Development of Design Interventions for Preventing Falls from Fixed Ladders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Armstrong TJ ; Ashton-Miller J ; Kemp J ; Kim H ; Woolley C ; Young J
• Description:
  Falls are the leading cause of death among construction workers. Dr. Tom Armstrong and researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Ergonomics studied the hand and foot forces while climbing on fixed ladders. The investigators reported that: 1) Most of the bodyweight is supported by the feet (peak foot force ranges from 94 to 100% of body weight). 2) The hands are necessary to stabilize the body and to prevent falling from vertical or near vertical ladders (peak hand forces ranges from 28 to 39% of body weight) 3) Laterally tilted (sideways) ladders are more difficult to climb and require more time than vertical ladders. 4) Maximum reaches to the side of the ladder required sustained lateral hand forces of 34% of body weight. Exertion of force with free hand would significantly increase the force required to hold onto the ladder. 5) Sliding the hands along the rails is less demanding than climbing from rung to rung. 6) Significantly more force can be exerted to support body weight with a round horizontal rung than a round vertical rail; more force can be exerted to support the body weight with a round vertical rail than a rectangular vertical rail. Based on these findings, the investigators offered the following recommendations to help prevent falls: 1) Footwear should be selected that prevents the feet from slipping from a rung 2) Mud or snow should be removed from the feet before climbing 3) Designing rungs with tread plate may increase foot traction, but it will reduce hand traction. If other than round rungs are used, then round vertical rails should be provided 4) Round vertical rails provide maximum hand traction when reaching to the side of the ladder. 5) Workers should avoid hurrying and pay attention to foot placement while climbing 6) Workers should not use their hands to carry tools or equipment while climbing 7) Gloves that interfere with grip because they are stiff or slippery should not be used while climbing. 8) Where possible, vehicles should be parked on level surfaces. Special care should be exercised when climbing on tilted vehicles. 9) Ladders should be tilted forward so that workers do not lose their balance and fall backwards if hand contact is lost. Workers should test their balance before climbing past the first rung. 10) Workers should avoid prolonged lateral reaching and exertion of force to prevent fatigue of the hand holding onto the ladder. They also should sudden exertions that could cause them to lose their grip on the ladder. 11) Workers should not perform tasks from a vertical ladder without a safety harness. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Biomechanical Phenomena Construction Industry Ergonomics Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Biomechanics Construction Industry Construction Workers Equipment Design Fall Protection Falls Footwear Harnesses Ladders
• Publisher:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Michigan ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-46
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058283
• Citation:
  Silver Spring, MD: CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, 2008 Apr; :1-46
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20040801
• Source Full Name:
  Development of design interventions for preventing falls from fixed ladders
• End Date:
  20080630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9917dd93919ab9995f6191feb1ba344d12fe6f9ff2f7f821fb162a17284137ba9e9fd74d4f63f3bad9e5d8b118f524465e08f38ee6c10a3a635188c908bae7c8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221410/cdc_221410_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.87 MB ]