Page 45 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2017

LADDER SAFETY MONTH 2017
The American Ladder Institute recently declared March 2017 as the first an- nual National Ladder Safety Month. National Ladder Safety Month will bring heightened awareness to the importance of the safe use of ladders through resources, training, and a national dialogue.
The goals of National Ladder Safety Month are to:
■ Increase the number of ladder safety training certificates issued by ALI
■ Increase the frequency that ladder safety training modules are viewed
on www.laddersafetytraining.org
■ Lower the rankings of ladder-related safety citations on OSHA’s yearly
“Top 10 Citations List”
■ Decrease number of ladder-related injuries and fatalities
■ Increase the number of competent ladder inspector trainings
■ Increase the number of companies and individuals that inspect and
properly dispose of old, damaged, or obsolete ladders
Check out www.laddersafetymonth.com for tips and programs you can use
to raise awareness of ladder safety at your organization.
in any direction.
If your ladder is in good condition and
you climb it properly, you can avoid a very painful and maybe life-changing accident; but Grandpa’s ladder is too easily misused. There is a movement in the ladder industry to improve ladder safety through design. It is still important to inspect your ladder before every use and to follow the simple guidelines for set-up and climbing. But new, safer designs will help prevent those accidents when we are in a hurry or forget the basic rules.
Remember, ladders are safety equip- ment, so Climb Safe and Climb On.
David Francis, National Safety Director for Little Giant Ladder Systems, has worked in the ladder industry for more than 30 years. He travels all over the country performing free ladder safety training for all kinds of companies. He can be contacted via email at dave@ladders.com or www.laddersafe- tyhub.com.
percent. If the user can’t get outside of the footprint of the ladder, he can’t acciden- tally tip it.
Ladders with Guardrails Attached
If you are working at height or need to
use both hands to do the job but don’t have anything (or the right thing) to tie off to, then you need a guardrail. Ladders with engineered guardrail systems provide that added safety you need to work hands-free
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Circle 14 on card.