According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ladder deaths accounted for 161 on-the-job fatalities in 2020, the most recent year for which statistics are available. That same year, there were 22,710 ladder-related workplace injuries.
March is National Ladder Safety Month, spearheaded by the American Ladder Institute (ALI). In its seventh year, the organization focuses on four key themes during the month:
- Week One – Choosing your ladder
- Week Two – Safety before the first step (inspection and setup)
- Week Three – Safety while climbing
- Week Four – Safety at the top
ALI’s Ladder Safety Training site, LadderSafetyTraining.org/, offers an organized curriculum, a video and resource library and free registration.
ALI’s goals for National Ladder Safety Month are to decrease the number of ladder-related injuries and lower the rankings of ladder-related safety citations on OSHA’s yearly “Top 10 Citations List” and more.
