Page 48 - Occupational Health & Safety, March 2019

FALL PREVENTION
Ladder Safety Month: Ladder Safety Tips
When climbed properly, a ladder in good condition will never be the cause of the accident.
BY DAVE FRANCIS
Accidents happen for millions of reasons, but one simple truth is these accidents can be prevented. Three major causes are common in almost all accidents: not using the right tool for the job, using a damaged tool that hasn’t been inspected, and not following the basic safety guideline for that tool. When people decide to get creative and cut corners to save a little time or effort, they expose themselves to accidents and injuries. Creativity is the
Make sure the weight rating of the ladder you choose is greater than your weight and all of the clothes, tools, and equipment you will be wearing/carrying.
enemy of safety.
Falls are a leading cause of accidents in the work-
place, and ladders are involved in a high percentage of these incidents. But like other types of accidents, fall and ladder-related accidents are preventable by fol- lowing three basic guidelines. Since this is an article about ladder safety, let’s apply these guidelines to safe ladder use.
1. Use the right ladder for the job.
The first rule of using the right ladder is to use a ladder. Too often, people just grab the closest thing to them and end up standing on buckets or chairs in- stead of taking a few minutes to go get the right ladder. When choosing a ladder, make sure it is tall enough for the job. Per ANSI standards, ladders are marketed and sold by the total height, or the total section length, not the usable height.
Second, you should never stand on the top cap or use the top step of a stepladder (or A-frame). In prac- tice, you should be 4 feet off the ground if you are us- ing a 6-foot ladder. You will need the top 2 feet of the ladder to hold onto or lean against to maintain your three points of contact.
Extension ladders are sold by the total length of the sections and only mention the 3 feet of overlap in small print. A 20-foot extension ladder is two 10-foot sections, but because of the overlap needed, it is only 17 feet tall. If you are using it to climb on a roof, you should have 3 feet of ladder above the roofline to give you something to hold onto as you transition on and off the ladder.
Given all these factors, you almost always need a taller ladder than you think. Make sure the weight rating of the ladder you choose is greater than your weight and all of the clothes, tools, and equipment you will be wearing/carrying. Remember, when using any ladder, be aware of your surroundings and never use an aluminum ladder when working on or near elec- tricity.
2. Inspect your ladder before each use.
If the ladder has any damage, do not use it. Lad- ders are built with a 4-to-1 safety ratio, meaning a ladder rated for 250 pounds was tested to hold 1,000
42 Occupational Health & Safety | MARCH 2019
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