Ladder Safety Article: More Dangerous Than You Think

Ladder-related incidents led to more than 150 worker fatalities and more than 20,000 nonfatal injuries in 2015, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/15272utm_source=mar2nd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inThisIssue

OSHA PORTABLE LADDER

Important issue

National Ladder Safety Month has the full support of OSHA, which has strived for decades to protect people who work on ladders. Construction workers are particularly vulnerable. Falls accounted for 350 of the 937 construction fatalities in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ladder-related incidents also contributed to more than 150 workplace fatalities and more than 20,000 nonfatal workplace injuries among all industries that year, BLS data shows.

Ladder-related citations have been a fixture on OSHA’s annual “Top 10” list of most cited violations. In fiscal year 2016, the agency reported 2,625 total violations involving ladders, which made the standard (1926.1053) the No. 7 item on the list. The top sections of the standard cited by OSHA involved portable ladder access, using ladders for purposes other than those for which they were designed, using the top of a stepladder as a step, structural defects, and employees carrying objects or loads that could cause them to lose balance and fall.

“Ignoring ladder safety can not only lead to worker injuries and deaths, but can also cost businesses millions of dollars each year in workers’ compensation costs,” OSHA spokesperson Kimberly Darby said in a statement to Safety+Health. “OSHA supports outreach efforts that promote safety and health at construction worksites.”