The safe use of roof access ladders is incredibly important in many workplaces when carrying out work at height or accessing roofs or elevated work platforms. Having the right type of ladder installed is the first step in the process, but you’ll need to make sure your workers actually know how to use ladders appropriately to protect themselves from fall risks.
Below we’ll take a look at the best practices for ladder safety, including looking at the most common fall risks, how to avoid those risks, the fixed ladder regulations that dictate ladder safety and what to do when things go wrong with ladder safety.
What Are The Biggest Risks When Using Ladders?
The use of ladders in the workplace can be a dangerous thing. Just like all things relating to working at height, it’s important that you conduct a thorough risk assessment to ensure you’re using the right tools for the job – in this case the right ladder type. As part of that risk assessment you need to consider all possible risks.
For the use of ladders in the workplace, these are the most common risks to be aware of:
- Incorrect ladder – Choosing the wrong tool for the job can lead to falls
- Incorrect setup – If the ladder isn’t installed in the right way then they can become a hazard of their own
- Improper use – Overreaching, moving too quickly, not using additional safety features like vertical safety lines can all lead to falls
- Not doing your due diligence – Checking the ladder’s condition before and after every use is important
- Not respecting the ladder’s limits – Ladders aren’t faultless, they have weight limits and ways of using them, get it wrong and you could cause a fall
What Are The Best Practices For Ladder Safety?
Now that you know the biggest risks, let’s look at the things you and your workers can do to ensure that those risks are mitigated and the ladder can be used in the safest way possible.
Choose The Right Ladder Initially
Getting the ladder choice right initially is vital. This can only be done following a proper risk assessment. Once you know the risks associated with the roof or platform access, you can choose the right ladder. This is true of the sort of ladders we install for working at height like caged access ladders and companionway ladders. But it’s also true for other ladders around the workplace like stepladders, portable leaning ladders, multi purpose ladders and extension ladders.
Get it right, and your workers will be protected. Ladder type, height, weight, and material are all essential so ensure you talk to the pros to get the best ladder for the task.
Pre- & Post-Use Checks
It’s important that before and after every use the ladder is visually inspected and manually checked where possible to ensure the ladder is fit for purpose. You should look out for:
- Obvious signs of wear and tear
- Cracks
- Dips
- Missing or broken ladder rungs
- Corrosion
- Damage of any kind
You should also make it clear that any worker using the ladder must stop their work and report the incident to a supervisor on site. The ladder should then be taken out of action until it’s fixed or replaced.
Check The Ladder Setup
At Altus Safety we’re height safety experts so we know how to install and set up roof access ladders safely. We check and double check our work because it’s important that the installation and setup is absolutely correct.
So, if you need to setup a ladder that isn’t fixed at your site like a stepladder or extension ladder, then it’s important you check the setup too. It must be firm with locking mechanisms working correctly to ensure the ladder extends only to the appropriate height for the person climbing, be set at the right ladder angle on a non-slip surface, and you should check that it’s appropriate for use.
A stability device may be required, and if the ladder is installed on a roof, then you should also think about edge protection at the top. If the ladder is part of a wider safety system then you’ll need to think of everything you can do to make the whole system safer.
Ensure Proper Usage
You will have heard this time and time again when it comes to ladder usage, but there are proper ways of using them and it’s important that you respect that. So, with risk of telling you what you already know, when using a ladder you must:
- Face the direction of travel
- Maintain three points of contact (unless you have a ladder fall arrest system and are carrying out work on the ladder, in which case two points of contact plus the safety system is enough)
- Do not carry heavy loads without the use of personal protective equipment like tool belts etc
- Avoid overreaching or rushing
A lot of falls from ladders occur due to user fault, so ensuring your workers have the proper training in place to use the ladders safely is important.
Work Safely
This point is very much common sense. It’s about giving your workers the confidence to refuse to work if they feel conditions aren’t right for them to be able to work safely.
If the weather is bad, stormy, windy, rainy, etc, then ladders shouldn’t be used and your workers should be able to identify when it’s unsafe to work and know that you’ll support them in that.
Working safely also means:
- Ensuring other workers/individuals on site are aware of those using ladders for safety
- Wearing appropriate footwear and PPE
- Using the ladder one person at a time
What Are The Regulations For Access & Leaning Ladders? Ladder Safety Rules
The Working at Height Regulations 2005 and British Standards for Ladders (namely BS EN 131, BS 4211:2005 and BS EN ISO 14122-4:2016 ) work together to regulate the safe design, installation, maintenance, testing and use of ladders across the UK. These ladder safety regulations ensure that ladder access equipment
If a ladder meets these regulations – as all of ours do at Altus Safety – then you know that they:
- They meet current safety standards
- They’re suitable for use in the workplace
Work at Height Regulations also make clear that a risk assessment should be carried out using the ladder and that proper training and support should be provided. This is the responsibility of the employer.
What To Do When An Accident Happens
With a risk assessment and following the best practices outlined above, you should reduce the risk of accidents and fall significantly. Work equipment regulations are also in place to protect workers. But should one occur, you should first seek medical attention if the injury is serious.
After that, the fall should be thoroughly investigated. What happened? What went wrong? And, most importantly of all, what can be done differently next time to prevent the fall. Risk assessments should be updated accordingly so workers know what to do to avoid a similar fall.
Best Practices For Ladder Safety In The Workplace: Final Thoughts
Following the ladder safety rules we’ve outlined today will protect workers. They work for both fixed ladders and freestanding ladders and stepladders.
Need support? Altus Safety has a team of professionals who are experts in height safety law and regulations and we can install and maintain your access ladders. We can also carry out a working at height risk assessment to ensure you get the right ladder in the first place. Contact us today to see how we can help.