Contrary to popular belief, ladders and step ladders are not banned from the workplace, in fact, given the right circumstances, they may well be the safest and most practicable means of gaining access to a place at height or in some circumstances conducting a work activity from.
The HSE working in partnership with the Ladder Association has produced an informative and simple guide to their use.
There are more types of ladders appearing in the market, such as telescopic (Figure 1) and combination ladders (Figure 2). As new pieces of equipment must meet EN131 (Professional) Standards to be used in the workplace, this guidance will give some simple safe to use tips for these types of equipment as well as the more traditional style ladders and stepladders.
The risk control criteria for their selection has not changed: Light duty (low risk) and short duration works (30mins or less).
LA455 replaces the HSE Guidance Document INDG 455 and can be downloaded HERE
