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The aim of a pre-use check is to quickly establish whether a ladder is safe to use there and then. The user must carry out a pre-use check prior to setting up the ladder (this may only need to be done once a day for frequently used ladders). It is a visual and functional check intended to enable the user to identify obvious defects likely to prevent its safe and proper use. This might include, for example, stiles that are warped, cracked, bent, rotten or of different lengths. Or rungs that are missing, worn, loose or damaged.
Other points to look for include paint or dirt on the ladder which may hide defects, rivets or screws that are missing and welds that are cracked or corroded.
Detailed Inspections
Detailed inspections of work equipment, as required by the regulations, are more in-depth than pre-use checks and need to be carried out by competent persons. The aim is to establish whether the ladder is safe for continued use, or that maintenance and remedial work is necessary. In-depth visual and functional inspections need to be carried out at set intervals and formally recorded.
Ladders must be maintained in accordance with the manufacturers’ guidelines. The need to keep ladder anti-slip feet clean is of paramount importance so that the co-efficient of friction is maintained between the foot of the ladder and the ground. The ladder also needs to be kept clean so that defects are not hidden from view. Wooden ladders should not be painted as this too can hide defects.
All these points, and many more, are covered in the Ladder Association’s recently launched ladder inspection scheme which will be featured at Access Live and in the Access Village as part of the Safety and Health Expo at the NEC, Birmingham, 12-14 May 2009. With the introduction of the Health & Safety (Offences) Act 2008, there has never been a greater imperative for employers and users to be ‘ladder competent’.
www.ladderassociation.org.uk for more information.