Why Health and Safety Matters to Us

We are delighted to have secured another gold award in health and safety from the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC). This is the fifth consecutive year we have struck gold and further highlights our ongoing commitment to our successful health and safety programme.

As a professional industrial and commercial roofing contractor, our most common residual safety risk is working at height on roofs. We cannot stress enough how important health and safety is to us – it is quite frankly the backbone of our business and the rock solid foundations we’ve built our business on.

We appreciate that this can come at a cost but at the same time you are getting excellent value for money for a specialised service that cuts no corners and does everything by the book. We do this to not only protect the well-being of our workforce but to maintain our first class reputation as a diligent roofing contractor that provides a high quality service both on and off a roof.

Working at height on an industrial or commercial roof comes with its obvious hazards and risks and the recent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics show that roof work accounts for a quarter of all deaths in the construction industry.

Falls from an unprotected edge or through fragile or brittle roofing materials, such as roof lights or asbestos cement sheets, account for the majority of fatalities. There are also many serious injuries as a result of a fall and these can often result in permanent life changing injuries.

We also have to deal with the inconsistent weather that comes with working and living in the UK. We carefully manage how to deal and respond to any extremes of weather such as high winds or hot and cold temperatures to ensure our roofing operatives are not put at any additional risk.

There is a range of law that is relevant to health and safety in the constructions industry that we work closely with. The main elements of these are as follows:

Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)

Work at Height Regulations (2005)

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999)

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (2015)

Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (1998)

Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (1998)

To make things even safer before we start working on an industrial or commercial roof, we have purchased a drone to undertake all roof inspections and surveys. This has totally eliminated the risk of working at height at the quoting and initial stage of a potential new project. 

Our drone operators are able to capture high resolution imagery and record footage which can then be turned into videos and/or presentations for the client to clearly view our findings and recommended solution. 

Further to this we ensure our workforce are kitted out with the most suitable PPE (personal protective equipment) and they have the right tools and machinery to work both safely and effectively. All PPE and tools are correctly maintained to ensure they’re fit for purpose and remain in good working order.

We also ensure that our workforce receive regular training and refreshers to use their PPE and equipment safely as stated by the guidelines of the respective manufacturers. The training that we participate in allows us to maintain our position as one of the market leaders in our field of expertise.

To learn more about our professional and personal approach to all things health and safety or to enquire about our drone roofing service, please contact the Retain team on 0800 027 2244 or fill in our online contact form  to request a call back.

Knowledge based on experience.