Project Type: Guardrail and Access Ladder Installation
Location: 11-13 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich
Scope of Work: Free site survey, structural integrity assessment, ladder fall arrest installation, new guardrail with self-closing gate around ladder hatch, and new external fixed access ladder with fabricated platform suspended over pitched slate roof.
Overview:
Think Worksafe was brought in by a facilities management company to address unsafe and non-compliant roof access at a commercial building on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich. A free site survey identified several issues across both the internal and external access routes. The internal ladder needed fall arrest protection. The roof hatch area needed a new guardrail with a self-closing safety gate. The existing external ladder sat over a pitched slate roof, which was encouraging people to step onto the slates, creating a serious slip and breakage risk. It was also unstable.
The survey also assessed the structural integrity of the surfaces where new installations would be anchored, identifying potential hazards before any work began.
Products used across the project were Glidelok Fall Arrest, Alvin Keyclamp and Safety Fabrications. The installation was completed across two days.
Scope and Challenges:
The client came to Think Worksafe wanting either ladder hoops or a fall arrest system on the internal ladder, plus a new guardrail with a self-closing gate. The existing external ladder added a second, more serious problem. Its position over the pitched slate roof meant anyone using it was stepping onto the slates. That’s a slip hazard. It’s also a fragile roof covering. The ladder itself was unstable on top of that.
The site survey ruled out ladder hoops on the internal ladder straight away. There simply wasn’t enough room to fit them. A fall arrest system was the only workable solution for that access route.
The external ladder needed replacing entirely. The replacement had to be positioned and designed so that it kept users clear of the slate roof surface altogether, removing the slip and breakage risk at source rather than just managing it.
The Solution:
Think Worksafe carried out the free site survey and structural assessment first. With the scope confirmed, the team attended site over two days with two operatives.
On the first day, new ladders were moved to the building and work began on the lower platform installation. The second day saw the platform and ladder installation completed, with the guardrail including the self-closing gate around the ladder hatch fitted. Final clamping was completed on site, with a small number of grub screws to follow once the parts arrived. On a subsequent visit, the installed ladder was tied into the guardrail to complete the installation.
The key design decision on the external ladder was the platform. It was fabricated and suspended over the slate roof so that users never needed to make contact with the slates at any point during access or egress. The Glidelok fall arrest system was fitted to the internal ladder where hoop installation wasn’t feasible. Alvin Keyclamp was used for the guardrail and gate around the hatch.
Results and Impact:
Building 11 now has fully compliant roof access across both its internal and external access routes. The free site survey identified problems that went beyond the original brief, and the finished installation addressed all of them.
The internal ladder has fall arrest protection correctly specified for the available space. The roof hatch has a new guardrail with a self-closing safety gate. The external ladder is replaced, repositioned and fitted with a fabricated platform that keeps users clear of the slate roof entirely. Trades now have safe, compliant access to the roof. No extra works were required outside the agreed scope.
