by Neil Dixon

Created on: December 13, 2008   Last Updated: December 18, 2008

Christmas is here again and its time to put up the festive lighting. Putting up the holiday lights should be done as safely as possible to avoid those holiday tumbles, so be smart from the start. Ladders can be extremely dangerous if used incorrectly and falls are very common at this time of year. A fall could mean spending Christmas in hospital with multiple injuries or even more serious, you could have a fatal fall.

Before you begin the job of attaching any exterior lighting you should always check the condition of the ladder you are going to use.

Check that the brackets that hold the extended section of the ladder are still solidly mounted and corrosion free. These brackets sit underneath the rung of the extended ladder section and are all that is keeping the ladder up.

Check for wear at the feet of the ladder. Assess whether the feet still appear to have sufficient grip to hold fast when weight is loaded as you climb. Replacement grips can be purchased and are available for all types of ladder.

Check for broken or unstable rungs. A great number of accidents occur when the ladder user falls after stepping onto a damaged rung that either snaps or offers no grip for the soles of the shoes, thus the foot slips from the rung which results in a very nasty fall.

There are many more dangers when using wooden ladders compared with modern aluminium sets. When purchasing ladders it is always advisable to buy aluminium ladders that have been safety tested and kite marked to prove it. Wooden ladders do not have the technological safety benefits of their modern counterparts.

Many wooden style ladders do not have the grips attached to the base that the modern aluminium ladders have fitted as standard. Without good grips at the base of the ladder, the chance of the ladder sliding away from you at the base is greatly increased. This type of incident makes up for the majority of falls when a ladder is in use.

Should you insist on using an old wooden style ladder, always get a responsible third party to foot the ladder. Get them to place their shin tight against the bottom rung as this will stop the ladder from skipping out at the base.

Once you are satisfied that the ladder is safe and fit for purpose there are several key safety factors to check before you begin climbing.

Assess the ground that the ladders are going to sit on. A grass base is always the safest position for ladders because they can be sunk an inch or two below the surface. Ladder users that are unaccompanied should

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>