Anchor inspection & recertification
If people work at height on your building, the anchors they tie off to have to be inspected and recertified on a fixed cycle. We inspect, test and certify roof anchors and fall-arrest systems across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Who needs this, and when
If your building has roof anchors, davit bases, horizontal lifelines or any permanent fall-arrest system, responsibility for keeping it certified sits with the building owner or the employer directing the work.
An anchor that is out of certification is treated as an anchor that cannot be used, so the practical effect is immediate. Window cleaners, roofers, sign installers and HVAC crews cannot tie off, and the work stops.
Anchor systems must be inspected annually, and again after any fall event, any structural alteration to the roof, or any visible damage to the anchor or its substrate.
Typical triggers for a call
- The certification on file has expired or is about to
- A contractor has refused to work at height until the anchors are certified
- An insurer, auditor or joint health and safety committee has asked for records
- The building has changed hands and no anchor records came with it
- New anchors have been installed and need commissioning
What the inspection covers
Every anchor on the building is inspected individually and recorded individually. Four things happen on every visit.
Design drawing review
The system's design drawings are reviewed against current regulations, standards and engineering practice, so a system certified years ago is measured against what applies today.
Compliance with the drawings
The installed system is assessed against the engineered drawings. What was designed and what is actually on the roof are not always the same thing.
Condition of every component
All exposed, visible and accessible components are inspected for signs of distress, and every adhesive and expansion fastener is inspected.
Proof load testing
Anchors are proof load tested in line with the manufacturer's specification and the applicable regulatory requirements, including side load testing where the system calls for it. The result is recorded per anchor.
What you receive
The point of the visit is the documentation. You end up with a written inspection report covering every anchor on the building, pass or fail, that you can put in front of an auditor, an insurer or a contractor.
Anything beyond the report is agreed case by case when we discuss your building.
Who performs the work
The inspection is done by our own crew, the same people who work at height on your building for the rest of the year. Every anchor is inspected, tested and recorded individually, and the result goes into a written report you keep.
What a building owner is responsible for is set out in plain language on the New Brunswick roof anchor rules page.
Hightower has worked at height in New Brunswick since 1987 and is fully licensed and insured, and a registered member of WorkSafe NB. If you need our certificate of insurance or safety documentation for your contractor pre-qualification, ask and we will send it. More on how we work safely, and on where we travel.
Need your anchors certified
Book an inspection
Tell us the building and roughly how many anchors, and we will quote the inspection.
Request an anchor inspectionFaster than a form
Or call us
If a contractor has already stopped work over certification, say so when you call, along with when the current certification ran out.
(506) 858-5099