Ladder cages have not been fall protection compliant since late 2018, but Safe Climber has a solution that attaches to any fixed ladder!
In mid-November of 2018, OSHA issued regulation 1910.28(b)(9), which requires general industry employers to provide fall protection on fixed ladders of 24 feet or taller installed on or after November 19, 2018. Before the new regulation, a ladder cage was sufficient for ladder fall protection, but no longer. Explore all the implications of this regulation and the solutions Safe Climber has to comply with this regulation.
The Issue With Ladder Cages
Before the new regulation, OSHA utilized the Construction Standard, 1926.1053(a)(18), which required devices like cages, wells, ladder safety devices, or self-retracting lifelines for when workers were on fixed ladders of 24 feet or taller. Before November 2018, ladder cages were an accepted fall protection device, but since were identified as a poor solution for fall protection.
Ladder cages do not actively prevent falls but instead create the potential for further damage. Workers could hit their heads or other body parts while falling or become entangled in the cage structure, which resulted in injuries and lost limbs. Ladder cages do very little to prevent falls or save a worker who has fallen, so OSHA added the new regulation to make ladders safer.
The Safe Climber solution to the new regulation is our vertical ladder solutions which are compliant and offer a higher potential for safety to workers. Our Stainless Steel Cable Ladder System features a vertical aluminum alloy guide rail that supports a guided-type fall arrest trolley. A worker is attached to a trolley and rail with an auto-locking steel carabiner. If the worker falls, the built-in shock absorption feature will lock and prevent the fall. Similarly, our Aluminum Rail Ladder System utilizes a vertical anchorage line made of stainless steel wire rope that arrests falls in the same manner.
Safe Climber ladder systems pair well with Safe Keeper harnesses and additional components of a personal fall protection system to ensure the safety of workers while working at heights.
