BUSINESS AND TRAINING
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BUSINESS AND TRAINING
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the ladder could become unstable or
collapse.
Check the steps or treads on ladders – if
they are contaminated, they could be
slippery; if the fixings are loose on steps,
they could collapse.
Check the bracing is not loose or worn.
Check the ropes and pulleys (if applicable)
move freely and are not worn or damaged.
Check the guides: the parts must move
easily and freely along the guides.
If you spot any of the above defects, don’t use
the ladder as an incident may occur, and also the
supervisor or employer needs to be notified.
Using your ladder safely
Once you have done your ‘pre-use’ checks, there
are simple precautions that can minimise the risk
of a fall.
• Leaning/Extension ladders
When using a leaning ladder to carry out
a task:
- - Only carry light materials and tools –
Ladder showing the correct one in four
read the manufacturers’ labels on the
angles.
ladder and assess the risks.
- - Don’t overreach - make sure your belt
buckle (navel) stays within the stiles.
- - Make sure it is long enough or high enough for the task.
- - Don’t overload it – consider workers’ weight and the equipment or materials they are carrying
before working at height. Check the pictogram or label on the ladder for information.
- - Make sure the ladder angle is at 75° - you should use the one in four rule (i.e. one unit
out for every four units up).
- - Always grip the ladder and face the ladder rungs while climbing or descending – don’t
slide down the stiles.
- - Don’t try to move or extend ladders while standing on the rungs.
- - Don’t work off the top three rungs, and try to make sure the ladder extends at least 1m
(three rungs) above where you are working.
- - Don’t stand ladders on moveable objects, such as pallets, bricks, lift trucks, tower
scaffolds, excavator buckets, vans, or mobile elevating work platforms.
- - Avoid holding items when climbing (consider using a tool belt).
- - Don’t work within 6m horizontally of any overhead power line, unless it has been made
dead or it is protected with insulation. Use a non-conductive ladder (e. g., fiberglass or
timber) for any electrical work.
- - Maintain three points of contact when climbing (this means a hand and two feet or two
feet and one hand) wherever possible.
- - Where you cannot maintain a handhold, other than for a brief period (e.g. to hold a nail
while starting to knock it in, starting to screw, etc.), you will need to take other measures
to prevent a fall.
- - For a leaning ladder, you should secure it (e.g. by tying the ladder to prevent it from
slipping either outwards or sideways) and have a strong upper resting point, i.e. do not
rest a ladder against weak upper surfaces (e.g. glazing or plastic gutters).
- - You could also use an effective stability device.
- - DO NOT attach a safety harness to the ladder.
- - Extension ladders over 14m must be secured at the base and top.
• Stepladders
When using a stepladder to carry out a task:
- - Check all four stepladder feet are in contact with the ground and the steps are level.
- - Only carry light materials and tools.
- - Don’t overreach.
- - Don’t stand and work on the top three steps (including a step forming the very top of the
stepladder) unless there is a suitable handhold.
- - Ensure any locking devices are engaged.
- - Try to position the stepladder to face the work activity and not side on. However, there
are occasions when a risk assessment may show it is safer to work side on, e.g., in a
retail stock room when you can’t engage the stepladder locks to work face on because of
space restraints in narrow aisles, but you can fully lock it to work side on.
- - Try to avoid work that imposes a side loading, such as side-on drilling through solid
August 2019 Volume 25 I Number 6
www.plumbingafrica.co.za