Skylights are an excellent solution for the ventilation and illumination of rooms such as attics, lofts and buildings for industrial and agricultural use. Usually made of glass, polycarbonate or fibreglass, they are not very strong and easily breakable, which is why they can be the cause of accidental falls during maintenance and restoration work, especially after years of exposure to sun and weather elements.
That is why it is very important to secure them with properly designed protection systems. In this article we look at the requirements for permanent fall protection systems and how they can be installed.
Fall protection systems for non-walkable skylights: indoor and outdoor installation
Permanent fall protection nets for non-walkable skylights can be galvanised or plastic-coated and installed indoors or outdoors. Here we elaborate on the main differences between these two types of installation.
Permanent fall protection nets: indoor installation
Permanent fall protection nets can be installed indoors, under plastic skylights that cannot be walked on to be protected. More specifically, they are anchored directly onto the load-bearing structure of the roof using different laying techniques and accessories chosen according to the type of construction on which they are to be anchored.
Permanent fall protection nets: outdoor installation
Permanent fall protection nets can also be installed over plastic skylights that cannot be walked on to be protected. This type of installation is possible in the case of roofs clad with double-sheet sandwich panels or steel or aluminium corrugated/rounded sheets of suitable thickness and adequately anchored to the underlying structure.
Since in this case the net will be exposed to the weather, it will be necessary to choose a plastic-coated net and anchor it with special accessories.
Copertec System: the certified permanent protection system by Cavatorta
The Copertec System is Cavatorta’s permanent fall protection system for the protection of non-walkable skylights. The only system certified by the Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche – Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione (National Research Council Institute for Construction Technology) (ITC-CNR) with ITC Technical Agrément No. 650/22 of 12.05.2022.
The system is specifically designed to protect against the risk of falling during the maintenance of roofs of buildings for industrial/agricultural use and envisages the use of galvanised Copertec net (or its plastic-coated alternative Coperplax) to be fitted in combination with specific accessories.
It is important to emphasise that in order to make the system certifiable, the installation instructions described in the relevant Technical Assessment Document no. 650 issued by the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione (National Research Council Institute for Construction Technology) (ITC-CNR).
Below we briefly describe the two types of nets.
Copertec anti-fall net
Electro-welded net with triple border. The horizontal and vertical wires, both linear, are made of galvanised steel before welding.
Coperplax anti-fall net
Electrowelded and plastic-coated net with triple border. The cross and longitudinal wires of the electrowelded net, both linear, are made of galvanised steel. Lamination is achieved by means of the unique sintering process called Galvaplax Process, developed by Cavatorta.
For more information on the system and how to install it, please consult the Copertec System data sheet.