Legal Ladder Working Height
Hence for reaching a height of 25 feet you need a ladder height of 28 feet.
Legal ladder working height. A mobile ladder stand may also have handrails and is designed for use by one employee at a time. A step ladder should reach within four feet of the work area so the worker can stand on the rung and safely reach the work area. In cases where the work site imposes a height restriction on the ladder length the user may find that longer ladders are not capable of being set up at the proper 75 1 2 degrees angle. For a maximum reach of 23 27 feet you can see the ladder height required is 28 feet.
Even though the primary purpose of a ladder is to reach places that you cannot usually reach on your own all ladders are not the same. So if you are working off a ladder any ladder irrespective of what height indoors or outdoors the work at height regulations 2005 apply. And top steps that are 20 inches 51 cm or more front to back have a midrail and toeboard. Beyond that height extension ladders are better suited.
A person s maximum safe reaching height is approximately 4 higher than the height of the ladder. Mobile ladder stands with a top step height above 10 feet 3 m have the top step protected on three sides by a handrail with a vertical height of at least 36 inches 91 cm. A stepladder is suited for work up to a height of about 10 feet. That needs to change.
Types of ladders and their uses. For example a typical person can safely reach an 8 ceiling on a 4 ladder. Ladders wahr ladders and the working at height regulations wahr the latest working at height regulations came into force during 2005. Work at height is defined as.
Extension ladders should be 7 to 10 feet longer than the highest support or contact point which may be the wall or roof line. Osha defines a mobile ladder stand as a mobile fixed height self supporting ladder that usually consists of wheels or casters on a rigid base and steps leading to a top step 29 cfr 1910 21. The height at which the work is performed. In a recent cdc article it was noted that in the first ten years of this century 2000 2009 falls from ladders made up 43 of all fatal falls.
The ladder association formerly the british ladder manufacturers association blma has produced a working at height regulations document in consultation with the health and safety executive hse and the department of trade and industry dti and the. To safeguard against the bottom of the ladder sliding out select a shorter extension or single ladder.