Center for Disease Control statistics show that 43% of fatal falls in the last decade involved a ladder, and among construction workers, an estimated 81% of fall injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments involve a ladder. Because falls are the leading cause of work-related injuries and deaths in construction, NIOSH, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Center for Construction Research and Training are promoting a national campaign to prevent workplace falls. March 2021 marks the Fifth Annual National Ladder Safety Month.
Consensus among safety professionals is that the primary cause of ladder injuries is lack of training on their use.
OSHA has issued fact sheets that cover:
The American Ladder Institute (ALI) boils down most important guidance of these topics into flyers available here :
- Choosing the Right Ladder
- Safety Before the First Step
- Why Ladder Safety and How it Affects Everyone
- Ladder Safety at Work
- Ladder Safety at Home
- Ladder Inspection and Disposal
- Ladder Safety Moment
- Why Ladder Safety Training Should Be Mandatory For Your Employee
The ALI also offers free ladder-safety training and offers a ladder-safety certification.
Dave Francis, national safety director for Little Giant Ladders, and Little Giant sales reps will provide complimentary ladder safety training with a certificate of completion. To register for a training, reach out to your Little Giant representative.
Additionally, Dave Francis will be featured as a guest speaker as a part of the Ladder Safety Symposium held by the OSHA Education Center at the University of Texas at Arlington on March 16th at 11:55 am CST. He will train health and safety officers on how to choose, inspect and safely use their ladders on the job. The training will be broadcast via Zoom from the Little Giant Live studios. To join the training on the March 16, visit this link.
