By Daniel C. Brown
It was an accident that could have been easily avoided: A 29-year-old carpenter was electrocuted when the 40-foot aluminum ladder he was carrying hit a power line 24 feet above the ground.
This kind of accident is not uncommon, unfortunately. Improper ladder use is a leading cause of fatal falls in construction, according to the Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (FACE), which investigates workplace fatalities with the goal of identifying risk factors that lead to fatal injury.
Common mistakes in the use of ladders are as numerous as the applications themselves, says Bill Webb, who works in consumer relations for the Werner Co., a ladder manufacturer in Greenville, Pa. "Climbing them incorrectly, not setting up a ladder correctly, not using the right ladder for the right task, are all mistakes people make," says Bill. "People don't take the time to be safe."
FACE offers the following ladder safety tips:
- Stabilize your ladders securely before use. Set the base on a secure, even surface.
- When accessing a porch or roof, extend the ladder side rails three feet above the landing.
- Set the base at a horizontal distance of 1 foot for every 4 feet in height.
- Always face the ladder when climbing it. Maintain three-point contact, and use a tool belt or hoist to lift tools.
- Don't over-reach; take the time to reposition the ladder.
- When working on ladders placed on elevated porches and balconies, remember that a fall could send you all the way to the ground.
- Don't place ladders in front of doors without blocking the door to keep someone from opening it into the ladder.
- Maintain and inspect your ladders. Lubricate metal bearings, locks and pulleys. Check for loose or cracked rungs. Make sure the rung locks are in working order. Tag and remove defective ladders from the job site.
- Never work while standing on the top rungs of an extension ladder, or from the top step of a stepladder.
- When working around power lines, call the electrical company for assistance. Nonconductive fiberglass ladders are available for such applications.
- Use the right size ladder. "Don't use a little ladder for a big job," says Bill. "That's like using a teaspoon when you need a shovel."
- Train your workers in ladder safety. The Werner Co. and others offer ladder safety training programs.
OSHA steps up
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also publishes a number of documents about ladder safety. Following are some of ladder-safety rules from its Construction eTOOL document:
- Self-supporting (folding) and non-self-supporting (leaning) ladders must be able to support at least four times the maximum intended load, except extra-heavy-duty metal or plastic ladders, which must be able to sustain 3.3 times the maximum intended load.
- In the case of job-made wooden ladders, OSHA recommends departing from the 1:4 ratio of horizontal distance to vertical height. "That angle should equal about one-eighth the working length," says OSHA. This minimizes the strain of the load on ladder joints, which may not be as strong as commercially manufactured ladders.
- Ladders are to be kept free of oil, grease, wet paint, and other slipping hazards.
- Foldout or stepladders must have a metal spreader or locking device to hold the front and back sections in an open position while in use.
- When two or more ladders are used to reach a work area, they must be offset with a landing or platform between the ladders.
For more information, see Stairways and Ladders: A Guide to OSHA Rules (OSHA 3124-12R, 2003). Copies are available at www.osha.gov.
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