REDUCE WORKPLACE INJURIES BY IMPROVING LADDER SAFETY

Precaution is better than cure! If you agree with this. This write-up is just for you! Ladder Safety is one of the most neglected securities in the industrial safety workplace. Usage of an improper ladder can lead to dangerous accidents, injuries, or worse. Many employers either do not notice the safety of this critical job function or don’t know how to avoid and keep themselves safe. Studies show that most of these accidents are caused by carelessness on the part of users or a lack of safety procedures in place. 

Ensuring ladder safety is simpler than many employers assume as it takes some safety majors to follow precisely to avoid such injuries. Companies can use several specific ladder safety tips to initiate an organizational culture that prioritizes workplace safety and promotes proper on-the-job ladder usage to help mitigate the risk of accidents or injury. March is National Ladder Safety Month, making it a great time to inspect some essential ladder safety tips to share with your team to reduce workplace injuries.

MOST COMMON LADDER SAFETY HAZARDS

According to the national safety experts database, falls, electrical shock and instability are common hazards associated with ladders. There are several unsafe ways employees use ladders that could raise the probability of one of these incidents leading to accident or injury, including:

• Standing on the top rung of the ladder without additional support
• Carrying heavy items up or down the ladder
• Placing ladders on unstable footings, like soft ground or other objects.
• Exposing the ladder (especially ones made from metal) to nearby electrical wires.

Industries that work on installation, maintenance, repair, construction, and extraction accounted for nearly half of all ladder injuries.

BEST PRACTICES TO PREVENT LADDER ACCIDENTS

To avoid ladder safety injuries! There are several steps employees can take on a day to day basis. Below are the six most helpful ladder safety tips employees can practice every day:

1. Maintain three points of contact: Always ensure your employees follow the three-points-of-contact rule. That means keeping three body parts (either one arm and two feet or two arms and one foot) on the ladder at all times. It will increase stability and groundedness and decrease the chance of employees losing their balance and falling.
2. Face the ladder for more stability: The ladder is one of the essential gears used by employees in the industrial workplace. It helps employees whenever they are going up and down for any work. The positioning of the ladder is significant as it reduces the chance of slipping or falling forward when moving along the ladder.
3. Keep lifting loads light: Employees should avoid carrying heavy items up or down the ladder, which could cause them to lose balance. They should depend on other employees to pass the tools and equipment up to them.
4. Ensure stable grounding: Before placing the ladder, we should take care that it should always be placed on a stable surface like concrete. Avoid putting a ladder on soft ground that can easily cause it to shift, slide, or tip when being used.
5. Don’t stack the ladder: Ladders require strong and stable support. Operators should never aim to boost a ladder’s measurement by placing it on a stack of boxes or on unstable grounding. It’s also a good idea to allocate one individual to hold the ladder to prevent falling and balance injuries.
6. Lean extension ladders at an appropriate angle: If you are using extension ladders always stick to a four-to-one angle. For every four rungs, the base of the ladder should be moved back roughly one foot to avoid slipping and tipping.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO INCREASE WORKPLACE LADDER SAFETY

To promote better ladder safety across the entire organization, the leaders and supervisors should create a workplace safety culture. Some steps you can take to make ladder safety a priority in your organization:

1. Inspect all ladders before use: Always assign a designated ladder inspector who will conduct all daily inspections of ladders, looking for possible damage. This person should have experience using ladders and understand how each component functions properly.
2. Conduct a job hazard analysis: Workplace conditions might make ladder usage riskier. That might mean the majority of exposed electrical wires or excessively slippery floors. Conduct routine job hazard analysis to determine any possible workplace hazards and take steps to ensure safe and clean working conditions.
3. Invest in employee training programs: Employee training is one of the most effective ways to prevent workplace ladder injury. 

Do follow the basic ladder safety rules that can prevent serious injuries as ladder safety violations are among the most common in the workplace. Reviewing ladder safety with your team for National Ladder Safety Month can help prevent unnecessary injuries and even deaths – over 100 people die each year in ladder-related accidents.