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

Advocacy

Aug 01, 2025

Meet at Home with Your Members of Congress

NAHB members across the nation can build on the success of the June Legislative Conference by meeting with their lawmakers in their home districts in August to discuss key issues that affect the home building industry.

Sponsored Content

Jul 31, 2025

How Home Builders Beat the Labor Crunch with This Fast Financing Plan

Struggling to secure labor can force builders to make tough decisions: Do you delay a project? Sacrifice profits? Or turn down new opportunities? But smart builders don’t just react — they adapt their financing strategy to meet labor challenges head-on.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 31, 2025

Personal Income Rises 0.3% in June

Personal income increased by 0.3% in June, following a 0.4% dip in May, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The gains in personal income were largely driven by higher wages and social benefits.

Economics

Jul 31, 2025

Housing Share of GDP: Second Quarter 2025

Housing’s share of the economy registered 16.3% in the second quarter of 2025, according to the advance estimate of GDP produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This reading is unchanged from a revised level of 16.3% in the first quarter and is the same as the share one year ago.

Economics

Jul 30, 2025

Fed Remains on Pause Again

At the conclusion of its July meeting, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee once again held the federal funds rate constant at a top rate of 4.5%. However, two members of the committee dissented from the decision (Fed Board Governors Waller and Bowman), the largest number of dissenting votes since 1993.