King's Corner: Does the Building Owner Know if the Roof Is Up to Code?
I recently spoke with a contractor and a manufacturer about a project that brought a bus company’s roof into compliance with OSHA regulations. The multi-level roof lacked perimeter fall protection, and its ladders weren’t up to code. The story has some lessons for roofing contractors out there.
I recently spoke with a contractor and a manufacturer about a project that brought a bus company’s roof into compliance with OSHA regulations. The multi-level roof lacked perimeter fall protection, and its ladders weren’t up to code. The story has some lessons for roofing contractors out there.
Liberty Lines Inc., headquartered in Yonkers, is one of the largest privately owned transportation companies in New York. Josh Crespo, Service Manager for Hayden Building Maintenance Corp., the company hired to do the roof maintenance for the building, was aware of the problem, as were the folks at Liberty Lines. They put their heads together to find an answer to the safety problems that wouldn’t cause any damage to the existing roof, which was in very good shape. They found the ideal solution in the KeeGuard, a non-penetrating safety rail system manufactured by Safety Rail Source.
In a joint effort, Safety Rail Source, Hayden Building Maintenance and architect Mitchell Koch worked with Liberty Lines to install an OSHA-compliant safety railing system and replace the ladders to bring the building into compliance with OSHA requirements.
You can read the whole story in our June issue, but in a nutshell, the lessons that jump out for contractors are these:
1. In this instance, the company knew the roof needed edge protection, but that isn’t always the case. Building owners might not know that their roof isn’t in compliance with OSHA, and it’s the contractor’s job to inform them.
2. Installing a permanent safety rail system where needed is a good investment for the building owner and a moneymaking venture for the contractor. It’s also a great upsell on a re-roofing job.
3. As an added bonus, in this case Liberty Lines was able to tap into federal dollars through the government’s stimulus package to help subsidize the installation, making the cost even more appealing to the business owner.
According to Hal Swindell of Safety Rail Source, his company’s products include railings for the roof edge, skylights and roof hatches. He believes the KeeGuard system presents a great opportunity for contractors to help their customers and generate more revenue at the same time.
“It’s a clean, easy installation and a great upsell,” Swindell said. “It’s an opportunity with new customers and existing business that helps the contractor bring the building up to code. Many buildings are out of code and the building owners don’t even know it. It’s up to the contractor to inform them.”
For more information about Safety Rail Source, visit www.safetyrailsource.com.
I recently spoke with a contractor and a manufacturer about a project that brought a bus company’s roof into compliance with OSHA regulations. The multi-level roof lacked perimeter fall protection, and its ladders weren’t up to code. The story has some lessons for roofing contractors out there.
Liberty Lines Inc., headquartered in Yonkers, is one of the largest privately owned transportation companies in New York. Josh Crespo, Service Manager for Hayden Building Maintenance Corp., the company hired to do the roof maintenance for the building, was aware of the problem, as were the folks at Liberty Lines. They put their heads together to find an answer to the safety problems that wouldn’t cause any damage to the existing roof, which was in very good shape. They found the ideal solution in the KeeGuard, a non-penetrating safety rail system manufactured by Safety Rail Source.
In a joint effort, Safety Rail Source, Hayden Building Maintenance and architect Mitchell Koch worked with Liberty Lines to install an OSHA-compliant safety railing system and replace the ladders to bring the building into compliance with OSHA requirements.
You can read the whole story in our June issue, but in a nutshell, the lessons that jump out for contractors are these:
1. In this instance, the company knew the roof needed edge protection, but that isn’t always the case. Building owners might not know that their roof isn’t in compliance with OSHA, and it’s the contractor’s job to inform them.
2. Installing a permanent safety rail system where needed is a good investment for the building owner and a moneymaking venture for the contractor. It’s also a great upsell on a re-roofing job.
3. As an added bonus, in this case Liberty Lines was able to tap into federal dollars through the government’s stimulus package to help subsidize the installation, making the cost even more appealing to the business owner.
According to Hal Swindell of Safety Rail Source, his company’s products include railings for the roof edge, skylights and roof hatches. He believes the KeeGuard system presents a great opportunity for contractors to help their customers and generate more revenue at the same time.
“It’s a clean, easy installation and a great upsell,” Swindell said. “It’s an opportunity with new customers and existing business that helps the contractor bring the building up to code. Many buildings are out of code and the building owners don’t even know it. It’s up to the contractor to inform them.”
For more information about Safety Rail Source, visit www.safetyrailsource.com.
