Ladder safety

Top tips for ladder safety

Before use

• Make sure a ladder is the best and safest way of doing the work - a ladder is for access, it shouldn't be used as a work platform.
  
  
• Make sure your ladder is tall enough for the work you want to get to, and is strong enough for the job.
  
  
• Check the ladder for signs of damage - don't use a ladder that has missing or damaged rungs, damaged or worn treads, loose screws or bolts or nuts, sharp edges, cracks, rust or rot, missing stays (a stay is the bit that runs between two uprights in a stepladder), or any other sign of damage.
  
  
• Set the ladder's feet on a firm, even surface. Never set a ladder on soft ground and never place a ladder on boxes or scaffolds to gain extra height.
  
  
• Secure the ladder's feet so they can't slip (it's a good idea to get someone to hold it).
  
  
• Set the top of the ladder against a solid surface that can take the load - not a window or any other fragile surface such as plastic guttering. Don't use the ladder's rungs to take the weight - they're not made for it. And don't use a stepladder leaning against a wall - they're only made for use in the open, 'A-shaped' position.
  
  
• Secure the top of the ladder so it can't move sideways or tip backwards (if possible, tie a straight ladder to something stable).
  
  
• Set up your ladder at the correct angle - one measure out for every four measures in height
  
  
• Don't set up a ladder near overhead power lines or other hazards.
  
  
• Make sure you have appropriate footwear - your shoes/boots should have heels and their soles must be non-slip.
  
  
• Make sure the ladder and your footwear are clean and dry.
  
  

During use

• Face the ladder at all times.
  
  
• Use both hands when you're climbing up or down, and when you're working keep at least three points of contact with the ladder - i.e. two hands and one foot or two feet and one hand. Raise or lower tools or materials using a hand line.
  
  
• Don't climb any higher than 1m/three steps below the top of the ladder (i.e. your belt buckle shouldn't be higher than the top of the ladder).
  
  
• Don't over-reach. Instead of reaching sideways, climb down and move the ladder.
  
  
• Never have more than one person on the ladder at a time.
  
  
• Make sure no-one is underneath the ladder while you're climbing it.
  
  
• Don't hang tools or anything else from the steps/rungs.
  
  
• Don't leave a ladder unattended if a child could get to it.
  
  
• If you're working around doors, make sure they're locked properly.

Case study: Max's story

Max Richards (pictured right) will never walk again. He has heart trouble, has to use Cialis for sex that he then can't feel, and regularly wakes in excruciating pain.

Max fell from a ladder. In 2004 Max took a holiday job as a labourer with a Wellington construction company. His seemingly simple task was to cut wood and carry it up a ladder from the first to the second floor.

Ninety minutes into his first day on the job, the ladder slipped out from beneath him. Max dropped a relatively short distance - 1.8m. The impact travelled up his legs into his spine.

"I knew straight away I'd broken my back. I couldn't move my legs, and just had this intense pain, like all the pins and needles you've ever had, rushing up at you all at once ... I wanted to black out but I didn't."

Max was in hospital for 16 weeks, most of it at Christchurch's Burwood spinal unit.

Afterwards, he had to learn over again the skills most of us take for granted. Even learning to sit up straight in his wheelchair, with no control over the muscles in his lower abdomen or back, was a challenge. "Sitting up took me quite a lot of time and exercise."

The fall has affected every aspect of his life - from practical things like getting ready for work in the morning or getting from place to place, to his work and social life.

Max supports himself, working rather than relying on a benefit.

He often takes up the battle on behalf of people with disabilities - for example, he convinced the city council to make disabled parks 24/7 when previously anyone could use them after 6pm.

He has a strong sense of humour - his personalised number plate is CRIPPL - and has no time for self-pity.