In many professions, workers have no choice but to work on ladders. Perhaps you’re a window cleaner, a house painter or even a warehouse worker who has to get items from a tall shelf. You could also work in construction, installing ceilings, installing new roofing or something of this nature. There are situations where safer options – like scaffolding – just will not work, and you’ll have no choice but to use a ladder to attend to your job duties.
Regardless of the reason why you have to use a ladder, doing so does increase your odds of suffering a serious injury in a fall. Remember that falls are the main reason for fatal accidents in the construction industry, for instance, and they can lead to serious injuries in many other situations. That’s why it’s important to know how to work safely on a ladder.
Top tips for responsible workers
To ensure the safety of you and those working around you, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Only have one person use a ladder at a time.
- Respect weight limits.
- Never stand on the highest rungs.
- Do not carry items up the ladder in your hands.
- Keep three points of contact with the ladder at all times.
- Ensure that the ground on which the ladder has been set up is firm and that the ladder won’t slip or slide.
- Check the angle of the ladder to make sure it cannot tip backward or forwards.
- Always inspect ladders before using them.
- Make sure you have the right ladder; step ladders and extension ladders are not interchangeable for all jobs.
These tips can certainly help decrease your odds of an accident, but falls can still happen on the job. Workers who have been injured need to make sure they know exactly how to seek workers’ comp benefits. These benefits can help to cover things like any medical bills you may be facing or some of the wages you’re losing while you are not working in the wake of a ladder-related fall.