A listener note. The safety information discussed in this podcast are our views based on our personal firsthand experiences. Each safety situation presents unique risks and the solutions discussed in this podcast I should not take the place of thorough risk assessments or evaluations based on your specific circumstances. Thank you…
Welcome to safe efficient profitable a worker safety podcast, where we break down real problems from real situations and discuss realistic solutions. And here's your host owner of Allen safety LLC and C H M M Joe Allen
…
Good day. This is Joe. And we're back to another great episode This is episode 11. Today we're going to be talking about ladders and rolling platforms Now if you miss the previous episodes go back. Liz tomb.
They're great. You can get to trust me on that. Basically We talked about contractors in the last one. And this time we're talking about ladders rolling platforms Now the reason I'm talking about these. He's because I believe.
That there is a risk with using ladders And I believe that the ladders are one of those things to become almost routine task or the hazard is really not there but it is. So one of the things we'll talk about is how I manage ladders how I manage rolling platforms and trends that I see that are out there that are going on Now what I mean by that is, is I don't really look at them differently I look at them kind of the same. Sometimes you'll see any program that people will talk About that the ladders have all these control variables in them And in the rolling platforms you don't see much about it I treat them exactly the same footing inspections, all that kind of stuff. All right. The program for.
ladder rolling platform is not relevant to me First was relevant to me first is that evaluation of why and where I need these devices So if I walk in a location and that location has a ladder one of the first questions I ask myself is is it a Frederick Stanley ladder And then if it's an A-frame ladder is it on a wall or open like it's in use If I don't see anyone around while it's In use. I'm going to be asking why it is there There's nothing wrong with it being there I just don't like it being there. I'm now saying there has to be a reason it's there. There has to be a hazardous created Maybe it's dailies maybe it's someone's climate It may be someone has to carry equipment from the bottom to the top All these things are starting to run through my mind Now about that ladder just setting there I'm looking at the feet around it. Not that the feed had the inspection and everything's perfect I'm looking at what you had slipped a trip on trying to climb up the ladder.
I'm looking at the way it's turned Are we looking at there's a forklift going by or is there people walking by the kid accidentally hit the ladder is someone's doing their task and how aware you could be when you're on the ladder doing the task. I'm looking at all of that when I'm trying to decide on my program and I'm trying to decide what I need to have or not having the program. I know sounds a little backwards maybe but the way you would think it would be but I'm more into evaluating the systems evaluating the processes, finding out where ladders needed trying to determine what is needed, including can I use a rolling platform instead of a ladder? And then my end result is how do I get out of both of them So. Here's example I always talk about our company's safe, efficient profitable.
Here's a perfect example, safe. Can I get rid of the ladders completely…
efficient. I'm not storing it managing it carrying it place in it everyday profitable, less labor less time and less risk putting up the ladder climbing up at during the inspection slipping off of. falling and having an injury. So that's why I'm looking at I'm. Yes We have uh, information that we talk about or things we look at, but I'm really concentrating on back to end user back to the hazard.
Back to the reason the ladders there Yes The program's important Yes Three points of contact inspections train all that stuff is amazing. But my biggest thing is if I can get out of using a ladder, I don't have to do so much stuff. Do I have to hang the ladder You bet So here's an example. I'm going to hang the ladder Cause I just thought I'm gonna keep the ladder in the area. I'm going to use this ladder and the ladder's 17 feet up in the air.
Bye But eight, the bottom foot of the ladder is is in front of me when I'm facing it. If I try to pull that ladder off the top, the weight of the ladder is going to come down Maybe hit me and knocked me down and fall On top of me maybe I fall back and hit something in my hand or my back. I hurt myself. I turn that ladder sideways. The risk is gone now I wouldn't have any of those hazards if I didn't need the ladder for that area.
So. though we start correctly and even though people say it's mine or whatever I'm still about if I can get rid of a ladder I don't have any of that risk. And that's a foreseen risk but it's reality. Rolling platforms I take a rolling platform I say okay we're going to put up a portable ladder or we're going to have to lean off that ladder Well yes we'll kind of use a rolling platform So we lean we have rails we'll maybe can I use a rolling platform because it's more stable especially this older person doing a task Yes. So now I'm going to start deciding not only do I need a ladder yes or no Now can I use a rolling platform Yes or no.
And back to can I get out of using both of them So I will watch someone do a task with that ladder multiple times not to tell them to doing it correctly incorrectly I'm trying to see why they need it and how we can engineer it out I still believe in engineering out the hazard first, before we just go grab a ladder. No I've had people hurt in history using a ladder. I've had people fall in different ways fall Fall fall into other piece of equipment falling off a ladder So I can remove all of that again if I very way get rid of the ladder So Allen safety has initiatives each year. Few years ago initiative was everywhere I went, I would see a portable ladder I would challenge other portable auditors there and figure out a way not to use it. I'm not saying we're a home success We'll get rid of all of them I'm not saying.
That everybody always agreed when we had this conversation I'm just trying to say as a management tool, if you go with the approach I walked through a production area or anywhere and I say, there's a ladder Why is it there? That should be the way you want to go I try not to use ladders. All right So now let me go back to I do have to use a ladder for some reason. Now I've got a store it was docked a little booth storage, and now I've got to have some kind of training on it. Now the reason I bring up the storage is a little different than the training.
Is storage is usually somebody Mount some brackets on the wall They hang it up a certain way. A lot of times you won't see the program the way you just store ladders It'll just say that he would be secure or any store. I spent a lot of time on the storage of them. Yeah The thing I like. on the training side.
Is how do we physically carry the ladder and physically carry it to different places? And can it hurt me while I'm doing that? The previous episodes we talked about in user hazards are going to lock out and other hazards in the area. I look at the same way The hazard may not be placing the ladder in spot one. The hazard may be carrying the ladder to spot one and hitting him because I know when I carry a ladder or carry anything out.
Downstairs or furniture whatever I seem like I put more scratches and more dance in the walls than I do actually trying to carry the thing and I'm conscious of it and taking my time. So I'm conscious of that idea of carrying the ladders Try not to have the ladder hit everything but you gotta be conscious that I'm going to use it And most training is about use It's not about getting to and from the, the mounting bracket area So the training you're going to have training different ways you want to do it But the main thing I look at for training is do we evaluate when When I need to pee. and do I train Or what am I going to do If it doesn't work perfectly? Most of my locations I portable ladder maybe needed for task one, but task one doesn't have the room to maybe extend it completely or put something there then back to can I do something besides using the ladder Can I try something else So part of the training to me is. Is if someone uses a portable ladder they should be asked themselves Same as I did.
Well why do I even use this ladder Can I find a different way What I rather them do is instead of using a ladder identify that I need to use this ladder. Is there a place I can put a new platform and Mount it permanently Or is there a staircase or steps or something induced So I don't have to keep doing this task and having this risk each time I use it Now when it comes to three points of contact there's a lot of discussion about this everywhere I go in the country my version of three Three points of contact is you have to be real about the job they're going to do or the task. Not caught up in saying three points of contact. Yes you said three points of contact but I've seen that interpreted so many different ways. And I'm all about hazard and risk reduction If I work in some of the places I go to for example, and we have to carry a hose If you decided out in your front yard today that you want to clean your gutters…
and you decided to put up an extending ladder and you decided to carry the hose up with you while you're going up to 16 any ladder. The odds of you keeping three points of contact goes down dramatically. Now if that hose that you're carrying outside your house is on because you don't want to go all the way back down to the bottom of your ladder and turn it on at your water connection outside your house, and you want the hose to be on Now the hose has created a hazard itself Not. The hose. But the fact there could be water coming out of it.
So I could be using water coming out of a hose climate extending ladder at my house. And as I go up to clean up the gutters or clean up something else, I've introduced multiple hazard And why do I need. hazards Well, I'm supposed to have three points of contact That'd be safe but that's not real. So what I spend time on is how do I get the hose up there Is there a connection point I can turn the hose off If I would go to carry it up is there a way that I can have a rope Hook to the ladder And I pull the hose up After I get to the top ladder, is the ladder going to extending Can I have someone hold onto it for me before I get up there? Is a lot of the right angle So I wouldn't fall three points of contact Really for me, extending ladder is being able to lean into it in case I get nervous or something's wrong Cause I'm climbing it.
Then I'm leaning into the main part of the ladder Now where I see problems is that people use an A-frame ladder. They're using an A-frame ladder to do a task that needed an extending ladder So now I go back to my training and back to my program right from my ladder use. I will spend time also selecting the correct style of ladder that I want to use. For example I want to go into attic space in my house. I have an attic in our garage.
Then I have an attic excess area. The idea is you open up the part and the garage you put up your A-frame ladder but to get from the A-frame ladder. To up in my garage I have to climb off of the A-frame ladder off the top of it. Well now I've not met the intent of the A-frame ladder And now I've created another hazard where I'm going up and down with that When I share I extend the ladder So I will break down not only the ladder the length the ladder the size of the ladder but also what style of ladder. And I will write that actually the procedure So my program may have going into my garage attic area is a hazard and I say here's an SOP or here's the procedure how to do that task And I will select everything about how I'm going to do it So I take Take ladders probably a little farther down the path And some people would look at because I'm still looking to in use in user the risks are going to have three points of contact.
Don't get caught up in that. Get caught up in how they're going to do the task, how to remove all the hazards of doing it, the other things And then three points of contact allows me to use my hands and do. process And now I'm safer but people carry tools People carry buckets people carry hoses. Let's find a different way to do that task. So I'm not putting them at risk.
And now I have inspections Inspections seems to be what everybody is excited about Let's go do a ladder inspection and I'm like let's go So as we get to a ladder inspection what do people want? They want to check the footing That's great I don't check the footing What I do is I walk through and I've learned over time. The way the footing looks all matters What you do If you get bored, you can go to a home-improvement Movement store of any kind You know you're already walking through there Anyway, walk in there go look at the ladders And they've nicely placed all the ladders of all different sizes all different styles in front of you. And what you can do is you can say, Hmm. How do I note the footings not there from 40 feet away or 20 foot away, because that's really what I do I've learned the ladders.
I walked through a production area. I look at the ladder and I know defer. kinds of bracing on the side of the footing of the ladder will tell me a different story. And if I see a ladder that looks like it has a flat part on the bottom where there's like some rubber footing and I don't see that dark color, 20 feet away 10 feet away I'm like I don't think the slip-resistant footings on there, but I've learned to look at it that way by the way the style of ladder is the design of ladder and the way the footing is because what I want to be able to do is walk through and make sure do we We have the right ladder plays and is inspected You bet. But I'm really about at that point in time we're getting ready to use the is a correct.
I've seen ladders pass all the inspections and everything's great And they got the tag on. Is fine, but maybe that was done on the seventh of the month. And now it's the 21st of the month. Well if it's the 21st did we inspect it again Or we say oh we T we train people to spec their time. That's great The water I see so many ladders across the country.
That don't have the flooding on it People just climbing on top of them using them. I don't I don't understand that So I go back to, instead of trying to figure that out, cause I don't understand it. I go back to, how do I catch that ladder or catch that route as I'm walking through. And I always start with the footing. I don't see a lot of ladders that are broken that people are using because people are pretty cautious about that And I don't see a lot of ladders that are that are damaged so bad The people I looked that's crazy.
I see more of the wrong height of ladder and the wrong angle of ladder And that's where my hazard is And that's where I spend most of my time So now I'm down to can I use a rolling staircase and And I use the ladder Do I use a stepstool Do I use a five foot ladder six foot ladder 20 foot ladder? Doesn't matter I wanted to use the ladder for the task Now how do I capture that task A lot of people will talk about, well we have a ladder program and I say but have you done elevated work assessment Or have you done a ladder assessment for job tasks? And a lot of people's kind of look you're like, no not really sure. I spent most of my time in the assessment of the hazard and then doing Doing the task and the other parts of it each. how I accomplish that task But that's the general idea now for closing a couple weird things you wouldn't think of ladders seem to have a world of their own that you Mount them on the wall and you go out the next day and they're gone.
I will see some people try to chain the ladders and that's fine too Just going to be able to get the key to be able to unchange it. I've seen rolling staircases that the footing is not working that well at all Or you push your foot down and it doesn't lock, but it passed. The inspection So again, the inspection process may be different from the A-frame the different worldly platforms. Make sure you have two different inspections because they're completely different devices to me. And make sure inspecting them.
And you have two different ways you inspector because they have different hazards and different risks And then the last part about it is, is if you are going to carry a ladder like I tried to carry one the other day and it's way bigger than you can handle, please don't carry it by yourself Say, hello friend, can you help me carry this ladder? And they'll say sure. And you carry it together It's amazing how many people try to carry? A ladder by themselves. Over equipment or round equipment through here through there And they're just hitting everything that there is.
And you're like maybe you get a second person because it doesn't hurt to have the second person there when you go to set it up. Especially if it's a tall ladder and it may not hurt has a second person there. If you're climbing somewhere kind of high and you're nervous about the ladder moving. I don't like Heights. So anytime I start climbing ladder, every foot that I go up I can feel my anxiety changing just to put the Christmas tree up where you want it to go in your house makes me use an extending ladder.
And that makes me nervous doing that because I know what I grabbed the Christmas tree to pull it down My three points of contact are not going to be too good. To I get nervous over things like that And I try to come up with different strategies how to do that process. All I want you to do is evaluate your hazard. Evaluate your use of the latter platform for try to find a way to remove it. And if you can't do everything you can to put buffers in place.
So you're not having that risk as you move forward I appreciate you taking time today to listen to us. These different podcasts and different items that we've talked about Again we look at it like it's all about risk and the hazard and how to reduce that risk and hazard or minimize it less times we use the ladder less risk less people use a ladder less risk. Less ladders, less hazard or fallen, better engineering. We don't have this stuff on the floors like a ladder a platform and a walk around or housekeeping or do we Mount it Did we not Do we store it correctly? Think of it for engineering side First thing about the job test to doing, and try to think about how you can eliminate that hazard for them completely.
And then that becomes your management system. As you said in previous episodes I don't like managing daily functions. I want the daily function to manage itself and I'm into improving the business process improvement company. All right That is our episode for today. The next episode Yes Get ready.
Confined space If you ever go into our website or. anything about me You know I look and find spaces, made a living off of it I love it So we get to talk about that next And the reason I talked about the ladders first I use lighters and confined space and why we talk a lot ladders out to contractors because we use ladders or contractors So everything has a basic pattern. Thank you again have a great day and I'll talk to you later…
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…
Welcome to safe efficient profitable a worker safety podcast, where we break down real problems from real situations and discuss realistic solutions. And here's your host owner of Allen safety LLC and C H M M Joe Allen
…
Good day. This is Joe. And we're back to another great episode This is episode 11. Today we're going to be talking about ladders and rolling platforms Now if you miss the previous episodes go back. Liz tomb.
They're great. You can get to trust me on that. Basically We talked about contractors in the last one. And this time we're talking about ladders rolling platforms Now the reason I'm talking about these. He's because I believe.
That there is a risk with using ladders And I believe that the ladders are one of those things to become almost routine task or the hazard is really not there but it is. So one of the things we'll talk about is how I manage ladders how I manage rolling platforms and trends that I see that are out there that are going on Now what I mean by that is, is I don't really look at them differently I look at them kind of the same. Sometimes you'll see any program that people will talk About that the ladders have all these control variables in them And in the rolling platforms you don't see much about it I treat them exactly the same footing inspections, all that kind of stuff. All right. The program for.
ladder rolling platform is not relevant to me First was relevant to me first is that evaluation of why and where I need these devices So if I walk in a location and that location has a ladder one of the first questions I ask myself is is it a Frederick Stanley ladder And then if it's an A-frame ladder is it on a wall or open like it's in use If I don't see anyone around while it's In use. I'm going to be asking why it is there There's nothing wrong with it being there I just don't like it being there. I'm now saying there has to be a reason it's there. There has to be a hazardous created Maybe it's dailies maybe it's someone's climate It may be someone has to carry equipment from the bottom to the top All these things are starting to run through my mind Now about that ladder just setting there I'm looking at the feet around it. Not that the feed had the inspection and everything's perfect I'm looking at what you had slipped a trip on trying to climb up the ladder.
I'm looking at the way it's turned Are we looking at there's a forklift going by or is there people walking by the kid accidentally hit the ladder is someone's doing their task and how aware you could be when you're on the ladder doing the task. I'm looking at all of that when I'm trying to decide on my program and I'm trying to decide what I need to have or not having the program. I know sounds a little backwards maybe but the way you would think it would be but I'm more into evaluating the systems evaluating the processes, finding out where ladders needed trying to determine what is needed, including can I use a rolling platform instead of a ladder? And then my end result is how do I get out of both of them So. Here's example I always talk about our company's safe, efficient profitable.
Here's a perfect example, safe. Can I get rid of the ladders completely…
efficient. I'm not storing it managing it carrying it place in it everyday profitable, less labor less time and less risk putting up the ladder climbing up at during the inspection slipping off of. falling and having an injury. So that's why I'm looking at I'm. Yes We have uh, information that we talk about or things we look at, but I'm really concentrating on back to end user back to the hazard.
Back to the reason the ladders there Yes The program's important Yes Three points of contact inspections train all that stuff is amazing. But my biggest thing is if I can get out of using a ladder, I don't have to do so much stuff. Do I have to hang the ladder You bet So here's an example. I'm going to hang the ladder Cause I just thought I'm gonna keep the ladder in the area. I'm going to use this ladder and the ladder's 17 feet up in the air.
Bye But eight, the bottom foot of the ladder is is in front of me when I'm facing it. If I try to pull that ladder off the top, the weight of the ladder is going to come down Maybe hit me and knocked me down and fall On top of me maybe I fall back and hit something in my hand or my back. I hurt myself. I turn that ladder sideways. The risk is gone now I wouldn't have any of those hazards if I didn't need the ladder for that area.
So. though we start correctly and even though people say it's mine or whatever I'm still about if I can get rid of a ladder I don't have any of that risk. And that's a foreseen risk but it's reality. Rolling platforms I take a rolling platform I say okay we're going to put up a portable ladder or we're going to have to lean off that ladder Well yes we'll kind of use a rolling platform So we lean we have rails we'll maybe can I use a rolling platform because it's more stable especially this older person doing a task Yes. So now I'm going to start deciding not only do I need a ladder yes or no Now can I use a rolling platform Yes or no.
And back to can I get out of using both of them So I will watch someone do a task with that ladder multiple times not to tell them to doing it correctly incorrectly I'm trying to see why they need it and how we can engineer it out I still believe in engineering out the hazard first, before we just go grab a ladder. No I've had people hurt in history using a ladder. I've had people fall in different ways fall Fall fall into other piece of equipment falling off a ladder So I can remove all of that again if I very way get rid of the ladder So Allen safety has initiatives each year. Few years ago initiative was everywhere I went, I would see a portable ladder I would challenge other portable auditors there and figure out a way not to use it. I'm not saying we're a home success We'll get rid of all of them I'm not saying.
That everybody always agreed when we had this conversation I'm just trying to say as a management tool, if you go with the approach I walked through a production area or anywhere and I say, there's a ladder Why is it there? That should be the way you want to go I try not to use ladders. All right So now let me go back to I do have to use a ladder for some reason. Now I've got a store it was docked a little booth storage, and now I've got to have some kind of training on it. Now the reason I bring up the storage is a little different than the training.
Is storage is usually somebody Mount some brackets on the wall They hang it up a certain way. A lot of times you won't see the program the way you just store ladders It'll just say that he would be secure or any store. I spent a lot of time on the storage of them. Yeah The thing I like. on the training side.
Is how do we physically carry the ladder and physically carry it to different places? And can it hurt me while I'm doing that? The previous episodes we talked about in user hazards are going to lock out and other hazards in the area. I look at the same way The hazard may not be placing the ladder in spot one. The hazard may be carrying the ladder to spot one and hitting him because I know when I carry a ladder or carry anything out.
Downstairs or furniture whatever I seem like I put more scratches and more dance in the walls than I do actually trying to carry the thing and I'm conscious of it and taking my time. So I'm conscious of that idea of carrying the ladders Try not to have the ladder hit everything but you gotta be conscious that I'm going to use it And most training is about use It's not about getting to and from the, the mounting bracket area So the training you're going to have training different ways you want to do it But the main thing I look at for training is do we evaluate when When I need to pee. and do I train Or what am I going to do If it doesn't work perfectly? Most of my locations I portable ladder maybe needed for task one, but task one doesn't have the room to maybe extend it completely or put something there then back to can I do something besides using the ladder Can I try something else So part of the training to me is. Is if someone uses a portable ladder they should be asked themselves Same as I did.
Well why do I even use this ladder Can I find a different way What I rather them do is instead of using a ladder identify that I need to use this ladder. Is there a place I can put a new platform and Mount it permanently Or is there a staircase or steps or something induced So I don't have to keep doing this task and having this risk each time I use it Now when it comes to three points of contact there's a lot of discussion about this everywhere I go in the country my version of three Three points of contact is you have to be real about the job they're going to do or the task. Not caught up in saying three points of contact. Yes you said three points of contact but I've seen that interpreted so many different ways. And I'm all about hazard and risk reduction If I work in some of the places I go to for example, and we have to carry a hose If you decided out in your front yard today that you want to clean your gutters…
and you decided to put up an extending ladder and you decided to carry the hose up with you while you're going up to 16 any ladder. The odds of you keeping three points of contact goes down dramatically. Now if that hose that you're carrying outside your house is on because you don't want to go all the way back down to the bottom of your ladder and turn it on at your water connection outside your house, and you want the hose to be on Now the hose has created a hazard itself Not. The hose. But the fact there could be water coming out of it.
So I could be using water coming out of a hose climate extending ladder at my house. And as I go up to clean up the gutters or clean up something else, I've introduced multiple hazard And why do I need. hazards Well, I'm supposed to have three points of contact That'd be safe but that's not real. So what I spend time on is how do I get the hose up there Is there a connection point I can turn the hose off If I would go to carry it up is there a way that I can have a rope Hook to the ladder And I pull the hose up After I get to the top ladder, is the ladder going to extending Can I have someone hold onto it for me before I get up there? Is a lot of the right angle So I wouldn't fall three points of contact Really for me, extending ladder is being able to lean into it in case I get nervous or something's wrong Cause I'm climbing it.
Then I'm leaning into the main part of the ladder Now where I see problems is that people use an A-frame ladder. They're using an A-frame ladder to do a task that needed an extending ladder So now I go back to my training and back to my program right from my ladder use. I will spend time also selecting the correct style of ladder that I want to use. For example I want to go into attic space in my house. I have an attic in our garage.
Then I have an attic excess area. The idea is you open up the part and the garage you put up your A-frame ladder but to get from the A-frame ladder. To up in my garage I have to climb off of the A-frame ladder off the top of it. Well now I've not met the intent of the A-frame ladder And now I've created another hazard where I'm going up and down with that When I share I extend the ladder So I will break down not only the ladder the length the ladder the size of the ladder but also what style of ladder. And I will write that actually the procedure So my program may have going into my garage attic area is a hazard and I say here's an SOP or here's the procedure how to do that task And I will select everything about how I'm going to do it So I take Take ladders probably a little farther down the path And some people would look at because I'm still looking to in use in user the risks are going to have three points of contact.
Don't get caught up in that. Get caught up in how they're going to do the task, how to remove all the hazards of doing it, the other things And then three points of contact allows me to use my hands and do. process And now I'm safer but people carry tools People carry buckets people carry hoses. Let's find a different way to do that task. So I'm not putting them at risk.
And now I have inspections Inspections seems to be what everybody is excited about Let's go do a ladder inspection and I'm like let's go So as we get to a ladder inspection what do people want? They want to check the footing That's great I don't check the footing What I do is I walk through and I've learned over time. The way the footing looks all matters What you do If you get bored, you can go to a home-improvement Movement store of any kind You know you're already walking through there Anyway, walk in there go look at the ladders And they've nicely placed all the ladders of all different sizes all different styles in front of you. And what you can do is you can say, Hmm. How do I note the footings not there from 40 feet away or 20 foot away, because that's really what I do I've learned the ladders.
I walked through a production area. I look at the ladder and I know defer. kinds of bracing on the side of the footing of the ladder will tell me a different story. And if I see a ladder that looks like it has a flat part on the bottom where there's like some rubber footing and I don't see that dark color, 20 feet away 10 feet away I'm like I don't think the slip-resistant footings on there, but I've learned to look at it that way by the way the style of ladder is the design of ladder and the way the footing is because what I want to be able to do is walk through and make sure do we We have the right ladder plays and is inspected You bet. But I'm really about at that point in time we're getting ready to use the is a correct.
I've seen ladders pass all the inspections and everything's great And they got the tag on. Is fine, but maybe that was done on the seventh of the month. And now it's the 21st of the month. Well if it's the 21st did we inspect it again Or we say oh we T we train people to spec their time. That's great The water I see so many ladders across the country.
That don't have the flooding on it People just climbing on top of them using them. I don't I don't understand that So I go back to, instead of trying to figure that out, cause I don't understand it. I go back to, how do I catch that ladder or catch that route as I'm walking through. And I always start with the footing. I don't see a lot of ladders that are broken that people are using because people are pretty cautious about that And I don't see a lot of ladders that are that are damaged so bad The people I looked that's crazy.
I see more of the wrong height of ladder and the wrong angle of ladder And that's where my hazard is And that's where I spend most of my time So now I'm down to can I use a rolling staircase and And I use the ladder Do I use a stepstool Do I use a five foot ladder six foot ladder 20 foot ladder? Doesn't matter I wanted to use the ladder for the task Now how do I capture that task A lot of people will talk about, well we have a ladder program and I say but have you done elevated work assessment Or have you done a ladder assessment for job tasks? And a lot of people's kind of look you're like, no not really sure. I spent most of my time in the assessment of the hazard and then doing Doing the task and the other parts of it each. how I accomplish that task But that's the general idea now for closing a couple weird things you wouldn't think of ladders seem to have a world of their own that you Mount them on the wall and you go out the next day and they're gone.
I will see some people try to chain the ladders and that's fine too Just going to be able to get the key to be able to unchange it. I've seen rolling staircases that the footing is not working that well at all Or you push your foot down and it doesn't lock, but it passed. The inspection So again, the inspection process may be different from the A-frame the different worldly platforms. Make sure you have two different inspections because they're completely different devices to me. And make sure inspecting them.
And you have two different ways you inspector because they have different hazards and different risks And then the last part about it is, is if you are going to carry a ladder like I tried to carry one the other day and it's way bigger than you can handle, please don't carry it by yourself Say, hello friend, can you help me carry this ladder? And they'll say sure. And you carry it together It's amazing how many people try to carry? A ladder by themselves. Over equipment or round equipment through here through there And they're just hitting everything that there is.
And you're like maybe you get a second person because it doesn't hurt to have the second person there when you go to set it up. Especially if it's a tall ladder and it may not hurt has a second person there. If you're climbing somewhere kind of high and you're nervous about the ladder moving. I don't like Heights. So anytime I start climbing ladder, every foot that I go up I can feel my anxiety changing just to put the Christmas tree up where you want it to go in your house makes me use an extending ladder.
And that makes me nervous doing that because I know what I grabbed the Christmas tree to pull it down My three points of contact are not going to be too good. To I get nervous over things like that And I try to come up with different strategies how to do that process. All I want you to do is evaluate your hazard. Evaluate your use of the latter platform for try to find a way to remove it. And if you can't do everything you can to put buffers in place.
So you're not having that risk as you move forward I appreciate you taking time today to listen to us. These different podcasts and different items that we've talked about Again we look at it like it's all about risk and the hazard and how to reduce that risk and hazard or minimize it less times we use the ladder less risk less people use a ladder less risk. Less ladders, less hazard or fallen, better engineering. We don't have this stuff on the floors like a ladder a platform and a walk around or housekeeping or do we Mount it Did we not Do we store it correctly? Think of it for engineering side First thing about the job test to doing, and try to think about how you can eliminate that hazard for them completely.
And then that becomes your management system. As you said in previous episodes I don't like managing daily functions. I want the daily function to manage itself and I'm into improving the business process improvement company. All right That is our episode for today. The next episode Yes Get ready.
Confined space If you ever go into our website or. anything about me You know I look and find spaces, made a living off of it I love it So we get to talk about that next And the reason I talked about the ladders first I use lighters and confined space and why we talk a lot ladders out to contractors because we use ladders or contractors So everything has a basic pattern. Thank you again have a great day and I'll talk to you later…
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