Ladder Safety

Ladders look simple, which is why so many people get hurt on them. Most ladder falls come from the same few causes: the wrong ladder, a bad setup, overreaching, or climbing with your hands full. A fall of only a few feet onto concrete can break bones or cause a head injury. Setting a ladder up correctly takes a couple of minutes, and those minutes matter every time you climb.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Pick a ladder by type, duty rating, height and material.
• Inspect a ladder and decide whether it can be used.
• Set an extension ladder at the correct angle and height, and secure it.
• Use a stepladder within its limits.
• Climb and work without overreaching.

Choose the Right Ladder

Duty Rating

The duty rating is the total load a ladder is built to carry, under the ANSI A14 ladder standards. It includes you, your clothes and PPE, your tools, and whatever you carry up.

Worked example: You weigh 200 pounds. Boots, clothes and a tool belt add 25 pounds, and you carry a 40-pound box up with you.

1. 200 + 25 + 40 = 265 pounds.
2. Type I (250 pounds) is too light.
3. Type IA (300 pounds) works.

Type III ladders are for homes. They do not belong on a job. Never load a ladder past its rating, and do not use it for anything it was not designed for, such as a plank, brace or bridge.

Material

• Fiberglass does not conduct electricity when clean and dry. Use it for anything near electrical equipment. It is heavier, and it can crack if dropped.
• Aluminum is light, but it conducts electricity.
• Wood is rare now. It conducts when wet or dirty, and it must not be painted, because paint hides cracks.

Warning: Never use a metal ladder near electrical work or power lines. Keep any ladder, and yourself, at least 10 feet from overhead lines. If you carry a ladder upright, look up first. Long ladders hitting lines have killed people.

Inspect Before Every Use

Check the ladder before you climb. If you find a problem, tag it "Do Not Use", take it out of service and report it.

1. Side rails: no cracks, bends or dents. On fiberglass, check for cracks and exposed fibers.
2. Rungs and steps: all there, tight and not bent.
3. Feet: the pads are present, not worn through, and pivot freely.
4. Spreaders on a stepladder: both are straight and lock open.
5. Extension parts: rung locks engage, the rope is not frayed and the pulley turns.
6. Labels: you can read the duty rating.
7. Surfaces: rungs and your boots are clean of mud, oil, paint and grease.

Do not repair a ladder on site. A rung held on with screws or wire is still a broken rung.

Set Up an Extension Ladder

1. Pick the spot. Choose firm, level ground, clear of doors, walkways and traffic. If it must go in a doorway or driveway, lock or block the door, or barricade the area.
2. Check overhead for power lines before you raise it.
3. Raise it by walking it up with another person if it is long or heavy.
4. Set the angle with the 4-to-1 rule. For every 4 feet of height to the top support, move the feet out 1 foot. This gives about 75 degrees.
5. Extend it past the landing. To step onto a roof or platform, the side rails must reach at least 3 feet above the landing.
6. Secure it. Tie it off at the top, or have it blocked or held at the bottom if it cannot be tied. Tying the top is the better choice.
7. Check the rung locks and test the ladder with your weight on the lowest rung before you climb.

Worked example: You need to reach a roof edge that is 16 feet above the ground.

1. 16 / 4 = 4, so the feet go 4 feet from the wall.
2. The rails must reach 3 feet above the roof, so you need 19 feet of height above the ground.
3. Measured along the ladder at that angle, that is about 20 feet. Extension ladders lose length to the overlap of the sections, so a 24-foot extension ladder is the likely choice. Check the label for its maximum working length.

Body check: Stand with your toes against the ladder's feet and hold your arms straight out. Your palms should rest on a rung at about shoulder height.

Use a Stepladder Safely

1. Open it fully and lock both spreaders.
2. Set all four feet on a firm, level surface.
3. Stay off the top cap. OSHA does not allow it to be used as a step, and most labels also rule out the step below it. Read the label for the highest standing level.
4. Do not climb the back unless it is built for that.
5. Do not lean it folded against a wall as a straight ladder. The feet are not made for it and they can kick out.

If you need to go higher than the label allows, get a taller ladder. Never set a ladder on a box, a pallet, a truck bed or a scaffold platform to gain height.

How to Climb

1. Face the ladder on the way up and down.
2. Keep three points of contact: two hands and a foot, or two feet and a hand.
3. Keep your hands free. Use a tool belt or haul materials with a rope. You must not carry anything that could throw off your balance.
4. Keep your belt buckle between the rails. If you must reach past that, climb down and move the ladder. Leaning out moves your weight past the rail and the ladder tips.
5. One person at a time, unless the ladder is built for more.
6. Stay off the top three rungs of an extension ladder. They are for handholds, not feet.
7. Do not move or extend a ladder with anyone on it.
8. Stay off in high wind or storms.

Portable Ladders and Fall Protection

A ladder gives you access, or a place to do short, light work. Ladders do not count as fall protection. Long tasks, heavy materials, or work needing both hands call for a platform, lift or scaffold. If a task puts you at the edge of a roof or an opening, the fall protection rules for that surface still apply once you step off.

What to Do When Something Is Wrong

1. Stop climbing and get down safely.
2. Tag the ladder "Do Not Use" and move it out of reach.
3. Tell your supervisor or the competent person, who is the person your employer has made responsible for finding and correcting hazards.
4. Do not fix it yourself, and do not leave it for someone else to find.

You can refuse to use a ladder that is broken. Your employer must give you a safe one.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

1. You have to reach a light fixture in a hallway, and the nearest ladder is an aluminum stepladder. The fixture wiring is exposed and may be energized. Is the ladder okay?

No. Use fiberglass near possible electrical contact. The circuit must also be de-energized by someone qualified before any work on it.

2. An extension ladder's support point is 20 feet up. How far out should the feet sit?

20 / 4 = 5 feet.

3. The stepladder you have puts your target just out of reach unless you stand on the top cap. What do you do?

Get a taller ladder or a lift. Do not use the top cap, and do not stack anything to gain height.

4. You find a cracked rail on a ladder that someone has used all week. What do you do?

Tag it "Do Not Use", remove it from service and report it. Do not fix it, and do not use it for one more quick job.

Key Takeaways

• Choose the ladder by type, duty rating, material and height. Count everything you take up.
• Inspect it every time, and tag and remove any damaged ladder.
• Use 4 to 1 for the angle, extend 3 feet past a landing, and secure the ladder.
• Keep three points of contact and keep your belt buckle between the rails.
• Stay off the top cap of a stepladder. Move the ladder instead of reaching.
• Keep ladders at least 10 feet from power lines, and use fiberglass near electricity.