{"id":1525,"date":"2014-08-12T18:58:53","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T18:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/?p=1525"},"modified":"2014-08-12T19:30:37","modified_gmt":"2014-08-12T19:30:37","slug":"ladder-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/safety-planning\/ladder-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Ladder Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ladder-safety\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ladder Safety<\/span><\/h1>\n

Life seems to come at us pretty fast.\u00a0 We often feel there is not enough time in the day to get things done.\u00a0 This can happen at work or at home.\u00a0 At work, we have rules, procedures and checklists to guide use on the task we are performing.\u00a0 Not so much the case at home.\u00a0 Many employers encourage their employees to take the knowledge from work home with them.\u00a0 One thing that people typically have to deal with at home and not necessarily at work are ladders.<\/p>\n

When it comes to tasks where ladders are needed, be sure to allow yourself enough time to complete the task.\u00a0 You do not want to be in a hurry when using a ladder.\u00a0 When you are in a hurry, that is when you will be tempted not to move the ladder to the next position or you may try to stand on the top of an A frame ladder where it says \u201cTHIS IS NOT A STEP\u201d.<\/p>\n

Most of the time at work we plan out the job. \u00a0Why not plan out the jobs at home?\u00a0\u00a0 Do you have the proper tools, in this case the correct ladder?\u00a0 Do you have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for the job?\u00a0 We should ask ourselves the same questions at home as we do at work.<\/p>\n

For instance, every spring and fall, the gutters on the house may fill up with leaves.\u00a0 Cleaning out the leaves can be a chore.\u00a0 Some houses have gutter guards that prevent the leaves from getting into the gutter.\u00a0 Many houses don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

What can we do to reduce the potential of getting injured while doing a chore like cleaning the gutters?<\/p>\n

Eliminate Ladder Shortcuts!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The critical piece of equipment is a ladder.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are several choices for a ladder.\u00a0 The first choice is not \u201cit\u2019s the only ladder I have\u201d!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are basically two types of ladders with several marketable variations on each choice.\u00a0 One is a straight or an extension ladder<\/strong> and the other is an A frame<\/strong> ladder.\u00a0 Each can be used to clean gutters, but the height of the gutters is a consideration for which type of ladder to use.\u00a0 A frame type ladders can be a good choice for single story height gutters, where as an extension ladder would be the best choice for a second story gutter.<\/p>\n

Another consideration when using a ladder would be the surface where the ladder will be placed\u00a0and what obstructions are in the area.\u00a0 Both types of ladders have feet that set on the ground and help hold the ladder in position.\u00a0 When setting up any ladder, the feet should be placed flat on the ground and you must be mindful of uneven surfaces and uneven ground.\u00a0 A ladder should only be placed on level surfaces unless otherwise secured at the top or bottom and placed at a safe distance from electrical devices and obstructions.\u00a0 When setting up an extension ladder on grass, the feet of the ladder can be rotated to \u201cdig\u201d into the ground to help stabilize the ladder.\u00a0 Be aware that if ladder legs are not planted evenly, the ladder can easily torque and fall over.\u00a0 You always want to make sure ladder legs have no gap.<\/p>\n

Once you have the right ladder, the use of the ladder is important.\u00a0 There are warning stickers and weight limit stickers put on all ladders by the manufacturer.\u00a0 Are these warning stickers legible?\u00a0 How many times have you been tempted to step on the very top step of an A frame ladder, even though there is a visual warning not to?\u00a0 \u201cI just needed a little more height\u201d or \u201cI didn’t want to get down and move the ladder\u201d. \u00a0Typical excuses or shortcuts that we convince ourselves will be OK to do.<\/p>\n

How many times have we reached or stretched beyond the safe working area of the ladder, maybe even to the point of feeling the ladder move?\u00a0 At work, there are policies and procedures that tell us what we can and can\u2019t do, but at home, there are no such policies and we must be mindful to conduct ourselves in a safe manner.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for a quick & easy to follow Portable Ladder Safety list from OSHA.<\/p>\n

Taking short cuts may seem to get the job done quicker, and it might.\u00a0 But the consequences of taking shortcuts can be devastating.\u00a0 The minute or minutes it takes to re-position a ladder or get the right tool for the job, could prevent an injury that could be life changing and permanent.\u00a0 Do it right for safety sake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Ladder Safety Life seems to come at us pretty fast.\u00a0 We often feel there is not enough time in the day to get things done.\u00a0 This can happen at work or at home.\u00a0 At work, we have rules, procedures and checklists to guide use on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[94,95,93],"class_list":["post-1525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-safety-planning","tag-eliminate-ladder-shortcuts","tag-example-ladder-use","tag-ladder-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1525"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1551,"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1525\/revisions\/1551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allrisktraining.com\/allrisktraining\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}