On an average day in the UK, there can be as many as two million ladders in use. That includes during winter, when people are putting up or taking down festive decorations, or sorting out emergency plumbing problems. The harsher weather of winter makes ladder safety a much higher priority than it is at any other time of year.

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Picture this: you have everything you need to clean your gutters out, including a brand-new ladder, but disaster strikes! When you set it up, the ladder is too short for you to reach into the gutters. What can you do to solve the problem? Read on to find out.

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In short, the belt buckle rule is a safety rule that says you must keep your belt buckle in between the side rails when using a ladder. Read on to find out more.

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Working at height carries many risks. Using your equipment safely will mitigate most of them, and this includes using your ladder properly.

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When using a ladder to work at height, you must undertake safety inspections before the work can begin.

These safety inspections absolutely must include assessments of the working environment. If you don’t sweep it for hazards, you could end up in very unpleasant situations should an accident occur.

Don’t just take our word for it. Recently in the state of Utah, US, a man fell eight feet from a ladder and was impaled in the back by a metal spike. Ouch! (At the time of writing he is in a stable condition.)

Here in the UK, 40 fatal injuries occurred over 2022-23 as a result of falls from height. This makes it very clear that ladder safety to take seriously!

READ MORE: How Many People Fall Off Ladders Each Year?

No matter how thoroughly you prepare against them, accidents do still happen, so it’s always worth making sure your working environment is as free as possible from hazards. That way, should you or an employee fall from a ladder, there won’t be any collisions with anything harmful.

Potential hazards include:

• Overhead cables
• Objects on the ground like sharp poles, barrels, crates
• Any detritus that may get blown into the ladder during a strong wind
• Other workers – you certainly don’t want to cause injury to anyone else if you fall from a ladder!
• Vehicles either parked nearby or driving past
• Pedestrians

If you have any further questions about ladder safety, or about any of our products, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’ll do our best to help you out.