Fall Protection for Skylights in Industrial Buildings

What Is a Protective Net for Skylights and Why Is It Mandatory?

Skylights and rooflights on industrial roofs are classified as fragile surfaces. This means they are not designed to bear the weight of a person, and that a fall onto them — or through them — can have irreversible consequences.

Spanish occupational health and safety regulations require protecting any roof opening through which a fall could occur. There are several options: perimeter guardrails, safety nets or, in the case of skylights, specific protection systems such as fall arrest nets or grilles installed beneath the translucent surface.

The advantage of protection under the roof is that it acts as a permanent collective safety net: it does not depend on the worker being properly equipped before going up, or on an anchor point being available in the area. It is always there, regardless of who gains access and under what conditions.

Protection for Industrial Building Skylights

PIGNUS Skylight Fix is YPSOS SAFETY’s fall arrest protection system for skylights. It is made in Spain and designed to be installed inside the skylight, without altering its operation or its exterior appearance.

Technical features:

• Zinc-plated metal tray that resists oxidation in any type of environment, including humid settings, aggressive industrial atmospheres, or coastal installations
• Fastening hardware included
• Adaptable to any skylight size and shape — square, rectangular, round, or irregular
• Compatible with any type of roof: sandwich panel, trapezoidal metal sheet, concrete roof, and deck roof
• Installation without lifting the skylight, which reduces intervention time and avoids compromising watertightness during the process

Standards it has been tested under:

• UNE-EN 1873:2015 + A1:2016
• UNI-EN 1873:2014
• DIN-EN 1873:2015

Testing under European, Italian, and German standards is not a standard requirement in the Spanish market. It is a product decision: if PIGNUS Skylight Fix is going to be on a roof for decades, it has to be truly proven.

On Which Roofs Can Skylight Protection Be Installed?

Most skylight protection systems require specific roof or access conditions. PIGNUS Skylight Fix is designed for what actually exists in the Spanish industrial building stock, not for ideal laboratory conditions.

It can be installed on:

Sandwich panel — the most widespread in newly built industrial buildings and recent extensions. The skylight is usually integrated into the panel line itself, and PIGNUS Skylight Fix adapts without altering the watertightness of the assembly.

Trapezoidal metal sheet — common in older installations or industrial sheds. Skylight dimensions vary considerably, and PIGNUS’s adaptable system handles this without the need to fabricate custom parts.

Concrete roof — typical of industrial buildings from the 1970s to 1990s with integrated rooflights. Environments where the durability of the zinc plating and corrosion resistance are critical.

Deck roof — a growing solution in contemporary industrial construction. It works well with photovoltaic installations and with periodic maintenance systems that require frequent roof access.

How a Fall Arrest Net Is Installed on a Skylight

One of the most common objections to installing skylight protection is the impact of the work on the roof: if the translucent panel has to be lifted, watertightness is broken, the schedule is extended, and the cost goes up.

PIGNUS Skylight Fix removes that objection. Installation is done from inside the building, beneath the skylight, without needing to access the roof at any point in the process. This has three practical consequences:

First, the roof is not touched. The waterproofing stays intact and there is no risk of creating new water leaks during installation.

Second, the intervention time is considerably reduced. There is no need to organize work on the roof, no need for additional collective protection measures for the installer, and no need to wait for suitable weather conditions.

Third, it can be done in facilities that are in operation. In buildings in production where activity cannot be interrupted to carry out work on the roof, installation from the inside makes it possible to protect the skylights without shutting down the plant.

Skylight Protection on Industrial Roofs: When to Act

Protecting roof openings is not a decision that can be postponed indefinitely. These are the moments when installing a fall arrest net for skylights goes from being advisable to being urgent:

Before a labor inspection or OHS audit. Unprotected roof openings are a serious non-conformity. Documenting that certified collective protection has been installed is the difference between a warning and a fine.

When planning roof maintenance work. When periodic access to roof equipment is planned, it is the time to assess and resolve all risks at once, including skylights.

In building renovations or extensions. A roof replacement or an extension is the opportunity to install protection from the start, at lower cost and without interrupting activity afterward.