Ladder safety toolbox talk our topic today, let's start, are you ready. And if there is a fixed ladder installed, let's climb it from rung to rung, holding on to the handrails with both hands. You will notice that in our plant there are stairs of many types. They have all been installed so that we can go up and down them as safely as possible.
But if we do not do it correctly and we suffer a fall. The cause is that generally stairs are closely related to the incorrect way in which one goes up or down them.
A fall, even from a very small height (such as when walking), can cause a very serious injury. And the injury can be as serious as that of a skydiver who jumps out of a plane two kilometers above the ground. But the falls that we can suffer here in our plant falling from the first rung of a ladder can sometimes be more serious than what a skydiver can suffer after touching down. How is this possible?
Skydivers are trained for many months on how to touch down correctly and safely at a regular landing speed, which is usually about 14 to 14 miles per hour. This landing speed is the same if they are launched from three kilometers high or five or ten, or more.
Skydivers know very well that the danger is not in jumping out of the plane or descending, but in the impact of the landing. The impact of landing at 23 kilometers per hour is the greatest danger. The same danger applies to any kind of fall, whether at home or here at our plant. It is not the fall itself, then, but the landing.
When the time difference between starting to fall and landing is one second (this is a common time-lapse), you hit the ground at the same landing speed as a skydiver.
Think about this carefully: every time you are at risk of falling, you are at least as much at risk as a skydiver who has jumped several miles out of an airplane. That is why it is important to pay close attention whenever we are in a situation where we might fall. And speaking in practical terms, it is always better to walk than to run.
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Ladder safety tips
But chimney workers rarely fall. They specialize in climbing carefully and moving safely
when they reach the top. They don't take risks —they test and check everything that could pose a danger to them.
This is the reason that most fall from high ladders is suffered by those who have no practice or experience in climbing and do so carelessly. First of all, no one should climb a tall ladder if they are scared by height. If he does, he will get nervous and lose his confidence.
Many workers do not want to admit that they are afraid of heights, because they grew up thinking that fear is something to be ashamed of. That is a wrong attitude. Fear is a perfectly natural reaction to a dangerous situation or one that seems dangerous. It gives a person enough strength and energy to face an emergency. If a person is incapable of fear, he is abnormal. Brave men are afraid, like everyone else, but they know how to control it.
But what does all this have to do with climbing the ladder? Very much. If you are afraid of heights, dare to say so and do not climb. But if you have to pay close attention to what I am going to tell you and remember that a fall from such a high ladder can very easily be fatal.
Examine the ladder carefully before you start climbing.
- Do you see anything abnormal?
- Are there bent or missing cross members?
- Is there grease or rust on the cross members or side rails?
- There is enough room to keep the front of your shoes from touching the frame when your heel hits the crossbar.
If a pipe or something else closes the gap somewhere, don't forget about that when you get there. The lack of space has been the cause of many deaths. If you don't prevent that situation, you may lose your step on that crossbar.
Be especially careful with wooden ladders. Wooden crossbars rot and come loose. Assume nothing, examine them. Electrical wires, unless inside an insulating tube, is very dangerous near a metal ladder, because the ladder is generally well grounded. The insulating material on the wire may not be very good, as it is exposed to all kinds of weather.
The conductor around the wires may be all that is keeping the electricity in them. If any part of your body contacts the wire or gets too close to it, it can give the electrical current a chance to escape to the ground.
If the current passes through them, you will fall to the ground or be electrocuted up there. In sub-zero temperatures, watch for ice. It is best not to try to climb an icy ladder. But if you must, wear a seat belt, and make sure you always keep it hooked up while you work and break the ice as you go up.
After having examined the ladder, you can now start climbing. But first, move it around a bit to make sure it's secure and see if there is any loose part at each support point. When ascending, place your foot on the crossbar in such a way that the heel touches it and is close to the side rail.
Hold on to the side rails firmly. If they grab onto a crossbar and it breaks, you will surely fall. But if you hold on to the side rails, even if a crossbar fails under your feet, you won't fall.
You must always make sure you are securely in contact with one hand and two feet or two hands and one foot, before attempting to move to the next crossbar. This applies to both going up and down.
Finally, when you reach the top, make sure you have a firm footing as you step from the ladder to the roof. Unless this arrangement is correct, this is the point of greatest danger. As you descend, make sure your foot is firmly planted on the bottom rail before changing your hand position. And never rush up a ladder.
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