Real-life Scenario
Fall Through Skylight
On a Friday in June, an estimator arrived at a remodel job to look at a cedar-shake roof and estimate the cost of an addition that a construction crew was building.
He spoke to the supervisor at the site and climbed to the roof through an open skylight using a metal extension ladder. However, he was unaware that the contractor had used a sheet of thin insulating material to cover three 2-by-6-foot skylight openings in the roof (it had rained the day before). He stepped onto the insulating material, fell through one of the skylights, and landed on his back, 15 feet below.
The supervisor and two subcontractors heard the estimator fall and rushed to the accident. One of the subcontractors used his cell phone to call emergency medical services. EMTs arrived about five minutes later, stabilized the victim, and took him to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for spinal injuries.
Findings: The employer failed to properly cover the skylight openings on the roof or warn workers about the hazard. To prevent falls through skylights, the employer should have covered skylights with screens, guarded skylights with railings or guardrails, or required the estimator to use proper fall arrest systems.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-6. Which strategy would fail to provide adequate protection against falls through skylights?
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