Ladder safety

National Ladder Safety Month is observed next month, as it is every March. Begun by the American Ladder Safety Institute (ALI), the event raises awareness about ladder safety and encourages employers and their workers to engage in annual ladder safety training. In industrial settings, ladders and climbing are often integral to certain job functions, so safe practices are critical to success.

ALI’s Ladder Safety Training site offers an organized curriculum, video, and resource libraries, all free. 

Training courses are designed to complement and integrate with an organization’s existing training program. Managers can choose as much or as little as they require; use the entire program wholesale or select a la carte to bolster gaps in their own training. 

After signing up, trainers and training managers can develop a custom dashboard, called a Trainer’s Toolbox, in which they select training and testing, assign them to trainees, and monitor trainee performance and progress on the assignments. These dashboards can track everything from a handful of trainees for smaller organizations all the way up to hundreds for larger enterprises.

Topics covered include single and extension, articulated, mobile, and stepladders, with courses available in English or Spanish. 

These four weeks each year allow ALI to take deep dives into different aspects of ladder safety, narrowing in tightly on one topic each week, to promote safety tips and training. This year’s topics include Week One: Training and Awareness; Week Two: Inspection and Maintenance; Week Three: Stabilization, Setup, and Accessories; and Week Four: Safe Climbing and Positioning.