If you want to complete some DIY home improvement jobs, you will need a good ladder. They are available in lots of different shapes and sizes, but the aluminum ladders are perhaps the most popular of them all. That said, it is important that you don’t assume a ladder is of good quality just because it is aluminum. After all, your safety is on the line and you have to make sure that the ladder meets all the necessary requirements to actually keep your safe.
The reality is that ladders are actually very dangerous devices. Some of that is down to improper use of ladders. However, it may also be because the relevant safety standards and regulations weren’t met, and the ladders should simply not have been sold.
How to Recognize High Quality Aluminum Ladders
As stated, ladders come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They also come in lots of different materials. The reason for this is that different people in different industries have very different requirements. They can be used anywhere, from fire trucks to attics. Ladders can be extended to grow incredibly tall. The result of this is that they must pass the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards.
If the standards that these two organizations provide are not available, then you cannot assume that your ladder is safe to use. In fact, according to the National Safety Council, one of the greatest cause of fall related deaths is unstable ladders. Additionally, they have noted that the way people use ladders, and the way they choose them, contributes to this. What this means is that people simply buy a ladder because they think it is the right one for them, or because it is the most affordable, and use it the wrong way, leading to accidents and even deaths. This has turned out to be particularly problematic with portable ladders, leading to OSHA creating specific regulations for these models.
Two main types of portable ladders exist: the wood models and the metal models. Each of these ladders has to be meet very specific OSHA regulations, which exist independently of each other. Those who manufacture these ladders must meet OSHA’s 29 CFR 1910.25, as well as OSHA’s CFR 1910.26. The first is in relation to wood ladders and focuses on the specific material, the construction requirements, the application, care, and ladder usage. The latter CFR regulation is in relation to metal ladders, including aluminum models.
If you are looking for a new ladder, you need to make sure that it meets the relevant OSHA and ANSI standards, therefore. This will tell you that, if nothing else, your ladder is safe and meets all the relevant standards. Of course, no certification or registration can ever do anything about human error. Unless you commit to using the tools in a safe manner, accidents will happen no matter how well regulated the ladder happens to be.
