[Major revision–posted 2/19/26 (replaces 11/16/22 edition)]
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Operating Policy and Procedure

OP 61.37: Access to University Building Roofs

DATE: February 19, 2026

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Operating Policy/Procedure (OP) is to establish clear guidelines to ensure safe, authorized, and controlled access to roofs and rooftops of all university-owned and leased buildings and facilities. The intent of this policy is to improve security, minimizing risks of falls, unauthorized entry, and structural damages when performing essential operational activities such as maintenance, inspections, and emergency response. The policy covers all authorized university personnel, contractors, and individuals who may be granted special access to perform specific activities.

REVIEW: This OP will be reviewed every two years after publication by the Senior Managing Director of Facilities Maintenance, Operations in consultation with the Associate Managing Director of Technology Services, Operations, and the Senior Safety Officer and the Senior Inspector of Planning & Design. The Associate Vice President for Operations shall approve minimal revisions. All substantive revisions shall be subject to review and approval by the Senior Vice President for Administration & Finance and Chief Financial Officer.

POLICY/PROCEDURE

1.  Definitions

a.    Authorized Personnel

(1)    University employees whose job functions require access to the roof to perform maintenance or repair activities, inspections, and other required essential tasks;

(2)    Contracted external vendors with approved access from Operations to perform work on the roof; and

(3)    Emergency responders with documented need to access the roof as part of responding to an emergency incident.

b.    Roof/Rooftop Access Points – Entry doors, hatches, ladders, elevators, or staircases leading to roof areas.

c.    High-Risk Activities – Work activities that may involve tools, equipment, processes, or environmental conditions that could create an elevated risk of accidents, injury, illness, or other unsafe incidents.

2.  General Requirements

a.    Authorized Personnel

(1)    Facilities Maintenance personnel whose job functions require accessing the roof and rooftop and have completed the required training and certification are authorized.

(2)    Contracted service vendors and contractors authorized by Operations to perform work on roofs and rooftops shall submit their safety plan to the Operations Senior Safety Officer for review and approval.

(3)    Emergency services personnel from external agencies such as City of Lubbock Fire Department and Police Department may be granted immediate access without prior approval in the event of an incident that requires access to the roof and rooftop. However, Operations must record date(s), time(s), and external agency for which access was granted in the post-event documentation.

b.    Access Authorization for Special Projects or Activities

(1)    Requests for access to the roof and/or rooftop to perform any special project or activity are reviewed and approved by Operations on a case-by-case basis. Each special project or activity requires a separate review and approved authorization from Operations. To request access for a special project or activity, the department shall submit a work request for access to Operations iServiceDesk at least seven (7) business days in advance of the event date and state the purpose for requested access, duration of the activity, and provide the names and contact information of all persons who may need access.

(a)    Examples of persons who may require access for special projects and activities include:

i.    Faculty/researchers/scholars – Case-by-case for academic activities such as drones, solar monitoring, and other specialized research activities.

ii.   Students/visitors are prohibited from all university roofs and rooftops unless such persons are included on the list of persons in the access request for the respective special projects and activities. Such students or visitors shall be under direct supervision of the lead faculty or staff requesting access authorization at all times when students or visitors are on the roof or rooftop. Access shall be limited to the time when students or visitors are expected to be present on the roof or rooftop.

(2)    The Operations Safety Officer shall review the access request and provide the required safety training and protocols for all persons listed on the access request.

(a)    Authorized access shall be granted only to persons listed on the access request. Authorized access cannot be transferred to others not included in the approved access request. Departments violating this policy may have their authorized access removed. Such departments could face possible corrective action, and future access requests may be denied.

(b)    The Operations Safety Officer has the right to deny access requests if they determine the proposed special project or activity could create an elevated risk of accidents, injury, illness, or other unsafe incidents.

c.    Prohibitions

(1)    No unauthorized persons are permitted on any university roof or rooftops at any time.

(2)    No access is permitted during severe weather conditions such as heavy storms, lightning, high winds, tornadoes, and icy conditions.

(3)    No recreational activities such as photography, astronomy observation, and filming are allowed without authorized access.

d.    Safety and Training

(1)    All authorized persons, contractors, and persons with authorized access must have mandatory OSHA-compliant training on fall protection, hazard awareness, and equipment use.

(2)    All persons granted authorized access to university roofs and rooftops must comply with fall protection, weather monitoring, and personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements.

(3)    PPE, such as harnesses, is required within six (6) feet of edges.

(4)    No access is permitted to roofs and rooftops during poor weather conditions.

e.    Security

(1)    All access points to rooftops shall remain locked and in secured positions at all times to avoid unauthorized entries.

(2)    Any rooftop access point found to be unsecured or showing obvious evidence of tampering shall be reported immediately to Operations so that the appropriate corrective action can be taken.

f.    Record Keeping

(1)    Operations shall maintain a log of all persons with authorized access to building roofs and rooftops to perform routine maintenance work, inspections, and repairs to ensure access is removed once the job function of such individuals no longer requires access to roofs and rooftops.

(2)    For persons with authorized access to perform a special project or activity, access shall be removed on the project or activity end date noted in the access request unless the department submits a time extension request 72 hours before the expiration of the access request. The time extension shall be granted if the activity and list of persons for authorized access shall remain unchanged from the initially authorized submission. Any change in scope of the project or activity or persons listed shall require a new submission.

g.    Annual Audits

Operations shall review the list of persons with authorized access to roofs and rooftops on a semiannual basis to prevent unauthorized entries and risk to the university.

OP Categories

• 01 Chancellor
• 02 Development
• 04 Audit Services
• 10 President
• 30 Academic and Student Affairs – General
• 32 Academic Policies – Faculty
• 34 Academic Policies – Students
• 36 Academic Programs
• 40 Institutional Compliance
• 48 Communication Services
• 52 Information Technology
• 60 Environmental Health and Safety
• 61 Facilities Management
• 62 Financial and Accounting
• 63 General Services
• 64 Graduate Programs (Faculty and Students)
• 65 Research Accounting
• 66 Libraries
• 67 Mail Services
• 68 Communications and Marketing
• 69 Payroll and Tax Services
• 70 Human Resources
• 72 Purchasing, Contracting, and Payables
• 73 Data Management
• 74 Research
• 75 Research Security
• 76 Security
• 77 Student Services and Registrar
• 78 Traffic and Parking
• 79 Travel
• 80 Vehicles