Taking Ladder Safety to New Heights

By:
Caitlyn Scheuermann, IROC Family Of Companies
on Thu, 10/26/2017

When a team of National Safety Council consultants recently compiled a list of the most common workplace safety hazards, it was hard to avoid the topic of ladders. In the past several years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has continued to rank ladders among the top 10 most cited safety violations. Improper use of a ladder can lead to serious injuries and in some cases even death. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2015 alone there were 150 work-related fatalities and 20,000 non-fatal injuries, all the results of ladder-related incidents. That’s an average of three deaths and 50 non-fatal injuries per week, many of which could have been prevented.

What Can I Do to Prevent Ladder-Related Incidents?

Where do you begin to ensure that your employees are practicing safe use of ladders? Start with your current safety training policies and procedures. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Have we incorporated into any of our existing safety and training manuals what constitutes proper use of a ladder?
  • Do we go over these safe practices for ladder use with employees during their orientation process?
  • How often do we review ladder safety with our current employees to ensure they are following the policies and procedures we have in place?

The good news is that there are many resources an employer can utilize for teaching ladder safety. For example, The American Ladder Institute (ALI) offers free online training tools and videos, as well as a Ladder Safety Certification test. In addition to the ALI, there are a multitude of other companies, including OSHA, that provide ladder safety training and certifications, all of which can be found online.

Quick Tips for Ladder Safety

Post simple ladder safety tips for your employees in common areas so they can be reminded daily of proper procedures:

  • Use the “3-Point Contact” rule when climbing a ladder. This means that you should always have two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, maintaining contact with the ladder.
  • Always face toward the ladder when climbing up or down.
  • Do not attempt to move or shift the ladder while a person or piece of equipment is still on the ladder.
  • Clean, slip-resistant shoes should be worn when climbing a ladder, and ladders should be free of any proponents that could lead to the rungs becoming slippery.
  • Ladders should always be inspected prior to use for any damage. Damaged or broken ladders should be properly disposed of so they are not at risk of being used.
  • Ladders should always be set up on firm, level ground with the base of the ladder being one-fourth of the working length of the ladder away from the wall.
  • Never place a ladder on top of another object in order to obtain more height.
  • Only one person should ever be on a ladder at one time.
  • Step ladders should never be used while in the closed position.

Employers should post a list of tips similar to those mentioned above, or obtain a QuickCard from the OSHA website (http://www.OSHA.gov) to display in the workplace. In addition to posting safety tips, it is imperative that supervisors and upper management lead by example. Safety starts at the top, and employees will only come to respect and abide by the policies and procedures that they see their superiors following.

The ALI and the National Safety Council are looking to bring more awareness to ladder safety, as they feel that nearly all of ladder-related accidents can be prevented. Earlier this year the ALI, which comprises 16 ladder manufacturers in North America, launched a new initiative in which they declared March to be National Ladder Safety Month. They are hoping this campaign will help to decrease the number of ladder-related incidents in the workplace, increase the number of trainings and certifications, and lower the ranking of ladder-related citations on OSHA’s Top 10 list.

Bio: Caitlyn Scheuermann is the marketing coordinator at the IROC Family of Companies, an insurance-based organization in Ridgewood, New Jersey, that specializes in workers’ compensation and business protection insurance in New York and New Jersey. The organization includes Innovative Risk Concepts, Inc., Safety Group Managers of the New York State Building Service Contractors’ Trade Group, a workers’ compensation program that is exclusively reserved for maintenance and janitorial contractors in New York State.