Podcast: Prevent ladder accidents with simple safety steps
Mike Van Bree is the president of the American Ladder Institute (ALI), as well as the director of product safety and engineering at Louisville Ladder, Inc. He has more than 20 years of experience in mechanical engineering and has worked in a variety of industries. Mike recently spoke with Nicole Stempak, managing editor of EHS Today, about why ladder safety is often overlooked and how following safety standards can reduce workplace injuries.
Below is an excerpt from the podcast:
EHST: It is a pleasure to have you here today, Mike. For those listeners who are unfamiliar, can you tell us a little bit more about the American Ladder Institute (ALI) and its current efforts?
MVB: Sure! The American Ladder Institute is the trade association for our industry. So, climbing equipment manufacturers, the step ladders, the extension ladders, things like that are products that the manufacturer members provide, either component parts or manufacture ladders themselves.
The primary focus of the American Ladder Institute is ladder safety. It's a common interest among the manufacturers and an area where we can collaborate to get that safety messaging out, and that's what we're doing here during the month of March with National Ladder Safety Month.
EHST: If you wouldn't mind taking kind of a step back, how would you describe the state of ladder safety in North America?
MVB: Well, what we're seeing is with these efforts of promoting safety, we're seeing things getting better in terms of reduced accidents. Over the last five years, we've seen just over a 20% reduction in the reported accidents. We do surveys as part of National Ladder Safety Month and the suggestion that we're getting is that this is making a difference, and we want to continue to have that impact.
EHST: I'm glad to hear about the improvement. It is a little puzzling, perhaps at the face, to think about ladders, you know, something that you use at home maybe to change a light bulb or to paint the top of your ceiling. You know, it seems pretty innocuous, but ladders are really dangerous. I was wondering if you could explain or elaborate on some of the factors that have contributed to the number of incidents we've seen with ladders over the years.
MVB: Well, I guess Nicole I'm gonna have to quibble with you a little bit on words there. You said, “Ladders are dangerous.” Ladders are an inanimate object.
How they're used can lead to dangerous situations, but the product itself is an engineered product and the safety standards pertaining to ladders go back just over 100 years back in the 1920s, the forerunner to the present-day ANSI, the American National Standards Institute, safety standards that we, the ALI works to develop. We are the approved standard developer for the A14 series of ladder safety standards.
As engineered products, we know that the products are reasonably safe. It's how they're used, and that's what this campaign is really about. This National Ladder Safety Month effort is really about is trying to remind people of some of the basics.