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Posted By MICHAEL T
We have come across a requirement that fixed ladders
2.5 – 5 metres - Can be climbed alone. Climber must wear a harness and utilise the double-lanyard climbing technique.
2.5 – 5 metres - Can be climbed alone. Climber must wear a harness and either use the fall arrest system or utilise the double-lanyard climbing technique
> 5 metres - Must be double-manned. Climbers must wear a harness and utilise the double-lanyard climbing technique
> 5 metres - Must be double-manned. Climbers must wear a harness and either use the fall arrest system or utilise the double-lanyard climbing technique
All fixed ladders - The presence of hoops should be ignored in determining manning level or climbing technique
Is this a standard requirement?
If so where does it come from?
We got this from our Telecom colleagues
Regards
Mike
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Posted By Paul Darby
Thats interesting, I would love to know what the idea of double manning on a hooped ladder is, I assume it is so that if the first person falls, the person underneath provides a soft landing!!
It is certainly not a standard or legal requiement.
I have never seen such restrictive ladder rules, especially for ladders between 2.5 and 5 metres. I feel it is a little onerous for a 10 foot ladder to use a harness and double lanyard. We have some vehicles that have a 10 foot fixed ladder to gain access to them, but it is certainly not practical to harness up and clip on while you climb a well maintained, clean, fixed 10 foot ladder.
I had an incident a number of years ago where a guy fell down a hooped ladder from a storage tank, purely because he lost his hand-hold whlie trying to clip and un-clip a double lanyard during his descent.
As for ignoring the hoops, the hoops are their to give you a chance to be able to fall agaist somthing and possibly prevent a free-fall backwards. Yes there may be occasions where a person would still fall vertically down, but it reduces the risk by giveing someone who looses their footing, something to grab.
There may be more to those ladder rules than meets the eye, but my initial thought is that they would be ignored by most plant engineers that I know!
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Posted By John J
The HSE have recently done some work that indicates that hooped ladders have little benefit in a fall. HSE Research 4450/R46.086
Obviously I'm cutting out most of the document but:
'Caged ladders cannot provide positive fall protection but they may be able to stop a fall through limb entanglement, but with the accompanying serious injury. Unless they can be moodified to provide positive protection their use should be abandoned'.
It's an interesting read,
John
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Posted By Paul Darby
I tend to agree, I am sure that most of the benefit from having the hoops behind you is psychological!! It is quite interesting that when you look at a long fixed ladder without hoops it looks far more daunting than one with hoops, but you would fall just as far in reality!
I did once see a cable fall restraint system secured to the inside of the run of hoops, then fixed to the back of the harness which looked like a good idea.
On all plant we spec now, if regular access is required we specify a flight of steps.
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
From my perspective I think far too many ladders of this type are of excessive length. A ten foot vertical climb without a break point and in work clothes is more than adequate. Even in my petrochem days the ladders to the column tops were 3m between break points - I think things are going backwards.
But long ladders are a disease of every part of employment. Scaffolders would always use a 5/6m ladder if so permitted and will often steepen the angle to permit the extra lift to be covered. A recent fatality we dealt with involved a person having a heart attack climbing a ladder of this height, he fell from the top and was pronounced dead at the scene. It is still not possible to know if he would have survived if he had not also received the fall injuries. Perhaps this thread can prompt us all to seek how to reduce the length of ladders used at work.
Bob
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Posted By Colin Reeves
Most effective system I have seen is a trackway up the centre of the ladder into which a safety harness is clipped. The clip allows free movement, but locks if moving too fast (inertia reel type of action). This allows free movement in safety - certainly no need for a second man (as mentioned he only provides a soft landing anyway!)
As to restricting ladders lengths, think masts on ships .... Inertia system works well there.
Colin
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Posted By Ron Hunter
John J quoted:
"Unless they (hooped ladders) can be modified to provide positive protection their use should be abandoned".
Easy to say, but more difficult to find an alternative access!
I saw in the trade press ( I think!) recently a retro-fit system of simple fall arrest using a toggle-latch on a running rail - seems reasonably practicable to me.
As per usual of course,I can't recall where I saw this!!!
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