IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FALLS FROM ROOF

Abstract

Over the years, roof has been one of the main contributors to high FFH accidents in the Singapore construction sector. Workers are constantly exposed to the risk of falling as roof work is commonly performed at heights. Despite many government interventions through various gazetted laws on work at heights and published guidelines on roof safety, the high statistic of fall from roof accidents still prevails. While largely informative in content, the solutions that are recommended are often ambiguous and generic; meaning the solutions can be applied to any situation of working at heights. Therefore, this research study aims to identify specific solutions and evaluate them to reduce the risk of falls from roof. The approach of this study consists of three main research methods: case study research, semi-structured interview and most importantly, focus group discussion. The two main components of this study are to identify the list of possible solutions that are commonly used in roof-related work and evaluate their application to various work activities on roof. An analysis on the industry practitioners' perspective is also conducted to understand the factors on the adoption of solutions. Finally, the research study is concluded with two recommendations: Scenario-based solutions and Solution Adoption Model (SAM). These recommendations aim to assist future work on the roof so as to reduce the risk of falls from roof.