Inspecting and maintaining your ladders

Inspecting and maintaining your equipment can play a vital role in ensuring your safety when working at height. Before any equipment is used you should carry out pre-checks to search for any obvious ladder defects. If you notice any defects or potential hazards on your equipment, do not use it!

By Ladderstore

If you notice any defects what so ever, this could compromise your safety and under no circumstances should the equipment be used. It is not always necessary to purchase new equipment, a spare may be all you need for example, if the feet are missing, worn or damaged.

As well as pre-checks, regular detailed ladder inspections should be carried out every three to six months. Businesses ladder inspection records are legally required to be made available to a health and safety officer when required.

When carrying out a pre-check ensure that you take a look at:

• The stiles - If the stiles appear to be bent or split this could cause the ladder to collapse.• The feet - If the feet are missing, worn or damaged the risk of the ladder slipping increases.• The rungs - If the rungs are bent, missing or loose the chance of falling again increases, as the ladder can easily become unstable.• The locking bars - If you are using a stepladder you should check the locking bars and ensure that they are not bent and the fixings are not worn or damaged.• The platform - If you are using a platform stepladder you also need to check the platform for any defects, such as the platform being split or buckled.