Leicester University Protects 9 Rooftops with Roof Edge Protection

Location: Leicester University, Leicester, UK
Products: KeeGuard,stepover platforms, safety gates

A number of buildings on the Leicester University campus required roof edge protection to facilitate safe access to maintenance teams throughout the year, as well as to control access on various parts of the roof and prevent unauthorised traffic on others. The roofs presented several obstacles that needed to be addressed before any maintenance jobs were carried out.

Being in a busy area, each system needed to be installed quickly and with as little disruption to the pedestrians and campus life as possible.

The project was completed in several stages and it covered around 9 buildings.

Assessing the fall protection needs

With 9 rooftops that needed fall protection systems of varying kinds, let's breakdown the primary issues that the team needed to address during the various stages of the project.

Lack of roof edge barriers

Lack of roof edge protection and the presence of old scaffolding on the roof of Lasdun Hall, Leicester University

Some of the buildings had old scaffolding systems in place which needed replacing with permanent edge protection. This would eliminate the risk of accidentally falling over the roof edge. Some areas were also being used by students, therefore a clear demarcation system was needed to signal forbidden access zones. Powder-coated self-closing gates were also installed.

Obstacles in the way of workers

AC units and pipework of varying heights are scattered across the various rooftops making crossing the roof difficult for maintenance teams, therefore various step-overs were required to mitigate these hazards.

Difference in roof levels

Differences in roof levels on Adrian Building, Leicester University

Parapets and differences in levels were again hindering the maintenance teams who would struggle to access various areas of the roof. This is why we designed several bespoke stepover platforms which would help users easily traverse the roof.

Addressing the fall protection needs

Given the nature of the site and the frequency of maintenance tasks required, a series of collective fall protection systems was put in place. Collective fall protection solutions can be easily used by anyone without the need for training or PPE (such as harnesses etc). This gives users the ability to focus on their tasks ahead. Collective measures are preferred to individual fall protection systems in the Hierarchy of control.

Roof edge protection for Lasdun House

For this project, we installed roof guardrail, large bespoke platforms, mini platforms and safety gates.

A roof guardrail system that adapts to any roof layout

The roof layouts for Leicester University were very different from one another; however, this is never an issue when it comes to KeeGuard, our roof edge protection system. Designed as a modular guardrail, KeeGuard can be configured to suit virtually any flat roof, even when space is a premium.

Close-up of the KeeGuard guardrail on Lasdun House

For this project, we used a combination of standard KeeGuard and KeeGuard Premium. KeeGuard Premium is designed to fit around tight roof areas and uses smaller weights, but offers the same unbeatable fall protection as KeeGuard standard.

KeeGuard Standard (left) and KeeGuard Premium (right) on the roof of Lasdun House, Leicester University

KeeGuard was also installed as a demarcation system. Together with a few self-closing gates, the system would clearly mark the areas where unauthorised access was not permitted.

KeeGuard used as demarcation on the roof of Adrian Building. Includes a self-closing gate

Bridges over pipework and parapets

To ease navigation, we installed bespoke step-over platforms that would tackle the difference in elevation on some of the roofs or the presence of large pipework on others. These stepovers are designed to help users easily (and safely) move from one area of the roof to the other, especially when carrying tools or materials. Just like KeeGuard, these platforms are completely freestanding, meaning that there was no need to drill into the roof membrane to fix the structures onto it.

Where low-level pipework or cables were present, we used small freestanding platform structures that would help users avoid a tripping hazard.

Mini step-over for cable trays

Post installation thoughts and comments

The contractors in charge with the works at Leicester University had been a Simplified customer since 2016. They enjoyed working with us because we provided a flexible and personalised service.

Our fall protection systems are easy to use and quick to install too, which significantly reduces the time spent on site installing the units. This means that once a site survey is completed and a fall protection system is designed to suit the site requirements, the works can be completed extremely quickly.

Because of their modular aspect, the systems can also be easily modified and adapted on site should the requirements change suddenly.

Once the systems were installed, our team carried out a full inspection to ensure that all systems were compliant with the relevant fall protection standards and to give our customer the peace of mind that anyone working on the Leicester University roofs could do so safely.

We absolutely loved working with the contractors in charge with the roof fall protection at Leicester University. Throughout our multi-year partnership, we helped evaluate and mitigate the existing risks, building a safety system that in time evolved together with the fall protection needs of the site.

If you are looking for a full fall protection system to suit a multi-roof site, then get in touch with our team to discuss your project. We will organise a site visit and, together, we will find the perfect solution for your fall protection needs.

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