 a ladder that can readily be moved or carried and usually consists of side rails joined at intervals by steps, rungs or cleats. Now, Oregon OSHA has a few additional rules for portable ladders and those additional rules apply to both non-self-supporting ladders and self-supporting ladders. A self-supporting ladder is a class of portable ladders that, by design, stand on their own when erected for use without assistance from external structures. Step ladders, double front ladders, platform ladders, trestle ladders and articulating ladders set up as in a step ladder mode are examples of self-supporting ladders. Additionally, we have a definition for non-self-supporting ladders and that is a class of portable ladders that, by design, must be placed against a structure independent of itself such as a wall to remain standing for use. Single ladders, extension ladders, sectional ladders and articulating ladders set up in a straight ladder mode are examples of non-self-supporting ladders. So employers need to make sure that when they're instructing employees on how to set up a ladder, when they're training them on how to use a ladder, that they are training first and foremost to the manufacturer's instructions. The manufacturer knows how the ladder is designed to be used, what it is intended to be used for and they need to be following those instructions. But generally we want to make sure that the ground conditions are satisfactory to support the load which is why we have rules that say you can't set ladders up on top of boxes or barrels and that sort of stuff. If it's going to be set up in outdoor situations that the ground is firm enough that it is level, so the foundation where you're setting up the ladder is appropriate. Next we'd want to make sure that the location where the ladder is being set up is appropriate. So we'd always want to look overhead, make sure that there is no electrical hazards while we're setting up the ladder or where the ladder is going to be used. We'd want to make sure that the ladder is in a safe location, so a ladder that is set up in front of a doorway. And once the employee goes up on that ladder, they're trusting that no one is going to open that door and knock them off or displace them off of the ladder. So forethought needs to be put into the actual placement of the ladder. How do we block or barricade or lock that door or post another employee in front of that door instructing people that the door is not available for use until the person is off of the ladder? We're always going to look at non-self-supporting ladders to make sure that the ladder is set up in the correct angle to make sure that the ladder can properly support the person who is on it. And then any time a ladder is used to gain access to a higher level, part of that setup is to make sure that the ladder is sufficiently long enough that the ladder extends a minimum of three feet above the point where the employee is going to be stepping off of the ladder onto the upper structure. Oftentimes securing the ladder to prevent movement when the employee is stepping off of the ladder needs to be taken into consideration there also. So those are just a few things that an employer should think about when they're setting up the ladder, but ultimately they're going to follow the manufacturer's instructions for ladder usage. A lot of guys don't know what the calculation is for a ladder, one to four. So for every four feet it goes up you have to be one foot back. How to check that? Because if it's too steep you'll tip back if it's too you know too flat it'll kick out. So you see a lot of guys that just don't understand that just throw a ladder up and once they throw a ladder up they think I'm good they don't tie your ladder off. A lot of people think oh I just have to tie it off at the top. A lot of times no if you're near a hole or a garbage shoot or anything like that you need to secure the bottom feet too because if it kicks out you know that's just to make sure it doesn't slide. They have straps and everything now you can just go around the bottom rung and go back in. So that's you know those are the major things you see you got to think about it this way. Here's how the fall works okay you put an extension ladder up to the roof okay you have a foot on a movable object and you got a foot on a non-movable object the roof or the platform. You're going to push off that movable object with the foot and what's going to move the movable object and that's because you didn't tie your ladder off before you got out and it kicked out sideways. So those are the mistakes we see a lot of times you know. The other mistake is in order for you to exit a ladder to get on a platform or any kind of roof or anything you have to be at least three feet above the surface with your ladder. Three rungs. So let's talk a little bit about the different generations of ladders that have come out here in the last few years. There have been some really drastic changes so we're going to give you an idea. This is the new podium ladder so the idea about it is is if you have a fixed level that you're going to work at constantly over and over and over again this is the best way to do it. And the number one reason is you've got a work platform that's I mean it makes a difference. So with this ladder you can actually work with your back to the back side. You can work the facing this way out on this ladder so you can work in a 360 degree. Now in a ladder this size you only get four feet so you gotta keep that in mind because you do lose all this but then what is all this being lost? What did that do? We have control over it and so we have the ability. This is just one of the new generation ladders. This is a 375 pound ladder. They're a little more bulky but they're a lot more consistent. If but again you know you can't go I mean you could work off of these rungs right here but you have to stay facing the ladder okay but once you get up here again it's a work platform so you can work in 360 degrees so it's just I think it takes a lot of issue out. The other thing that's out now and a lot of people see it unlike this ladder you are not allowed to climb up on the backside of this ladder at all but now we do have ladders that you can do that it's called a twin step and it's 375 pounds on each side okay so yeah so you can have two full-size guys working on the same ladder that way you have four hands instead of two. They're great and they're a really good utility tool. If you ask me this is probably the smartest thing ladders have done in a long long time just because again you can control your standard it's got to be a consistent thing you go to that same height every time because you're not going to gain any height from this. When it comes to ladder safety of course always following the manufacturer's instructions is paramount to make sure that we're using it in the right manner but there are a lot of ladder accessories that help make current ladders safer or make it more advantageous to use in certain environments. Now what we're going to do is we're going to take this little three foot extension ladder and show you a few options that are available. Anybody that's worked on a ladder an extension ladder for any period of time say a painter or a a framer or anyone those rungs even though they're flatter now than they used to be those can be very tiring on the feet so giving ourselves the ability to have a better platform A can make it safer and then makes us less tired and makes the work a little more enjoyable so one option as there are a couple devices out there but in this particular one where you can carry this up in your pouch or your work pouch and easily as you climb up easily one-handed install it and all it does is uses a pressure connection like that and if we have the ladder at the correct degree now it becomes a flat platform so instead of that two inch or one and a half inch rung now we have almost a full footprint of a rung so as you can see here instead of standing on that little side now when a person is standing on that at the proper degree it almost takes up a good 50 to 60 percent of the foot it will help alleviate some of the stress to the foot and the amount of time that you can work up there comfortably because remember if we climbed up the ladder we're going to have to have the legs to climb down the ladder one of the other devices that can be used in ladder safety is when we have to climb ladders to use for access egress to get onto an upper walking working surface is the requirement is that the ladder extension shall extend no less than three feet above and the premise behind that is so that we have a handhold to get over so we can climb off onto the walking surface but in that aspect as you climb up now we have to cross the ladder and cross over like this and getting onto the ladder then we have to walk towards the surface and then we have to come and throw our body around to find where that footprint is now i'm not saying this is going to create an injury but most injuries and incidents that occur on ladders is during that transition because we're climbing away and swinging around make sure that you always secure the ladder at the top so it doesn't slide and level it on the bottom but one option that is available that i'm a fan of is ladder extensions now once this gets installed we're going to make this little three footer we're going to make it a little taller and of course always consult the manufacturer's instructions but it can be as simple as sliding it on like that and then twisting the dial like this now it's fully secured to the ladder now this extension is three foot over now instead of walking around the ladder even with the tool bags the human being walks through the ladder nice handhold and there's a way to actually be safer as we extend so that little three foot ladder has now become six foot what accessories are available for ladders oh my god it's it's infinitive okay you got everything from leg levelers to pole holders so we got these v's so guys on extension ladders that are going up a pole can put it on the pole so the ladder won't tip so you're going up on a roof you gotta tie your ladder off okay you know what the rat tails are the rafter tails that come out you just put it on there clamp it down hook it around your ladder your ladder is tied off wall mounts are big for painters especially the u's that come out and they go on your extension ladder so you can lean it right against the wall and work off of it pump jacks um ladder planks i mean you name it they got it now so there's no reason that you can never say i you know we couldn't secure that ladder in general an employer should always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for storing and maintaining um and even disposal of a portable ladder in general we want to store portable ladders in a fashion where they're not going to get damaged um so an example of that is a a wooden ladder if it is stored improperly can begin to sag and lose its straightness of its side rails if it's stored at an angle outside within the weather um that sort of stuff you generally don't want to store a ladder with other materials on top of it so you never want to use your ladder as a shelf um and then store extra materials on top of that ladder these guys that have service vans what do they do they throw their ladders on the top of the service vans so you know you go from adabian 45 to here come monday or tuesday it's going to be 90 so they see all this temperature change and that can really affect a ladder if you can get them out of the weather once in a while you know but if they're going to sit on your truck 365 you know it's going to be inevitable they're going to fade they're going to spiderweb and stuff like that the other thing is don't drag them off your rack and let them bounce off the ground that just blows them apart they're fiberglass when i'm inspecting a ladder what am i looking for i have a 75 page technical data sheet book that will tell you everything you're looking for but on a job site when you're doing it the very first thing is it's got to have tags it's got to all have all the tags and they've got to be legible you can't change anything about that ladder that the manufacturer originally put on that ladder built it to that standard and tested it so it's a real risk but we do require the employer to know what that ladder is designed to do what its maximum weights are so everything that is on a label the employer is supposed to know that inspection we always recommend that you follow the manufacturer's recommendations for inspections you always want to start at the base of the ladder and work your way up make sure that the feet are in good condition any pads everything is operating properly look at the side rails make sure that they're still tight look at each and every single rung or step make sure that there's no dents no damage no punctures excessive splinters or fraying loose materials make sure the spreader bars if they're equipped that the spreader bars still engage properly and just give the portable ladder an overall top to bottom visual inspection physically feeling each component making sure that it still meets the original manufacturer's specifications regarding our ladders and inspections the crews have been trained to inspect if it's dented if it's if it's bent if something's just not right obviously not to use it red tag it let their supervisor know and then our safety director will go out and inspect it and determine that hey this is we can't repair it then we'll cut them up throw them away recycle them actually is what we normally do and just to make sure that they're not being used and then also when safety director is going out doing job site audits every you know every week every day he's going to be looking at those ladders when he's there too so if you see something that the crew may have missed that's kind of our second line of defense to ensure that they're using safe uh safe ladders but as far as maintenance goes to a ladder if that ladder's a broken cracked bent faded in the garbage it goes you can't do it once the ladder is broken it's broken it's done you're not going to fix the fiberglass if you lose you know these rivets are put in a special way you're not going to re-ribbit it with a you know an AA rivet there's no way so the idea about it is is once it can't pass inspection what do you do with it you destroy it see you don't you don't send it home with an employee that needs a ladder at home because if it won't pass inspection on the job site is it now going to pass inspection at your house and then it fails and then he comes back to you say if you gave me a bad ladder so yeah destroy it just destroy it so one of the things that we do also for our safety training is on ladder inspections and how to set them up we have a prop here in our shop that we use to do that but what we really try to get to the guys is making sure that they inspect their ladder before every use and so when they pull them out of the truck i have them start looking at the ladder and then when they get it to the point where they're setting up then they're really looking over all the components so the components that we're looking for is the rails of both sides making sure there's no cracks in any of it looking at each of the rungs make sure there's no damage no bend no cracks either we use a lot of fiberglass ladders too so we talk about those points that what we can see is cracks in the rails because of the fiberglass and how they're used so we have them go through that and then the feet of the ladder making sure that the rubber part of that is is secured and if it sets in the ground they have to set it on grass or or just open ground that they're using the spikes that they're turning that up and using those spikes in the ground so they get a nice compact secure footing for each of the legs of the ladder we also talk about then the four to one rating making sure that for every four foot up it's it's one foot away and how we really focus on this prop is because it's real-world examples is kind of what we're seeing is that they take that measurement from the roof edge and not from the wall of the house because that can throw that math off and they get it wrong so we talk to them a lot about that making sure that it's at the roof edge that's where you move out so in this particular case it's set up about eight foot so it needs to be two feet out from the roof edge and so that's how we have that set out the other thing that we talk about too is making sure that it's properly secured so we use a product called a ladder's little helper basically that's put together to make sure that we don't damage the gutter but also it helps them to remember the whole process so the whole process set the gutter protector the helper and then set the ladder and then go up and use the cord to secure that in place so when they have all those components they remember that process and do that every time they set up a ladder so we do this for new higher orientation we use these props we'll also use them as reminders during safety meetings but then also too we're checking to make sure that this is done in the field exactly the way we trained it to be