ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Violation Photo Forum I get chills up my back!

Commandment!!!!! Heck, that oughta be our Motto

Some of us have made lots of mistakes. I know this is bad, I've done it.

Well I have even worse news for you. At least here in California not only can you not stand on the top of the ladder (obviously) but you cannot stand on the first step of the ladder. The first step is defined as the first step down on the ladder. So that little three step ladder next to the guy is useless. I am not sure if Fed OSHA is that way, but if anybody is interested I can check on that.

Just found this site a couple of days ago and it is great.

You can see the label on both ladders located on the first step below the top. It says do not stand on or above this step. The guys that work with me ask why don't they just make the ladder two steps shorter. I tried to tell them that if the steps were not there there would be nowhere to put the label. It is hard to work around perfect logic. It would be my guess that some of this logic was the motivation behind the idiot labels in the first place.

looks to me like he was thinking 10' 6'+4'=10'

I have a little finger on the right hand just from this very incident. It hurts ten years later and that is besides the three weeks I was off. At least he wasn't standing on a stack of books sitting in a chair.

Scott's
There is a Cal OSHA exception that allows you to stand on that step...and then the top one!!!(But not in this manner)
Bummer, now you guys are gonna make me find it! Honest, it's heresomewhere

[This message has been edited by electure (edited 02-24-2002).]

electure:

I was wondering if you were able to find the rule you mentioned??

I used to not think much of standing on the top of a ladder until I saw a guy come off of a lift when someone energized the 277V lighting circuit he was working on while standing on the top rail.

Somehow he landed back into the lift but if he hadn't it would have been 30' to concrete !

So there are two major mistakes that could be deadly! Throwing a breaker when you don't know what is going on in the circuit and standing on any of the rails of the lift. (I have been hit because some yahoo throws the breaker on, and I don’t think that I have been more pissed off at a co-worker in my life!)

We also had a guy come through a ceiling last week who had to be taken by helicopter to the hospital. Almost 35’ to concrete! He’s going to be somewhat all right, but who knows when he will be released from the hospital.

Chills up the back is one thing, it’s accidents like this that put the fear of god in me!

Just a note:

It's hard to make anything fool-proof because fools are so ingenius.

Jim

PS I've never done this(on anything taller than say - 12').