UK trade-and-hazard guidance by the Riskora Editorial Team
Fragile-roof falls are the single largest sub-category of UK roofing fatalities. Asbestos cement sheets, fibre cement sheets, polycarbonate rooflights, glass and old wired-glass panels can all carry an operative's weight visually but fail catastrophically under a single concentrated load. A fragile-roof RAMS must positively identify every fragile element before access, specify crawl boards or edge nets below working positions, and prohibit reliance on visual assessment from ground level alone.
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Work at Height Regulations 2005
Regulation 9 & Schedule 3
No person shall pass across or work near a fragile surface where it is reasonably practicable to do otherwise. Where unavoidable, suitable platforms, coverings or guard rails must be used.
HSG33 Health & Safety in Roof Work
Section 3 (fragile materials)
Treat all rooflights as fragile unless proven otherwise. Pre-2000 cement sheets must be assumed to contain asbestos until tested.
Every UK RAMS reviewer applies the hierarchy of controls in the order below. Defaulting straight to PPE is the single most common reason a RAMS fails review.
1. Eliminate
Replace fragile rooflights with non-fragile alternatives before access. Where the work scope is itself replacement of fragile sheets, use a man-safe netting system installed below the working level.
2. Substitute
Use a MEWP basket above the roof line so operatives never bear weight on the fragile surface.
3. Engineering controls
Crawl boards spanning at minimum two purlins, perimeter and skylight edge protection, safety netting beneath the entire work area for sheet replacement.
4. Administrative controls
Pre-start fragile-element survey by a competent person. Marked exclusion zones around all rooflights. Permit-to-work issued only after netting / boards verified.
5. PPE (last line)
Harness clipped to a rated anchor as back-up only. Knee pads on crawl boards. Helmet with chinstrap.
Failing to specify the location of every fragile element on a marked-up roof plan. RAMS that say 'beware of rooflights' without naming positions are routinely rejected — the operative needs to know where they are before they go up.
An illustrative extract structured for principal-contractor review. Site-specific facts must be substituted and checked by a competent person.
A pre-start roof survey has identified 14 polycarbonate rooflights and 6 asbestos cement panels (positions marked on attached drawing R-001 Rev B). Safety netting (FASET-rated, 100mm mesh) will be installed across the full underside of the work area before any operative accesses the roof. Crawl boards (minimum 600mm wide, span-rated to 2 purlins) will be used for all movement across the sheeted area. No operative will bear weight directly on any roof sheet at any time.
Daily check of netting condition and tie-points. Photographic record of crawl board positions at start of each shift. Permit-to-work re-issued daily, signed off by site supervisor confirming netting is intact.
Are all rooflights treated as fragile?
Yes — under HSG33 and the WAH Regulations, every rooflight is presumed fragile unless proven otherwise by manufacturer documentation showing it meets the non-fragile standard ACR(M)001:2019.
Can asbestos cement sheets be walked on?
No. Asbestos cement sheets, even when intact, are fragile and prone to sudden failure. They also contain asbestos, so disturbance triggers CAR 2012 — this work usually requires a licensed contractor.
Is netting alone enough?
Netting is the strongest collective control but should be combined with crawl boards or MEWPs for movement, plus harnesses as a back-up. The hierarchy of controls is layered, not a single choice.
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