Unless you spend a lot of time going up and down ladders during the day, odds are you don’t think much about ladder safety throughout the course of any given week. But would you if you knew that OSHA reports “falls from portable ladders (step, straight, combination and extension) are one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities and injuries?”
Given the nature of our business, we think about ladder safety a lot. In fact, it is a common topic in our weekly company-wide safety meetings. It was in one of those meetings that a team member mentioned a potentially unsafe work environment at a new worksite.
After assessing the facility, it was clear that our tallest extension ladder wouldn’t safely reach the OSHA required three feet above the support surface. In addition, there was not a good location to tie our ladder off once placed on the building. Through some research and reviews, we found an affordable solution to our safety concern – the Ladder Port.
The Ladder Port is a permanently mounted portable ladder/extension ladder receiver. It has hooks for the top step of your ladder to rest on as well as fixed handles that extend over three feet above the top of the roof.
We approached the building owners with our safety concerns as well as a proposed solution and they agreed that installing the Ladder Port would be a welcome addition to their building (and would help increase the buildings value down the road). As you can see below, the Ladder Port has been installed and our team can safely access the roof to perform scheduled preventive maintenance and keep our customer and their employees comfortable all year long.
Over four years without a loss time accident is no accident. Our team’s attention to detail and willingness to speak up about safety concerns paired with the relationships we try to form with our customers will continue to help keep us safe all year long. Thanks to all those involved in making their buildings safe places for us to help keep you comfortable.