Make Training a Priority During Ladder Safety Month

The fifth annual Ladder Safety Month, presented by the American Ladder Institute, begins on Monday, March 1. As spring building season kicks off, home builders should use this month to refresh their training on ladder safety.

Ladder accidents account for a huge percentage of home building jobsite injuries and OSHA citations. An estimated 81% of construction site fall injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms involve a ladder. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 500,000 people are treated and about 300 people die from ladder-related injuries each year. The estimated annual cost of ladder injuries in the United States is $24 billion, including work loss, medical, legal, liability, and pain and suffering expenses.

Safety training on the proper use of ladders should be a top priority for home builders. Everyone on a jobsite knows the appropriate way to use a ladder, but with tight deadlines and now social distancing concerns, many don’t take the time to put safety first.

Training and Resources

The American Ladder Institute and its Ladder Safety Month partners are holding numerous training sessions and webinars during March. NAHB is also hosting a free webinar on March 31 focused on ladder safety with live simulations of proper ladder usage and a Q&A session. Dave Francis, National Safety Director for Little Giant Ladder, will be the featured speaker. Registration details will be available soon.

In addition, NAHB has numerous free materials for members to use in safety training programs for both onboarding and refreshers. Watch the ladder safety video below and visit the ladder safety page on nahb.org for the video and other materials in Spanish and English. And be on the lookout for more ladder safety resources forthcoming in March.

Ladder safety is a critical area for home builders to get right. Let’s do all we can to promote the proper use of ladders on the jobsite.