shop-talk
[Top] [All Lists]

Fw: Ladder saftey and Ladder racks for trucks

To: "shop-talk" <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Subject: Fw: Ladder saftey and Ladder racks for trucks
From: "john niolon" <jniolon@bham.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2006 20:34:37 -0500
 Matt,

 Even though you're working as a contractor... I think the cable company
 should give you some guidelines.... types of ladders required, safety
 equipment, and ladder use as far as safety.  OSHA has strict guidelines 
that
 cover both industrial and construction trades and use of ladders.  You can
 check the osha site   www.osha.gov and do a search on 'ladder'   you'll 
find
 plenty

 generally...   Fiberglass only... Karl said it already... you can not use
 aluminum ladders in the proximity of potential electrical shock (which is
 where you will be)

 when buying your ladder, consider (again as Karl said) the heavy duty (Type
 1-A) or super heavy duty (type 1-AA)  you also have to consider the weight
 of you PLUS what you're carrying up the ladder.

 Since you'll be working on cable strung on telephone poles and not always 
in
 city streets you might not have this option.... but usually the safest
 distance to set up a ladder from what it's leaning on is a 1/4 ratio... the
 base should be 1/4 the height away from the wall, tree, pole, cable.
 i.e.... if you're extended 20'.. the base should be 5' away from the wall.

 when you get your ladder up and stable at the bottom... plumb and square to
 what you're climbing against... should mention here... if you're on flat
 concrete... make sure the rubber feet are flat on the concrete and 
secure...
 if you're in hard dirt/gravel ???  I'd kick the feet up and there are
 usually teeth on the edge of the rubber foot that will dig in to the
 dirt/gravel... levelers are nice to have on uneven ground and a top
 stabilizer is also sweet for giving the ladder a wider footprint up high...
 these can be found at big box stores as well as ladder supply stores...
 check out www.wernerladder.com for some more stuff

 make the first trip up the ladder with nothing but a piece of rope or wire
 and secure the ladder at the top... I'll bet most times you'll have it
 leaning against the messenger cable that supports the TV cable... tie it
 securely to that line...

 Keep your hips inside the confines of the ladder legs... this will maintain
 your balance and lower the chances of a fall and the ladder kicking out to
 the side from under you.

 Safety equipment is tough on a ladder... fall protection is difficult to 
rig
 when there is nothing above you to hook to  (need to invent sky hook). 
OSHA
 says you need a full body harness with retractable lanyard ( around 200
 bucks) when you're above 6 feet... but without something substantial to 
hook
 to, it's just extra weight... if you're leaning on messenger cable you 
COULD
 hook onto the messenger... the retractable would stop your fall in about
 24"... will the messenger handle 5-6 times your body weight (estimated 
shock
 in a fall) ??? that's a hard call without a test... and the cable co.
 probably doesn't want strain/fatigue test done on their live 
cable/messenger
 :-)...

 there's probably 'bout a hundred other things to consider... but I'm tired
 of typing

 good luck...be safe

 BTW  can't really help on the ladder rack except to suggest a google on 
"van
 equipment" or 'truck racks"   there are outfits that sell them.  you got 
12'
 of ladder unextended.... that's a little more than I'd want to put on my
 Tahoe cross rails......  maybe Yakima has something substantial.

 John Niolon
 Safety coordinator for
 J.D. Morris Construction Co.




<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>