Flat roof snow removal instruction – it’s about time for the managers to pull it from the bottom of the drawer. The pretext for this is the first snow falling either in late autumn or already in winter. Flat roof snow removal instruction is a set of guidelines designed to ensure the safe use of the building and the appropriate response to increased snowfall. The purpose of such action is to safely remove the snow cover from the roofs’ buildings like hall, store, shopping center, logistics center or other large-scale building.
THE IMPACT OF THE SNOW
In Poland, the Building Law Act says that the user of the building is responsible for the safe operation and an appropriate response to precipitation. What does the term “safe operation” mean in the context of snow removal from a flat roof? Usually this involves measuring the thickness of the snow cover and comparing the obtained results with a table of allowable loads based on the consistency of snow. But for your own safety and the durability of the structure, it is worth doing more than the bare minimum. Therefore, more attentive – or perhaps more sensible – users don’t just rely on measuring thickness. They weigh the collected snow samples with a known volume and thus make a comparison close to the real value.
CAUTION, DANGER!
Knowledge about these three points is crucial for the safety of a given building:
- the current load on a flat roof,
- the forecasted weather,
- and the possible mobilization of the snow removal team
That information is often collected by the user for many years. Nowadays this can be supported by devices created by Sense Monitoring, which also have a positive effect on snow removal from a flat roof. Three sensors: Sense S-One Sensors, Water Level Sensors, and Weather Alerts, they altogether provide a precise information about your flat roof condition and help to predict what can happen. The Smart Roof Platform was tailored made and focused to the needs of the PropTech industry.
Flat roof snow removal instruction is useful because clearing snow itself can be also dangerous to the building structure. Snow cannot be accumulated on the roof slope, and uneven snow removal is also unacceptable. This is because an asymmetrical load can cause the roof to collapse, which has happened more than once in history.
THE SNOW REMOVAL INSTRUCTION: WHAT SHOULD INCLUDE?
A properly prepared snow removal instruction for flat roofs should include, among others:
- the way to measure the weight of snow,
- flat roof snow removal guidelines,
- general rules for removing snow from a flat roof,
- scheme and sequence of snow removal from a flat roof,
- workplace and employee safety rules,
- protection of the flat roof covering against mechanical damage.
The person responsible for the preparation of snow removal instruction should have special qualifications in the appropriate scope, eg. building license. Most often it is the author of the building structure design.
Systems that help maintain flat roofs are increasingly used. Usually the ultimate or the serviceability limit states are measured. Due to the fact that they provide such information, they free users from the tedious and manual load control procedure. Interestingly, from the standard point of view such systems are more correct than load control, because they say not so much. They rather say how much snow is on the roof, but nothing about safety.
Our company Sense Monitoring specializes in such solutions. Our tools created for the PropTech industry are used by companies not only in Poland, but also in Europe. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the list of our projects and the Sense Monitoring offer.
If you need to refresh your snow removal instructions, we will be more than happy to help you.
