Ladder accidents frequently happen when the ladder is not set properly. OSHA safety regulations, contractor safety programs, and ladder manufacturers alike do not require fall protection systems for portable ladders. This is primarily due to the fact that while ladder use is certainly involved in many accidents, it’s simply proper usage of the ladders that will provide a safe working environment. Unfortunately, “proper usage” involves a level, stable surface to set the ladder on, or structure to set the ladder against – with a proper place to tie off the ladder, etc. In the real world, this is rarely the case, and rather than set the ladder improperly, consider using ladder accessories for your situation. Here are some of my favorites.

First, for extension and straight ladders, let’s talk about ladder angles. There are two angles to be concerned with a correctly set extension or straight ladder. The first one is 90 degrees – that is, when facing the ladder it needs to set 90 degrees from the horizontal – in other words – plumb! Fortunately, we humans are so used to seeing vertical lines plumb to the horizontal (walls, trees, light poles), that it is extremely easy to see if your ladder is not set right. When it’s not, it’s in danger of sliding sideways off the structure. That’s where the levelok come in (see figure 1 – levelok.com). This attachment allows you to hold the ladder plumb while extending one leg until it touches the ground. Very simple to use, and relatively inexpensive (aro $100 pr.).

The second ladder angle to be concerned with is 75 ½ degrees. Never heard of that one? This comes from the 4:1 rule: that is, when the ladder is set against the structure its base is required to be set 1 foot away from the structure for every 4 feet in height. This 4:1 ratio works out to 75 ½ degrees. All straight and extension ladders are designed with this angle in mind, and is not only the correct angle, but the safest angle. There are a couple of ways to determine this, but the best way I believe is the Ladder Level (see figure 2 – ladder-level.com) which intuitively allows the user to set the ladder at the exact angle every time, just by looking at a bubble level which is formed at the correct angle and set in the siderail. Again, a very simple to use and very inexpensive (aro $6 ea.) ladder accessory.

Remember, ladder accessories can help you transport, set, secure and use your ladder more effectively.

Tags: accessories, angles, ladders

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 10:45 am and is filed under fall protection. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.