to all Australian Standards, codes and legislation, Essential Height Safety will only use materials that are designed, engineered, certified and manufactured in Australia.

We’ve built a team of highly skilled, accredited, certified installers that are all our own employees – you can rest assured we don’t sub-contract any of our work.  This ensures not only is your building is up to height safety code, but your employees and contractors are assured safe roof access.