Is This Safe?

A damaged ladder should be removed from service immediately.

Is this safe? No.

Take this ladder out of service immediately.

It has significant damage and separation along the side rail, which is the structural part of the ladder.

Don't climb it just because the rungs still feel solid.

Tag it “DO NOT USE” and move it somewhere workers can't grab it and use it anyway.

This was the very ladder that an electrician grabbed out of a storage closet, used, and fell hard. He cracked his head on the tile floor and had to get 16 staples. Not to mention the terrible concussion.

Don't field-fix the rail with screws, wire, tape, clamps, or scrap material either.

If it is going to be repaired rather than discarded, the repair has to restore the ladder to its original design strength.

Until that happens, it stays out of service.

Tag damaged ladders and keep them out of service until properly repaired or replaced.

Is this safe?

What the Rules Say

OSHA is straightforward when it comes to a damaged ladder.

Under 29 CFR 1926.1053(b)(16), a portable ladder with structural defects—including a broken or split side rail or other defective components—must be immediately identified as defective and withdrawn from service until repaired.

OSHA also says that a repair must restore the ladder to a condition meeting its original design criteria before anyone uses it again.

This isn't just theoretical.

OSHA has cited contractors for allowing workers to use ladders with split or damaged side rails, including an A-frame ladder with a split rail and extension ladders with broken or damaged rails.

Sources

• OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1053 — Ladders — see (b)(15), (b)(16), and (b)(18).

• OSHA enforcement example — damaged ladder rails and rungs

Have you seen ladder damage like this on a jobsite? What did you do? Comment below.