Ladders are useful tools for extending our reach. Unfortunately, each year many people are injured while using ladders. Falls, including those from ladders, scaffolds, and elevated platforms, are the number two cause of workplace deaths.
To avoid accidents, follow these important ladder safety tips:
- Examine the ladder for defects. Cut up aluminum ladders for scrap if they have dings, dents, distortions, or other damage. Don’t just throw away a damaged ladder; someone might retrieve it and use it.
- Cut up and discard wooden ladders with weakened rungs or that are weather damaged. Don’t paint a wooden ladder. Ladders should be either left uncoated or coated with a clear coating so that defects can be easily seen.
- Fiberglass ladders that have “blooming” fibers are dangerous and should be destroyed and discarded.
- Don’t use metal ladders when servicing overhead electrical equipment. Keep ladders as far away as possible from electrical wiring and power lines.
- When using a ladder to climb onto a roof or other elevated surface, make sure the ladder extends approximately three feet (one meter) above the edge of the roof line.
- Don’t use boxes, concrete blocks, or other movable items to increase the height of the ladder.
- The ladder’s angle (to the wall being climbed) should be about 70 degrees or one foot (0.3 meters) from the wall for every four feet (1.2 meters) of the ladder height. If the angle is steeper, the ladder may move away from the wall, causing you to fall backward. Too shallow an angle places undue stress on the ladder rails.
- Don’t climb down a ladder backwards. Always face the ladder when ascending or descending.
- Only one worker at a time should use a ladder.
- Don’t place a ladder in a walkway so that people have to walk under it when passing.
- Use hand lines to pass tools or equipment up or down to a ladder. Never throw tools or equipment to a person on a ladder or to a person standing under a ladder.
- Use hooks or other devices to hold equipment while working on a ladder. For example, don’t hold a paint pail in one hand while painting with the other.
- Always lower an extension ladder to its lowest point before carrying it.
- Never use the top platform of a stepladder as a step; Best practice when available is to ensure there are at least three steps above you when you are standing on a stepladder.
- Don’t use a ladder as part of a horizontal platform or scaffolding. Ladders have strength only in vertical position.
- Don’t pile equipment onto a ladder in the back of a pickup truck or in a storage area.
- Don’t leave ladders unattended, especially if children are present.