Date of incident: January 2020
Notice of incident number: 2020122120002
Employer: Roofing firm

Incident summary
A crew was installing metal decking on a warehouse roof under construction. One of the workers was moving sheets of the decking when a strong gust of wind caused a full sheet to lift up and begin to fly away. The worker attempted to prevent the sheet from flying off the building and fell to the concrete surface below. He sustained serious injuries.

Investigation conclusions

Cause

• Unexpected wind gust caused worker to fall from height. A strong, unexpected gust of wind caused a 1 × 6.1 m sheet of metal decking on the roof surface to fly up into the air. The worker grabbed the sheet. He could not control it, however, and followed it off an unguarded edge of the roof, falling 11.3 m to concrete grade.

Contributing factors

• Failure to follow fall protection plan. Contrary to the site-specific fall protection plan, the worker was not using fall protection while working above 3 m on a structure with no guardrails in place. Focused on stopping a sheet of metal decking from flying off the worksite, the worker stepped off an unguarded edge. Had he been using personal fall protection, he would have been prevented from striking the concrete grade below.
• Lack of a hazard control zone. There was no visible control zone for work being completed outside of the fall hazard area. If there had been one, it could have helped the worker identify the fact that he had breached the hazard area, which may have signalled him to let the sheet of metal decking go and prevented him from going over the edge.
• Inadequate hazard assessment for resumption of work activities. High winds were prevalent at the worksite when work began. This resulted in a shutdown of work for 1½ hours until winds subsided. Subsequent resumption of work activities did not include an elevated response to the potential for increased winds or strong gusts. All the workers should have been in full personal fall protection before returning to work.
• Inadequate supervision. The supervisor met the employer’s criteria for a qualified supervisor. However, the employer’s fall protection plan, which stipulated that workers should be protected by a fall protection system at all times, was not being followed. The worker was not wearing fall protection, contrary to the fall protection plan. Also, no supervisor was designated in the fall protection plan as being responsible for ensuring all workers used fall protection where necessary. The employer failed to ensure the adequate instruction and supervision of workers.

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