This guidance covers checks before every use, detailed inspections and records, dealing with defective ladders and the rules for setting up and climbing a ladder.
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Further guidance on ladders and working at height:
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Safe Use of Ladders Guidance
A general guidance document on the safe use and maintenance of ladders, for anyone who uses or inspects ladders at work. It covers pre-use checks and detailed inspections, what to record, how defective ladders are dealt with, and the rules for setting up, securing and climbing a ladder.
Topics Covered
- Pre-use checks - a visual check by the user before every use to pick up obvious problems such as a loose rung
- Detailed inspections - thorough inspections at set intervals using a checklist, covering rungs, feet, corrosion, moving parts and paint
- Inspection records - keeping a record on an inspection form, a ladder register or a tag, with each registered ladder uniquely numbered
- Defective ladders - recording the action needed, labelling unsafe ladders as defective and removing them from site or quarantining them
- Ladder safety - storing ladders correctly, checking stiles and rungs for splits, cracks and loose rungs, and not using painted ladders
- Using ladders - working from a ladder only for short tasks, setting the correct angle, securing the ladder and never overreaching
Who Is It For?
Anyone who uses ladders at work, and anyone responsible for inspecting ladders and keeping the inspection records.
Supplied with the Training Talk
This guidance is supplied with the TT-7-21 Safe Use of Ladders training talk. Buy the training talk to download the talk and this guidance together, or download both with an alphaZ Subscription.
Using the Guidance
Issue it to anyone who uses ladders before they start, go through it with the matching training talk, and keep it with the ladder inspection records as a reference. Record who has received it, for example on the training matrix.
Detailed Ladder Inspections
Beyond the user's pre-use check, the guidance sets out detailed inspections at set intervals using an inspection checklist. These cover every part of the ladder, from the rungs or steps and the feet to rust, moving parts, hinges and any paint or corrosive substances, and each one is recorded on an inspection form, a ladder register or a tag.
Adapting the Guidance
Edit the guidance to match your own arrangements - your inspection intervals, whether you record inspections on a form, a register or a tag, and where defective ladders are quarantined.
Related Documents
Other documents that work alongside this guidance:
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