Profiles in safety and health: roofing and sheet metal work

Monthly Labor Review,  Sept, 1990  by Martin E. Personick

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ursery rhymes and real life, falls sound an ominous note of human fragility, which, if unheeded, can lead to serious injury. Yet, despite the imminent danger, working at heights without adequate fall protection is fairly commonplace today, especially in the construction industry and, in particular, in roofing and sheet metal work. (1) This risky work practice goes far to explain why falls are the leading type of injury and illness in the roofing industry, constituting roughly three-tenths of all its serious cases of injury and illness reported.(2)

According to safety and health experts, most accidents in roofing work, as in other industrial settings, are preventable if employers and employees follow safe work procedures. To this end, government, labor, and industry have been working to reduce the risks of roofing injuries through stepped-up inspections and monitoring of worksite conditions and through comprehensive safety training. Their accident prevention efforts go beyond just reducing fall hazards in that they also address proper handling of equipment, materials, and industrial substances. But even with adequate protection from falls in place,(3) roofing industry workers would continue to face the potential hazards of material handling and other tasks commonly associated with construction (such as strenuous manual work performed under variable weather conditions and, often, against tight timetables).

Reflecting elevated job risks, the 1988 incidence rate of almost 20 occupational injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in roofing and sheet metal work was well above that for all construction (under 15)-the most hazardous major industry grouping-and more than double that for private industry as a whole (under 9).4 (See table 1.) In fact, incidence rates for roofing topped the list of non-manufacturing industries that reported the highest rates of occupational injuries and illnesses.(5)

The severity of roofing accidents, moreover, often requires workers to take time off from their jobs or to be assigned to restricted work activity (light duties, shortened hours, and so forth).(6) Many of these disabling injuries, as might be expected, took the form of broken bones (fractures) and severe sprains from falls. Other kinds of injuries involving lost worktime included sprains from lifting heavy or unwieldy objects, heat bums from contact with hot asphalt or coal tar, and serious cuts incurred in using handtools and construction materials.(7) The following sections examine some characteristics of roofing and sheet metal work; analyze the injury and illness record of the industry in more detail; and summarize ongoing activities to improve working conditions. The industry at a glance From colonial times to the present, American roofers have tried and discarded a wide variety of materials, including thatch, wood, and assorted metals, searching for a long-lasting roofing agent that is watertight, fire-resistant, energy efficient, and, when so designed, aesthetically appealing.(8) Based on a 1988 National Roofing Contractors Association survey, the roofing material of choice for residential structures continues to be fiberglass asphalt shingles. For commercial structures, the preferred coverings consist of either single-ply sheets of synthetic rubber (or asphalt/synthetic compounds) or multiply membranes built up from alternate layers of roofing felt and bituminous products (asphalt or coal tar).(9

Today, more than 25,000 roofing, siding, and sheet metal contractors, employing some 200,000 workers, compete in a $12 billion market for exterior construction work.(10) Commonly, these contractors work on several types of structures, such as office buildings and stores. Often though, they garner 80 percent or more of their business from a single type of construction, particularly those who specialize in detached single-family houses. (11)

Small establishments (fewer than 20 workers) are numerically dominant in the roofing, siding, and sheet metal industry, constituting about nine-tenths of its 25,000 firms. Larger firms, although only one-tenth of the establishment total, account for roughly one-half of the roofing industry work force and a similar proportion, in dollar terms, of its business done.(12) Although firms of all sizes are geographically dispersed, the most heavily populated States have comparatively more roofing activity.(13)

A clear majority of the 200,000 workers in the roofing, siding, and sheet metal industry are classified as: experienced and apprentice roofers (two-fifths of the total); or roofers' helpers (one-eighth); or sheet metal workers (one-tenth). Several other job categories contained at least 5,000 roofing industry workers, although none was as much as one-twentieth of the industry job total. These included general managers and top executives; first-line supervisors; cost estimators; secretaries; general office workers; material recording, scheduling, and kindred workers; and carpenters.(14) Safety and health measures Injury and illness rates for roofing and sheet metal work date back to the mid- 1970's, when the industry was one of five targeted for special study by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.(15) After trending somewhat lower during the early 1980's, roofing injury and illness rates (as did those in construction) remained relatively stable during the second half of the decade, as the following tabulation illustrates using total case rates per 100 full-time workers: