This publication describes a test standard which can be applied to any product which will form a roof or part of a roof and is intended to provide information about whether it can support the instantaneous loads imposed on it by a person stumbling or falling on it.
Assemblies, when tested by a competent person, may be classified as:
- Non Fragile – Class A
- Non Fragile – Class B
- Non Fragile – Class C
If an assembly fails this test it must be classified as ‘fragile’.
The 4th edition clarifies the role of the competent person further and highlights that purlin centres can be critical to the test performance and this also applies to purlin centres that are closer together than the normal requirements.
Roofs incorporating fragile assemblies constitute a ‘fragile surface’ under Regulation 2 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requiring appropriate safety precautions to be taken to comply with the legal requirements of Regulation 9 (utilising work equipment selected in accordance with the hierarchy detailed in Regulation 6) of those regulations.