18
DECEMBER 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Last year’s winner
Idiots on
a Ladder
The Ladder Association is having its busiest year yet
with its annual ‘Idiots on ladders’ campaign. Running
since 2012, the campaign is about showing as many
people as possible why ladder safety is important.
With falls from height
still the main cause
of fatalities and serious injuries in the
workplace, The Ladder
Association’s aim is
that people will look at
these pictures and be
shocked into thinking
more carefully about
how they use ladders.
Michael Fern, Communications and Social Media
Officer at The Ladder
Association, said: “This
year’s campaign is more
popular than ever, and we
are pleased that people
have been so enthusiastic
about spotting unsafe work.
However, the large number
of pictures this year show
that people are aware of
what bad work at height
looks like, but worryingly,
it shows that dangerous
work is far too common. In
showing just how common
unsafe work can be the
campaign has shown that
there is a need for good
guidance and training in
ladder use.”
The campaign, run every
year alongside Ladder
Exchange has been highly
successful in raising safety
issues working at heights,
with the Ladder Exchange
reaching more people each
year. Ladder Exchange,
which lets people trade in
their old, dodgy ladders for
discounted new ones, helps
deal with one side of the
‘it shocks and
surprises people,
and even makes
them laugh’
issue, the equipment itself
being unsafe and Idiots
on Ladders aims to help
promote the other side of
it; people using ladders in
unsafe ways.
Michael concluded: “Idiots
on Ladders is the easiest
way for the public to get
involved in the Ladder
Association’s work. All they
need is a camera and they
can help us find some of the
worst cases of dangerous
work at height. The campaign has been so popular because it shocks and
surprises people, and even
makes them laugh, but does
it all to get across a real
message about how vital
ladder safety is.
“We are pleased that
Idiots on Ladders can catch
people’s imagination at the
same time as it reminds
them how real a danger it is
to be a ladder idiot.”
To submit your own snap
of an ‘Idiot on a ladder’, or
to view, ‘Like’ and comment
on other examples, visit
facebook.com/ladderassociation
The winning entry, with
the most comments and
likes on Facebook, will be
announced in January 2015
following a public vote
open until 31 December
2014.
To find out more about
the campaign, visit
ladderassociation.org.uk