Did you know that approximately 400 serious injuries and 15 deaths involving safety ladders occur in the UK each year? If an untrained worker dies or gets seriously injured from falling off a ladder, what excuse could the employer provide? Take responsibility and equip your workforce with the necessary training to ensure safety on step ladders at height and prevent such incidents!
Accidents with safety ladders are common, typically caused by the ladder slipping or tilting at the top, or sliding outward at the base. In some instances, ladder parts fail due to poor conditions. Remember, gravity only goes one way, and it’s not the fall but the impact that causes harm. These incidents often occur during routine production, maintenance, building repair, cleaning, or plant access tasks.
Workers often wonder if it is the responsibility of management to provide safety training for those who climb ladders, and the answer is YES! The current Health and safety legislation ‘The Work at Height Regulations: 2005 says:
“All those working at height need to be trained to work at height and this includes working on ladders step ladders and safety ladders.” All operatives should therefore complete a ladder safety course.
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, states corporate manslaughter is a crime that is committed by a company in relation to a work-related death. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act affects all companies regardless of size. It means that organisations can be prosecuted where a safety failure is the cause of work-related deaths.
Juries will consider how the fatal activity was managed or organised throughout the organisation, including any systems and processes for managing safety and how these were operated in practice.
It is crucial for workers to wear the appropriate workwear when working at height on a ladder. This is essential for ensuring the safety of not only the worker but also those who may be working nearby. This gear includes protective clothing such as work trousers, work gloves, hi-visibility clothing and protective footwear.
Work clothing should fit the worker properly and be made of strong, durable materials. Any clothing that is torn or has loose parts, like straps and belts, poses a significant safety risk as they can easily become caught on the ladder, on the workers’ tools, or on the ground while moving. If any clothing is damaged, it is recommended to replace it before starting the task on the ladder.
It is also recommended that any tools used on a ladder should be securely tethered to the worker to prevent any accidents caused by dropped tools.
Safety inspections should be undertaken on a routine basis, including checking the proper functioning of all PPE. For PPE the inspection should take place every six months (or manufacturers’ recommendations if sooner) in arduous conditions (equipment used every day in a harsh environment) and should be brought down to every three months. Failing to conduct such inspections will bring a certain amount of liability on company owners, managers, supervisors and users. It can also mean the imposition of stiff fines and other penalties should an accident result. Such inspections are not something to be taken lightly by supervisors and managers.
A worker might have a fall arrest lanyard properly rated, correctly attached to a safety harness, and correctly anchored with an appropriate connector. But a fatal accident could still occur if that lanyard is not inspected on a regular basis to ensure the material hasn’t perished, cuts have not occurred and the shock absorber has not been deployed. It is the shock absorber that will deal with the dynamic energy that prevents internal organ damage in the case of a fall, a cut in the webbing would result in the lanyard snapping. If it’s not working properly it could mean the difference between life and death.
A Duty of Care exists in respect to working at height and the equipment used by employees. If found guilty of work-related injury or death, an organisation could be ordered to:
‣ Pay an unlimited fine
‣ Take remedial action within a specified period
‣ Publicise full details of their conviction
According to the HSE, only competent workers should use a step ladder. To be classed as a competent person you should have completed a practical and theory-based ladder safety course.
Training should be tailored to the specific industry and task at hand. A person should have the ability to assess the risks involved with using a ladder for a specific task. They should be able to identify when a ladder should be used (and not used) and lastly they should be able to select the correct type of ladder for the job and know how to safely use that ladder.
Our ladder safety course will help with all of the above and also teach a worker how to check that the ladder is safe prior to using it.
There are four main types of ladders to consider for working at height. These are:
Good management teams need to be proactive in developing safe working practices and making them a priority for their workers.
Leading Edge has developed courses suitable for all those who have a requirement to climb and work from ladders, step ladders and safety ladders. Ladders and step ladders are essential tools within the workplace. Our step ladder training course is applicable to all industry sectors and places of work. The course has been carefully devised in line with the latest studies and research to address the following fundamental issues:
‣ Why accidents are happening
‣ Fundamental principles’ including a look at Ladder types and their applications
‣ Accessories currently on the market which can make the ladder safer
‣ Pre-use considerations including, positioning and stability
‣ Good and bad practice
‣ Golden rules for safe use of safety ladders, step ladders and ladders
‣ HSE research and good practice new requirements
The key strength of the course is its method of delivery; highly visual in nature it includes numerous illustrations and photographs. Our instructors energetically deliver the course and encourage group interaction. We have found this to be a particularly effective way for the course to be enjoyable, and more importantly to ensure the key information is retained.
Get certified and discover more about our ladder height safety course today.
Leading Edge is a UK based height safety training provider and PPE manufacturer. From small teams to multinational blue-chips, we empower people to work safely at height across a wide range of industries. Copyright 2024 Leading Edge Safety. Devloped by Czargroup Technologies
