A ready-to-deliver toolbox talk for foremen and supervisors. 8-10 minute spoken script plus briefing register for operative sign-in.
Ladders aren't banned, but they're only for low-risk, short jobs, and falls from them still injure and kill people on UK sites every year. This talk covers when a ladder is the right choice and when it isn't, how to set one up and secure it, the rules for stepladders, and the simple mistakes that put people on the floor.
Why it matters
Falls from height are the biggest killer in construction, and a lot of them are off ladders doing a quick job. The danger with ladders is exactly that, they feel quick and harmless, so people skip securing them, overreach, or grab the wrong one. A ladder is fine for the right task done properly. It turns dangerous the moment it's used as a working platform for a job that needs proper access, or used carelessly because it's only for a minute.
Spoken script for the supervisor. Read or paraphrase, in order.
When a ladder is the right tool, and when it isn't
A ladder is for low-risk, short jobs, light work, somewhere you can keep one hand free, and a rough guide is no more than about half an hour in one position. If the job's longer than that, heavier, or higher risk, it needs a tower, a podium or a MEWP instead. The ladder is for getting up to do a quick job, it is not a working platform for the day. If you find yourself rigging a ladder up to spend the afternoon on it, that's the wrong call, come and see me.
Pick the right ladder and check it before you climb
Use the right ladder for the job and the right length, so you're never forced onto the top rungs to reach. Before you go up, look it over: stiles not bent, rungs not loose, cracked or missing, feet present and not worn smooth, and on a stepladder the locking bars working. Never use a painted ladder, because paint hides cracks and splits. If it's damaged, it gets quarantined or binned, not made do with. A two-second look beats a fall.
Set it at the right angle, 1 in 4
A leaning ladder goes at about 75 degrees, the 1-in-4 rule, one unit out at the base for every four up. Too steep and it tips back on you, too shallow and the feet slide out. It has to sit on firm, level, clean ground, never on bricks, pallets or anything stacked to gain a bit of height. And when it's for access onto something, it should stick up about a metre, three or four rungs, above where you step off, so there's something to hold as you get on and off.
Secure it, every time
Tie the ladder at the top to both stiles wherever you can, that's the proper way. If you genuinely can't tie the top, use an effective stability device, and only as a last resort have someone foot it, which really only works for low, short jobs up to about three metres. An unsecured ladder sliding out from under someone is how most ladder falls happen. Footing it with a hand on the bottom rung is the weakest option, not the default.
Three points of contact, and don't overreach
Keep three points of contact, two feet and a hand, or two hands and a foot, the whole time you're up there. That means you can't be carrying tools or materials up in your hands, use a tool belt or hoist them up on a line. And don't overreach: keep your belt buckle, your navel, between the two stiles. The second you're leaning out past the stiles, get down and move the ladder. Moving it three times is quicker than a trip to A&E, every time.
Stepladders have their own rules
Open a stepladder out fully and make sure the locking bars or cords are engaged before you put weight on it. Don't stand on the top step, or the one below it, unless it's a platform step actually designed to be stood on. Face the work, don't work side-on, because the sideways push is exactly what tips a stepladder over. And never use a stepladder folded up as a leaning ladder, it's not made to take the load that way.
Watch electrics and weather
Never use a metal or wet ladder near live electrics or overhead lines, use a non-conductive fibreglass one for any electrical work. Don't use ladders outside in strong wind, and watch for wet or icy rungs in the morning. And clean the mud off your boots before you climb, because a slip off the bottom rung still breaks ankles. Most of this is common sense, but it's the quick jobs where people stop thinking.
What the supervisor should be actively spotting on walk-arounds.
Ask one or two of these at the end. Confirms attention more than a silent nod.
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