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.

You said something there that was really interesting. There are accidents happening. It's a ladder. People don't think it's anything that really needs much attention or instruction on how to use it. It's put one foot in front of the other and go.

But there's more to it than that, and that's where we want to get people to slow down just a little bit, pay attention and that way we can hopefully continue that reduction in the number of accidents that are being reported.

EHST: I do apologize. I did not mean to insinuate anything, but I guess it's still a little…with certain things that don't have clear language surrounding them, the standards you were referencing, it's easy to understand how certain things could slip through the cracks.

But ladders, as you mentioned, have been around for a while and so have the instructions or code for safe usage. But it's a persistent issue that we're seeing in the workplace as far as people having unsafe behaviors, and I guess I'm just trying to still make sense of it.

MVB: I think the way you make sense of it is…nobody wants to get hurt. Let's start with that. And people are attentive to the task at hand, whether that's hanging that light fixture, cleaning out the gutters or whatever task the ladder may be needed for. People want to do the job, get the job done and sometimes that comes without maybe slowing down for just a second to pay attention to safety. Not deliberately, but [people] just are focused on the job. Maybe not being aware of some of the safety hazards.

I guess one of the things that I see, because I do investigate accidents—I've been doing this for about 30 years—and what I see consistently when there are accidents, it's oftentimes a combination of things, several things [that] come together to create that problem that results in the accident.

As an example, people may get used to using a ladder at a certain angle of inclination and a single or extension ladder that you lean. They get used to using it at an angle that's comfortable for them to climb. Well, if that angle is too shallow, then the ladder can slide out.

They get away with it for many, many uses. But now maybe the ground is soft and muddy, or there's some some difference in in the slipperiness of the surface that the ladder is being placed upon. In the current example I'm giving you, the ladder’s too shallow and you've got a compromised surface. So, you're not setting the ladder up on a firm level surface as instructed.
It's when those multiple things can come together that we tend to see accidents occur. Ladders are unique, Nicole, in the sense that really the information you need to know to use them safely is on the labels—the warning and instruction labels that are on the ladder. And that gets overlooked.

Sometimes people [say], “It's a ladder. I don't need to read those. My goodness. What are you going to tell me that I don't already know?” I'm not saying you don't know it, but sometimes we need to be reminded of things that on their face are understandable and maybe even obvious.

But that reminder of the safe practices in ladder use is what we're trying to really do during National Ladder Safety Month. Get that word out about how to use your ladder safely. I'm I'm happy to talk as much and as long as you guys would like because there's a lot that can be said about it.

About the Podcast
Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.