The point
A ladder is the tool we grab without a second thought, and that is exactly how people get hurt on one, so this is five minutes on using ladders and stepladders properly.
The hazard, in plain terms
A fall from a ladder is fast and it is hard. There is no time to grab anything on the way down.
Most ladder falls happen for dull reasons. The ground was soft or sloping. The feet were worn, or caked in muck. The ladder was not tied, and it slipped sideways. Or the job needed both hands and too long up there, and the ladder was the wrong kit from the start.
Watch the ground as much as the ladder. Shiny floors can be slippery even when they look clean. Oil, moss and wet leaves are worse. A ladder is good kit for a short, light job. Ask more of it than that and it will let you down.
What to do
- Pick the right kit. A ladder is for short, low-risk jobs. If you would be up it for more than 30 minutes at a stretch, stop and ask for something better.
- Check it before you climb - at the start of the day, and again if it gets dropped. Stiles straight. Rungs tight. Feet on, clean and not worn. Locks working. Treads clean. If you find a fault, do not use it - tell whoever is running the job.
- Set it right. Firm, level, clean ground. One out for every four up. Tie it - both stiles. If you cannot tie it, use a stabiliser made for the job; someone footing it is the last resort.
- Keep three points of contact. Face the rungs going up and coming down, and keep hold.
- Climbing through to another level? Tie the ladder and run it at least a metre past the landing, so there is something to hold at the top.
- On steps: all four feet on the ground, locks clicked in, and work facing the steps - not side-on. If side-on cannot be helped, tie them.
What to never do
- Never pack a ladder up on bricks, blocks or bits of timber. If the ground is out, use a proper levelling device, or move.
- Never work off the top three rungs of a ladder, or the top three steps of a stepladder, unless there is a proper handhold.
- Never slide down the stiles.
- Never carry on with a ladder you know has a fault. Take it out of use, however small the job.
Questions to ask the crowd
The talk ends in a conversation. These are the ones that start it.
- What did you check on your ladder this morning - actually check, not glance at?
- Think about today's job. Where would you set the ladder, and what would you tie it to?
- When has a ladder been the wrong kit for a job you were given, and what did you do?
A toolbox talk is a refresher and a conversation. It is not formal training, and it does not by itself make you or your site compliant.