NFRC’s work supporting building safety

By National Federation of Roofing Contractors. 

Supporting a safer, more competent roofing industry through guidance and standards. 

Every June, there is an event called Building Safety Week. This is an industry-wide initiative that focuses on sharing education about the best practices and processes when it comes to safety in the workplace. Designed for all members of the supply chain, from manufacturers and distributors to contractors and installers, this event is supported by a variety of industry partners, including National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC). 

As the U.K.’s largest roofing trade association, NFRC plays an important role in providing our members with the knowledge to ensure they are compliant with building safety standards and regulations. And that role is not only embraced during the annual Building Safety Week, but also the rest of the year. 

In this article, we dive into some of the ways NFRC is supporting change, professionalising the industry and promoting competence in the sector.  

Identifying problems affecting the roofing sector 

NFRC employs a team of in-house technical experts with knowledge, skills, and experience across key roofing disciplines. To stay informed and up to date, this team sits on British Standards Technical Committees alongside manufacturers, suppliers, and roofing operatives. They are also actively involved with the ICSG (Industry Competency Steering Group), with WG2 Rainscreen Facade priority group chaired by Bob Richardson, Head of Technical and Training at NFRC.  

Direct involvement such as this allows NFRC to keep their members up to date on the latest industry guidance. For example, they have been hosting a variety of technical workshops on trending roof topics, such as fire safety of flat roofs, solar installation information and Building Safety Act guidance, for their members. There have been three workshops of this type so far and they feature industry leaders like Tier 1 contractors Laing O’Rourke and Wates Group. 

Producing evidence-based content  

Case studies are a great way to bring together a record documenting changes, key challenges and responses on a project. Working with members, NFRC has produced a number of case studies to provide a deeper understanding of works carried out in response to issues across the sector.   

PCS02 Loading Out a Portal Framed Structure case study was produced following a request from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), when NFRC was alerted to incidents during loading out and installing roof sheets on portal-framed structures.  

Working alongside FASET and Advisory Committee for Roofsafety, NFRC was able to produce a health and safety guidance note highlighting the important items that the Safe System of Work (SSOW) should cover for loading out portal frame structures in preparation for installing roof sheets and panels.  

In addition to this, a case study was published with external stakeholders, including roofing contractors, to provide health and safety guidance.  

Read the Case Study here or read the Health and Safety Guidance Note here.  

Monitoring accident and incident trends to produce guidance  

Each year, NFRC analyses accident and incident reports submitted by our members to identify trends and outline the most common causes of incidents and accidents at work. They recently found that NFRC members’ accident rate was 0.24% in the year to March 2024, the  lowest it’s ever been and 17 times lower  than the construction industry average (4.1%). Further, NFRC members’ 5-year average  is 0.29% - the lowest it’s ever been. The results of this information are used to publish any required health and safety guidance to inform the industry how to adopt best practices and reduce the risk of further incidents.  

In addition, NFRC is proud to support other organisations in producing guidance materials to raise awareness and promote a safe place of work. For example, they have two current campaigns working to promote safe work environments – Cut the Dust and Safe2Torch. The Cut the Dust program focuses specifically on raising awareness of health issues caused by that respirable crystalline silica (often produced in tasks like cutting tiles, slate and mortar). As for Safe2Torch, this campaign seeks to “significantly reduce the risk of roof fires when using gas torches, either to dry out roofs or when used to install torch-on membranes.” 

Want to learn more about NFRC health and safety resources? A Health and Safety Guidance library is available for free online and can be found via the Knowledge Hub.  

Original article source: National Federation of Roofing Contractors