Launched by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2007 and now managed by the industry’s trade body, the Ladder Association; the Ladder Exchange has returned for 2016 and will run from 1st October – 31st December.
Since 2007 the campaign has resulted in thousands of dodgy and downright dangerous ladders being removed from service and replaced with safe, brand new ones.
Very simply, the scheme allows ladder users to replace old, bent or broken ladders and stepladders for safe new ones – at a discount price – at any of the Ladder Exchange’s official partners located throughout the UK and Northern Ireland. For full details click here.
In addition to reducing the risk of a fall from height – still one of the single biggest cause of accidents in the UK workplace – the campaign also highlights the need to inspect and maintain ladders at regular intervals in accordance with the Work at Height Regulations.
Comments Ladder Association Chairman, Martin Brooke: “The Ladder Exchange provides the perfect opportunity for organisations both large and small, in both the private and public sectors, to check and inspect their ladder stock to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose.”
“Over two million people use ladders and steps every day because they are the most cost-effective tool in the box. Users trust their lives on ladders and steps so, like any other piece of workplace equipment, they need to ensure they are regularly inspected. The Ladder Exchange drives home this important message and the three months of this campaign is the ideal time to take action!”
The 2016 campaign will feature ‘Ladder Leaders/Ladder Losers’, a reboot of the Association’s acclaimed ‘Idiots on Ladders’ social media competition. In its new format, the public is invited to post pictures of people using ladders and stepladders in a hazardous way – the ‘#ladderlosers’; and also ‘#ladderleaders’ – people who are using ladders in a safe, exemplary way.
A founder member of the Access Industry Forum (AIF), the Ladder Association will be a major contributor to the Forum’s first national conference: ‘Implementing change and innovation in work at height’ at Holywell Park Conference Centre, Loughborough on 13 October 2016. For more details click here.
