Roofing

Modular Roofing
How About Not Working at Height?
John Cunningham, Managing Director of Metrotile UK
Removing Risks
There are two new types of housebuilding which can remove working at
height risks almost completely.
Firstly, factory built houses. In this instance, working at height risks are
reduced by the modular buildings being assembled in the factory and
transported whole to the site itself. The alternative is to take the factory to the
site – creating a pop-up factory at a location site where transport demands
make this option more cost-effective.
Secondly, we are keen for housebuilders in particular to start thinking about
building roofs on the floor and then lifting them on to the supporting
structures. There are so many benefits to this method. But it requires some outof-the-box
thinking to become common practice.
Housing Shortage
The other issue to consider is the major housing shortage in this country. The
Chancellor has kick-started a programme for to build 400,000 new homes, with
200,000 new starter homes set to be built in this Government alone. Why not
remove one of the restraints on such a programme – namely the burden of
health and safety and working at height regulations – by finally
adopting technologies which would make housebuilding so much
more straightforward than it is with traditional roofing methods?
They have been doing it in Europe for decades and it’s about time
we started doing it here, too.
Now, I recognise that the adoption of new techniques will have
an impact on the roofing industry and will be a concern for roofers
who lack the installation training required. New technologies
always raise fears for people who do things a certain way. But no
one is expecting lightweight roofing to become the industry status
quo overnight and we would encourage roofers to add new skills
to their armoury. Wouldn’t it be better to receive some training
and work in a less risky environment, rather than to continue
working with the ever-present danger of the worst that could
happen?
John Cunningham is managing director of Metrotile UK –
manufacturers of lightweight steel roof tiles. Based in Chippenham
in Wiltshire.
The Government’s relaunch of Working at Height
guidance in 2014 suggested two problems within
our industry. Firstly, that the existing working
regulations were wasting time and money for
British businesses. Secondly, that falls continue to
remain one of the biggest causes of serious
workplace injury – with more than 40 people killed
and 4,000 suffering major injuries every year.
Recent campaigns have aimed to tackle these
issues but no amount of assessments and
regulations can avoid the simple equation: that
working at height involves gravity and weight and
is therefore dangerous.
I would like to propose a solution which I believe
tackles both of these issues – easily, and cost
effectively. How about not working at height at all?
Of course, this is impossible with the majority of mainstream roofing methods. Tiles and slate
need to be lifted in stacks and assembled at height. But new products are widely available which
negate this issue altogether. Lightweight roof tiles can be assembled at floor level and craned into
position. Wouldn’t it be great if one of the major burdens in the construction process – working at
height is expensive and risky – was a burden no more?
Imagine a world with no need for the expense or time constraints of major scaffolding. With no
requirement for risk assessment and method statements. The danger of falling materials or
equipment massively reduced. Where even inclement weather ceases to be an issue. The fact is
that our Working at Height regulations are aimed at making employers do everything practical to
minimise the risk of falls. But processes and surveys can only get you so far, and removing risk is
surely better than simply minimising it.
Isn’t it possible that developers and housebuilders can lead the way in wiping out this risk by
embracing new methods of roofing altogether?
As usual with innovation, it is the smaller more nimble organisations which lead the way in this
kind of practice, while we all wait for the giant oil tankers to complete their turning circles.
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