806 Focus Four - Fall Hazards

Unsafe Portable Ladders

Major Hazards:

If a portable ladder is not safely positioned each time you use it, you could fall from the ladder. While you are on a ladder, it may move and slip from its supports.

Example of improper use of ladder.

You can also lose your balance while getting on or off an unsteady ladder. Falls from ladders can cause injuries, ranging from sprains to death.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show that falls from ladders account for more than 100 fatalities each year. The American Ladder Institute (ALI) listed missing the last step and overreaching as the two most common factors causing ladder accidents in 2016. Other common factors that contribute to falls from ladders include:

wrong size ladder,
ladder slip (top or bottom),
overreaching,
failure to maintain three-points of contact
slipping on rungs/steps,
defective equipment,
placing a ladder on soft or uneven ground, and
improper ladder selection for a given task.

Practice Identifying Hazards

Try to identify the hazards present in each of the pictures below. Then click on the links below to open the examples. Click on each picture to see if you correctly identified the hazards.

Example: Accessing Scaffold

Click on the image to see what the hazards are.

Example: Ladder Safety

Click on the image to see what the hazards are.

Example: Ladder Access

Click on the image to see what the hazards are.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

1-7. What is listed by the American Ladder Institute (ALI) as the two most common causes for ladder accidents?

overreaching and ladder slip

slipping on rungs and using the wrong ladder

missing the last step and overreaching

defective equipment and improper ladder selection

You forgot to answer the question!