General: Simple and sensible precautions should be taken to keep individuals safe when using ladders or stepladders in the workplace. Ladders and stepladders are covered in the General Safety Regulations. Regulation 13A covers the basic requirements when using ladders and must be read in their entirety before being implemented. This is to avoid any misunderstanding or misapplication of the contents. Fixed ladders do not fall within the scope of this GPN as the requirements and standards are not similar to those of portable ladders. These guidelines have been provided for further guidance on what should be done before deciding if a ladder is the correct piece of equipment for a particular task for work at height. Employers must ensure that any ladder or stepladder used is both suitable for the task, and in a safe condition before use. As a guide, only use ladders that: •Have no visible defects. •Have an up-to-date record of the detailed visual inspections carried out regularly by a competent person. These should be done in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Ladders that are part of a scaffold system still have to be inspected every seven days as part of the scaffold inspection requirements. •Are suitable for the intended use, (i.e., are strong and robust enough for the job and conform to the correct manufacturing standard) •Have been maintained, serviced and stored in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Unsafe Ladders: The concern of substandard ladders being sold has been a problem for many years. Some of these ladders are produced locally, the majority sold in chain stores are imports. Although many are marked ‘EN131’ (a mistake in itself) or have a CE sticker on them (also an incorrect label), they are not compliant, nor have they been tested against the relevant part of EN 131 or SANS 50131. Recommendation: •Any ladder with a CE or EN131 label should be avoided unless accompanied with proper markings as per SANS 50131-3 . •Contact manufacturers directly and ask if they manufacture according to SANS50131, if they say yes, ask for proof of such. •Very few compliant ladders are being sold in retail stores which usually stock the cheapest ladders, and often sell ladders for domestic use, i.e., 90kg SWL which are then wrongly used for commercial or industrial use. For commercial or industrial use, choose ladders upwards of 115kg SWL. •Ladders for commercial or industrial use should be purchased directly from the manufacturer. •When buying ladders, especially for commercial/industrial use, check the local manufacturers for compliance (and proof thereof) before buying. Most of the non-compliant ladders are imports (but not all), usually these have a dark orange/brown sticker saying “EN131”. In the case of multi-hinged ladders they’re usually wrapped in plastic. Locally produced ladders that are not compliant also have labels, such as “EN131”. Neither this label, nor the one mentioned above are proper labels which comply with EN requirements. •Also seen on these ladders is a CE label. Again, this label doesn’t comply with CE requirements. •Only SABS tested ladders are allowed to have the SABS logo on the product. •SANS 50131 applies to ALL makes of ladders. Note: Verification of the compliance of the ladders is of the utmost importance and training employees is required to ensure the safe use and correct inspection of ladders. Links: https://store.sabs.co.za/ Institute for Work at Height
