Ladder Safety Month Can Help Save Lives and Money

Safety
Published

March is Ladder Safety Month, an annual public awareness campaign presented by the American Ladder Institute (ALI) and sponsored by NAHB. It’s the perfect time to review your safety policies and procedures for using one of the most common — but dangerous — pieces of equipment on a jobsite.

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, approximately 500,000 people are treated and about 300 people die from ladder-related injuries each year. 

Ladders also present a financial risk to home builders as ladder-related violations came in at No. 3 on the list of the most common OSHA violations in 2024. There were more than 2,500 written OSHA violation citations related to ladders in 2024 alone.

Everyone on a home building jobsite knows how to use a ladder, yet injuries keep happening. Why? It’s most likely due to complacency.

It is the general contractor’s job to set the tone for safety on the site, not only among their employees but also for subcontractors. Insisting on a culture of ladder safety on the jobsite can stop avoidable injuries.

Learn more about ladder safety best practices in the video below (handouts available here) or use ALI’s ladder safety resources. But the best way to ensure safety while using ladders is to follow three simple guidelines that we all know:

  1. Select the best ladder for the job, for example, a wide-based step ladder vs. an extendable leaning ladder.
  2. Thoroughly inspect the floor or ground where a ladder will be placed. Ensure that the surface is stable and level; the ladder should not tilt to either side at all.
  3. Always have another person either spotting or actively holding and steadying a ladder when in use, especially extendable ladders reaching heights of over eight feet.

Most ladder injuries are entirely preventable by using the knowledge you already have. Just slow down and use them the right way.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

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

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

BUILD-PAC

Aug 15, 2025

Successful BUILD-PAC Events Raise $140,000

Home builders associations (HBAs) across the United States are raising funds for BUILD-PAC, NAHB's bipartisan political arm, during its 2025-26 cycle. Two recent HBA events raised more than $140,000 combined.

Advocacy

Aug 14, 2025

NAHB Releases New Housing Favorability Assessment for HBAs

Local associations that complete the assessment will learn how their community compares to others and NAHB’s State and Local team will help the association develop a long-term plan to create a favorable housing environment in their community.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Aug 15, 2025

June Single-Family Permits Slumps, Multifamily Gains

Single-family housing permits continued a downhill trend for the sixth month in a row. The continuous decline in single-family permits highlights persistently weak housing demand, tied to affordability challenges like high mortgage rates.

Economics

Aug 15, 2025

Credit Conditions for Builders Tighten

For the fourteenth consecutive quarter, builders and developers reported tighter credit conditions on loans for residential Land Acquisition, Development & Construction (AD&C) in NAHB’s quarterly survey on AD&C Financing.

Economics

Aug 14, 2025

Building Material Prices Rise in July

Prices for residential building materials rose again in July, marking the largest year-over-year increase in over two years. The underlying price growth trend remained the same, with service prices continuing to grow at a faster pace than goods prices. Similar to last month, parts for construction machinery and metal molding/trim experienced significant price growth, as both increased over 25% compared to last year.