Page 43 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2017

Always use the right size ladder for the job. A common mistake is using a small lad- der and standing on the top step or the top cap of the ladder. You should never stand above the second step from the top of a stepladder or the third rung from the top of an extension ladder. If you are working on or near electricity, you should use a fiber- glass ladder. Fiberglass is non-conductive.
When setting your ladder up, you should do a site assessment first. Make sure there are no branches or power lines in your way first. Set your ladder up on firm level ground.
This is harder than it sounds because the ground is almost never level.
Do not use bricks, boards, or rocks to level your ladder. There are several prod- ucts available to safely level your ladder. If you don’t have one of them, dig out the high side to level instead of building up the low side.
When climbing, always maintain three points of contact—this means do not carry an armful of materials while trying to climb the ladder. Always keep your body between the side rails of the ladder. If you can’t reach something, climb down and move your ladder over. Most accidents that result in disability or fatality are caused by over- reaching.
Ladder Innovations
Making sure our ladders are in good con- dition and following proper set-up and climbing guidelines will greatly reduce the number of ladder-related accidents, but there is still more we can do. There are al- ways people who haven’t been trained or those who are in a hurry and overlook one or more of the steps. (If telling someone the rules once was all you needed to do, cars wouldn’t have seat belts.)
So how can we make ladders safe, even if you forget to follow all the rules? We need to stop using Grandpa’s ladder. Ladder de- sign hasn’t changed in hundreds of years, and ladder-related accidents continue to increase. There are several innovations on the market today of which you might not be aware.
Lighter-Weight Ladders
New lightweight fiberglass reduces the torn rotator cuffs, high ankle sprains, her- niated disks, and torn knee ligaments that are so common for workers. A lighter lad- der also helps in proper set-up. And, most
The SafeFrame helps you work safely and comfortably.
www.ohsonline.com
MARCH 2017 | Occupational Health & Safety 39
importantly, the user is happier at the end of the day because he didn’t have to carry the old, heavy one.
Leveling
The levelness of the ground is a big fac- tor in tip-and-fall type accidents. Ladders with built-in levelers allow the users to quickly level their ladders to the surround-
ings and safely get to work.
Added Stability
We train people not to over-reach, but we know they do because we have the accident reports. So how do we protect somebody if they do over-reach? Adding outriggers to the bottom of the ladder can increase side tip stability more than 600
LITTLE GIANT LADDER SYSTEMS