The Wrong Way to Use Ladders

What do you do when you have failed to properly plan the work, and it dawns

on you that the ladder you’ve brought with you is not long enough?

The answer should be obvious: do not continue until you get the right equipment

to do the job safely . Let’s face it; it’s not exactly rocket science, is it?

Sad to say, these geniuses decided that the job was worth more than human life

and limb. Riding the bucket, operating the machine from the bucket, and using it

to give a ladder some extra extension are three of the dumbest and most dangerous

things you can do with a skidsteer loader. Get another job, boys, before the job gets you!

How to trim a dead branch...

“Have one worker climb tree and wait for the others to get him a rope.

Then climb 3 metres up a ladder to throw a rope up to the worker in tree.

Let go of the ladder with one hand and throw the rope upward as hard as you can,

taking 4 or 5 tries to get it up the tree.

Once the first worker has reached out and caught the flying rope, have him hoist up a

chain saw to trim the dead branch. Use 10 mm unrated braided plastic poly rope tied

around his waist as a safety harness. (Difficult to see in the photo - yellow rope is worker's "harness"

and the red rope is for lifting up the chain saw.)

Why lean the ladder against the tree when you can use this more novel

and exciting approach? Thankfully, all four tree trimmers survived without injury - this time.”

If the ladder you’ve been provided with is too short to extend

from the ground to at least 900 mm above the roof edge, don’t attempt to use it.

Phone your boss and tell him you can’t start the job until the right equipment arrives.

Otherwise, your employer will be breaking the law, you will be breaking the law, and there ’s

a good chance this sort of attempt to improvise will break your neck. That’s what’s called a “lose-lose outcome”.

Our “lunacy with ladders” collection just keeps growing!

This is further proof that there are virtually no limits

to the ways you can misuse and abuse ladders.

This Absolute Shocker is yet another in our Lunacy on Ladders series.

This one features a linesworker who must think that getting the job done is

more important than safeguarding his own safety and health.

Rule One: If the ladder is too short for the job, don’t start the job.

Rule Two: If you have to work two-handed, use a pole strap.

Rule Three: Always wear long trousers (or at least three-quarter length shorts)

when working outdoors during the high UV months of the year

This week’s Absolute Shocker makes you wonder if the work plan for this job should read:

Persons required to work at heights will not be provided with a scaffold or an all-terrain elevating work platform.

We prefer to use a hard-surface forklift truck without even bothering to fit it with a purpose-designed work cage.

We will make sure the person who has to work at the highest height balances himself on the top of the lifting carriage.

The other worker has the luxury of standing on a pallet.

We will ensure that there is no one at the controls of the forklift throughout the operation.

We will control the risk of one or both workers falling by making sure the man at the bottom is wearing a safety helmet.

We will expedite emergency attendance to any falling workers by making sure the man at the bottom is dressed in

high-visibility clothing, thereby making it easier for the ambulance driver to spot the scene of the crime.

What ever works!