Work activities must be coordinated according to weather conditions, (i.e. low temperatures, snow, sleet, rain etc.) and the condition of the roof deck upon which the roof is to be installed. Productivity is also affected by the amount of daylight.
The supervisor should have the names, phone numbers and addresses of all of the crew members in order to coordinate the activities of the roofing work crew with weather conditions. The crew could be informed in the early hours of the morning that their services will not be required because of inclement weather or, should the weather improve, they could round up the crew and proceed to the job site on short notice.
There are many times during the cold weather months when the roofing crew could remove ice, snow or excess water during a period of warmer weather. This could be the only opportunity to clear the roof deck of ice, snow and water. Timely coordination between the employer and the roofing crew is essential.
This work arrangement and crew availability is sometimes very difficult to predict with changing weather conditions. However, there are many other factors that are taken into consideration by the employer, such as the necessity to gamble some labour to expedite the work, to unload and hoist materials that may be arriving, or to do inside waterproofing. During cold weather, each roofer and their employer must be prepared to coordinate their activities so that the roof may be installed in as economical a manner and as near to normal conditions as possible.
During the application of the roofing on a large project, the roofer should also be prepared, if conditions warrant, to add or cut one or more people from the roofing crew to prepare the roof deck for the following day’s work. There are many occasions when snow and ice have been removed the prior evening, only to have it snow again the following morning.