Beware of fragile surfaces when working at height
What is fragile surface
Fragile surfaces may look like any stable, solid floor. However, they cannot hold a person’s weight and may result in a fall when stepped on unknowingly.
Examples of fragile surfaces include:
- Unreinforced fibre-cement sheets and liner panels
- •Rooflights and glass
- •Corroded metal sheets
- Wood wool and chipboards
It is essential to identify fragile surfaces and protect your employees working near them to prevent falls from height.
Be prepared. Read the Code of Practice for Working Safely at Heights.
Take proper preventive measures such as having a fall prevention plan and permit-to-work system.
Alert potential hazards to your employees with warning signs.
Empower your employees with checklists on working at height or on roofs so that they know what to look out for.
Fragile surfaces are a serious work-at-height concern. Skylights, false flooring, ceiling panels, sheeted and tiled roofs are examples of fragile surfaces that may look like normal solid flooring to the untrained eye. However, they are not designed to support a person’s weight. A worker who steps on a fragile surface will face the risk of falling through it to the ground below.
The following are some control measures companies have put in place to protect workers from falling through a fragile surface.
For more information:
WSH Legislation
WSH Act 2006
WSH (Risk Management) Regulations
WSH (Construction) Regulations 2007
WSH (Work at Heights) Regulations 2013
Singapore Standard
SS 528: Specification for Personal Fall-arrest Systems
Part 1: Full-body harnesses
Part 2: Lanyards and energy absorbers
Part 3: Self-retracting lifelines
Part 4: Vertical rails and vertical lifelines incorporating a sliding-type fall arrester
Part 5: Connectors with self-closing and self-locking gates
Part 6: System performance tests
SS 541: 2008 Restraint belts (Incorporating Amendment No. 1, April 2012)
SS 570: 2022 Personal protective equipment for protection against falls from a height
Part 1: Single-point anchor devices
Part 2: Flexible horizontal lifeline systems
SS 607: 2015 Specification for Design of Active Fall-protection Systems
Ministry of Manpower
WSH National Statistics Report 2023
Workplace Safety and Health Council
Code of Practice on WSH Risk Management
Code of Practice for Working Safely at Heights
WSH Guidelines on Working Safely on Roofs
WSH Guidelines on Anchorage, Lifelines and Temporary Edge Protection Systems
WSH Guidelines on Personal Protective Equipment for Work at Heights
Work at Heights Toolkit for Supervisors
Worker’s Safety Handbook for Work at Height
ABC Checklist for Working Safely at Heights
ABC Checklist for Working on Rooftops
6 Basic WSH Rules for Working on Roofs
6 Basic WSH Rules for Working at Heights
WSH Poster: Working on Fragile Roof Surfaces
WSH Pictogram: Workers have died falling through fragile surfaces.
WSH Insights: Prevent Falls from Open Sides
WSH Insights: Prevent Falls with Travel Restraints
Presentation Slides by Roofing Association of Singapore: Working on Fragile Surfaces
UK Health and Safety Executive
Fragile roofs: Safe Working Practices
