Ladders and stepladders

The use of ladders and stepladders are not banned under health and safety law. The law says that ladders can be used for work at height when a risk assessment has shown that using equipment offering a higher level of fall protection is not justified because of the low risk and short... 

Safe use of ladders and stepladders An employer s guide, INDG402, 2005, HSE Books ISBN 0 7176 6105 9... 

Access, ladders and stepladders 8. General remarks agreed to be minuted and dates for... 

Ladders and stepladders 48. Work near underground services... 

Ladders and stepladders must be checked to ensure correct length, type and condition before use. 

Ladders and stepladders should be subject to a planned maintenance programme. 

The ground base for ladder and stepladder use must be firm and level. 

As shown in this review, the properties of polyphenylene-based materials, so as to maximise their potential as active materials in LEDs or polymer lasers, can be controlled by dehberate synthetic design. By incorporating bridges between some or all of the phenylene units to make ladder or stepladder polymers the effective conjugation length of the polymer may be controlled, while the interactions between the chains and the injection of charges may be regulated by careful selection of substituents. By these means it is possible to minimise interchain interactions, which lead to loss of luminescence... 

The employer needs to make sure that any ladder or stepladder is both suitable for the work task and is in a safe condition before use. Only use ladders or stepladders that ... 

Stepladders, trestles and staging Many of the points above for ladders apply to step-ladders and trestles where stability and over-reaching are the main hazards. Neither of these should be used as a workplace above about 2 m in height unless proper edge protection is provided. 

Ladder work should be restricted to that which can be carried out using one hand only, and stepladder work to that which can be carried out ensuring the stability of the stepladder is maintained. 

A structural compromise between the fully bridged ladder system and the parent polyphenylene are stepladder polyphenylenes in which repeat units, such as fluorene, indenofluorene, or tetrahydropy-... 

Polyfluorenes are sometimes referred to as stepladder poly(przra-phenylene) (PPP) polymers as they have a backbone with a planar, ladder-like structure. The first poly-fluorene LED was made by Yoshino and coworkers using poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene) 16 [50]. 

PFs, PlFs, and poly(ladder-type pentaphenylene)s have methine bridges, and so are structurally related to LPPP 3. Stepladder polymers have also been prepared with other types of bridges. 

The term ladder is generally taken to include stepladders and trestles. The use of ladders for working above ground level is only acceptable for access and work of short duration (Work at Height Regulations 2005). 

A stepladder depends on spreaders and cross-bracing to keep the legs of the ladder in position relative to one... 

Ladders must not be tied or fastened together to create longer sections unless they are specifically designed for such use. A metal spreader or locking device must be provided on each stepladder to hold the front and back sections in an open position when the ladder is being used. Two or more separate ladders used to reach an elevated work area must be offset with a platform or landing between the ladders, except when portable ladders are used to gain access to fixed ladders. 

In general, the types of polymers which have the best thermal properties are aromatic in character (often with recurring heterocyclic units), have low hydrogen content, and often have stepladder or ladder structures. Although there are numerous articles in the literature which deal with the effects of structure on stability within a given class of heat-resistant polymers, only a limited number of publications are to be found which compare the stabilities of different classes of heat-resistant polymers under controlled conditions. From Ehler s TGA studies on different classes of heat-resistant polymers, as well as from other sources, a classification can be made of the effects of structure on heat stability for several classes of compounds. For... 

A metal spreader or locking device shall be provided on each stepladder to hold the front and back sections in an open position when the ladder is being used. 

Cross-bracing on the rear section of stepladders shall not be used for climbing unless the ladders are designed and provided with steps for climbing on both front and rear sections. 

Furthermore, 1926.1053(a)(2) states Ladder rungs, cleats, and steps shall be. .. level... when the ladder is in position for use. Stepladders are typically designed so that the rungs are level when the ladder is in the open and locked position and the ladder is placed on a stable and level surface. Consequently, it is likely that positioning a stepiadder for use as a non-self-supporling ladder would result in the ladder s rungs being out-of-level, which would violate 1926.1053(a)(2). 

Some other common misuses of ladders are sources for injury as well. Leaning a stepladder against a wall or pole in the same manner as a single or extension ladder is an OSHA violation for good reason. The ladder can easily slide down the resting surface, allowing the worker to fall. Ladders should never be tied together in any manner to obtain additional reach. Another common safety violation exists when ladders are used on top of an aerial lift, scissor lift, truck bed, or other elevated surface or device. It is much more efficient to properly plan and select the correct size ladder for the project. 

There are no OSHA construction standards that specifically prohibit an employee from working from a portable stepladder. However, the use of a portable ladder must comply with the Use requirements quoted above. If working from a portable stepladder was inconsistent with any of these provisions, such use would be prohibited. Because of the wide variety of circumstances and ladder designs, it is not possible for us to state, as a general matter, whether working from a portable ladder would be consistent or inconsistent with any of these provisions. 

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