Make Training a Priority During Ladder Safety Month

Safety
Published

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.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Economics | Indices

Jul 17, 2025

Builder Confidence Edges Up in July

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes was 33 in July, up one point from June, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Builder sentiment has now been in negative territory for 15 consecutive months.

Economics | Material Costs

Jul 16, 2025

Inflation Picks Up as Tariffs Take Hold

Inflation rose to a four-month high in June as consumer prices began to reflect tariff policy.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 17, 2025

Builder Confidence Edges Up in July

Builder confidence for future sales expectations received a slight boost in July with the extension of the 2017 tax cuts, but elevated interest rates and economic and policy uncertainty continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector.

Economics

Jul 16, 2025

Producer Prices for Metals and Equipment Show Large Increases

Residential building material prices rose in June, driven primarily by higher construction machinery and equipment part prices. Metal commodities also experienced significant increases, following recently implemented tariffs on steel and aluminum. Meanwhile, price growth for services used in construction continues to outpace both domestic and imported goods.

Economics

Jul 16, 2025

Permits Fall in May 2025

Housing permits continued a downhill trend for the fifth month in a row, pointing to a broader residential construction slowdown for 2025. This slowdown is attributed to factors like higher mortgage rates, tariff concerns, and challenges about future housing demand due to economic uncertainty.