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What should you know about using portable ladders
What should you know about portable ladders before using them?
Falls from portable ladders are a major source of serious injury. Be aware of the hazards and take proper precautions to prevent falling.
What should you do before using a portable ladder?
- Inspect the ladder before and after each use.
- Reject and tag any ladders that have defects. Have faulty ladders repaired or thrown out.
- Use a ladder designed for your task. Consider the strength, type, length and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) approval.
- Get help when handling a heavy or long ladder.
- Keep ladders away from electrical wires.
- Tie off ladders at the top and secure bottom to prevent them from slipping.
- Set up barricades and warning signs when using a ladder in a doorway or passageway.
- Before mounting a ladder, clean the boot soles if they are muddy or slippery. Avoid climbing with wet soles. Ensure that footwear is in good condition.
- Face the ladder when going up or down and when working from it.
- Keep the centre of your body within the side rails.
Refer to safety regulations for specific measurement requirements.
What should you avoid when using a portable ladder?
- Do not use a ladder in a horizontal position as a scaffold plank or runway.
- Do not carry objects in your hands while on a ladder. Hoist materials or attach tools to a belt.
- Do not work from top three rungs. The higher a person goes on a ladder, the greater the possibility that the ladder will slip out at the base.
- Do not use items such as a chair, barrel or box as a makeshift ladder.
- Do not use a portable ladder when other equipment is available. Replace a ladder with a fixed stairway or scaffold.
- Do not join two short ladders to make a longer ladder. Side rails are not strong enough to support the extra load.
- Do not paint wooden ladders. Defects may be hidden by the paint. Wood preservatives or clear coatings may be used.
How should you set up the ladder?
- Place the ladder feet 1/4 of the ladder's working length (e.g., foot to top support point) away from the base of the structure (e.g., for every 4 feet high, the base of the ladder should be out 1 ft; that means one horizontal foot from the support point).
- Extend the ladder at least 1 m (3 ft) above the landing platform.
- Place the ladder on a firm, level footing. Use a ladder with slip-resistant feet or secure blocking, or have someone hold the ladder.
- Rest both side rails on the top support and secure ladder to prevent slipping.
What should you know about climbing portable ladders?
- Check for overhead electrical wires before setting up a ladder.
- Clear area around base and top of the ladder of debris, tools and other objects.
- Tie off yourself with a safety harness when working 3 m (10 ft) or more off the ground or when working with both hands.
- Ensure that only one person is on a single-width ladder. Only one person is allowed on each side of a double-width ladder.
- Maintain three-point contact by keeping two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand on the ladder at all times.
Grasp the rungs when climbing a ladder, not the side rails. If your foot slips on a ladder, holding onto rungs is easier than holding onto the side rails.
- Wear protective footwear with slip-resistant soles and heels.
- Ensure that all electrical equipment used during ladder work is in good condition and properly grounded.
- Rest frequently to avoid arm fatigue and disorientation when the work requires you to look up and reach above your head.
- Drape your arms over a rung and rest your head against another rung or side rail if you become dizzy or panicky. Climb down slowly.
What should you avoid when climbing portable ladders?
- Do not use a ladder in passageways, doorways, driveways or other locations where a person or vehicle can hit it. Set up suitable barricades or lock the doors shut.
- Do not place a ladder against flexible or moveable surfaces.
- Do not straddle the space between a ladder and another object.
- Do not erect ladders on boxes, carts, tables, scaffold or other unstable surfaces.
- Do not use ladders on ice.
- Do not stand a ladder on any of its rungs. Ladders must rest on both side rails.
- Do not allow anyone to stand under a ladder.
- Do not overreach from a ladder; move as required.
Do not use any type of ladder near electrical wires
How do you secure portable ladders?
- Rest the top of the ladder against a solid surface that can withstand the load.
- Attach a ladder stay across the back of a ladder where a surface cannot stand the load. Extend the stay across a window for firm support against the building walls or window frame.
- Guard or fence off the area around a ladder erected in an area where persons have access.
- Secure the ladder firmly at the top to prevent it from slipping sideways or the foot from slipping outwards.
Station a person at the foot of a ladder when it is not possible to tie at the top or secure it at the foot. This is effective only for ladders up to 5 m (16 ft.) long.
- Ensure that the person at the foot of the ladder faces the ladder with a hand on each side rail and one foot resting on the bottom rung.
- Attach hooks on top of ladder rails where ladder is to be used at a constant height.
- Do not rest a ladder on any rung. Only the side rails are designed for this purpose.
- Secure the base of a ladder to prevent accidental movement. Securing a ladder at the foot does not prevent a side slip at the top.
Use ladders equipped with non-slip feet. Otherwise nail a cleat to the floor or anchor the feet or bottom of the side rails.
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