Biskit Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 A recent review of risk assessments at our venue has highlighted that we need to be using fibreglass ladders for work involving electrics. We have some lighting positions which can realistically only be accessed by extension ladder for focussing purposes, and we currently have an aluminium one for this purpose. Problem is, we can't seem to find a fibreglass ladder which is to Class 1 Industrial standards... only EN131 (formerly british class 2 - Trade) types. Do Class 1 fibreglass extension ladders exist? If not, what do other people use in this situation? Timber ones are a possibility but they will be very much heavier so we're not keen on that idea. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 If not, what do other people use in this situation?tell em to wind there neck in,if something was live up there it should have taken out the circuit protection,if not id rather grab a live ladder at ground level than a live lantern at the top whilst holding the lx bar,if they insist you do something how about a rubber mat for the ladder to stand on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 +1 for what Hippy said. What risk are they trying to mitigate with this? If there's a real risk of hitting something live with the ladder when you're carrying it about, then I'd wonder exactly what sort of place you've found yourself working in. As for the risk of contacting something live whilst up the ladders, what are they expecting you to come across up there? Surely most of the work you'd do at a lighting bar would be plugging in or unplugging stuff? Besides, if you're going to come into contact with something live on a lighting bar, I'd have thought your biggest risk would be across-the-chest flow of current if you've grabbed the great big earthed metal bar in front of you! e2a: How many people here actually do use a fibreglass ladder for this sort of work? Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Of interest? Claim to be Class One and EN 131 : 1993 http://www.laddersalesdirect.co.uk/professional-trade-ladders-fibreglass-ladders-and-steps-c-312_339.html specifically: http://www.laddersalesdirect.co.uk/section-class-glass-fibre-push-up-extension-ladder-p-708.html?osCsid=75985bd44a37b3f70ed57ca170e6badd Free delivery! At that price I expect a ladder gang to work it... I have a couple of pairs of steps ie the yellow fibre glass types. Excellent for "low" jobs, especially with the proper step cf a round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Allen Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 What about rubber feet ? for your ladder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Of course if its a health and saftey issue were theres no budgetry constraints (yea right,but thats wot the last council H+S bod told me) then something likeTHIS could be the answer,it also overcomes a few other working at hight problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Ye Gods, who is telling you this stuff? Fibreglass ladders were often used by the electricity boards on open cable jobs particularly where metal poles were used but even there things have moved on a bit. If your electrics have been assessed as sufficiently dangerous to justify fibreglass ladders please call HSE and get the place closed today! Right now! Don't delay, I'm serious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 One advantage of fiberglass ladders is that they are lighter, and hence easier to move around, which may mitigate some manual handling issues. But unless you are moving it around regularly for long periods of time, I couldn't say it's worth the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramdram Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Well Stuart I'm not too sure about them being lighter as such. Most of the ones I have seen at Travis Perkins say were not exactly light, especially if there was a pulley on the side. The one I linked to above is 23kg or 50lbs. I'm not sure I could carry that around too much and then raise it and lower it for very long at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The real risk that needs assessing seems to be the competency of the the processes instigated by a Health and Safety controller working outside of their comfort zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 American electricians use (and I believe are required to use) non-metallic ladders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Well Stuart I'm not too sure about them being lighter as such. My experience has more been with smaller sets of steps up to about 8ft or so. I'm not sure how well fiberglass "scales up" to the longer lengths, it may be that there needs to be more material to get enough structural strength. A couple of years ago we were providing PA for a wrestling show. They used fiberglass ladders for their "ladder bout". They managed to break a pair so it wasn't a cheap gimmick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Basically the longer the ladder the heavier the grade of fibreglass, the less the weight savings, as Stuart suggests. I'm with Paul and would strongly suggest mentioning ERICPD to the risk assessor as glass ladders are way down the hierarchy and if you seriously need them you seriously need more primary safety measures. One nice thing about fibreglass ladders is that they do provide excellent pole-vault training and if, like me, you cannot abide "whippy" ladders then they aren't much cop. We had an extra long set and I used them twice before losing the key to their padlock down a drain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 American electricians use (and I believe are required to use) non-metallic ladders. Just out of curiosity, can you remember if the requirement is for fiberglass ladders, or are wooden ones acceptable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 The nearest I could find was OSHA Instruction STD 1-16.7 JUL 1, 1991 Directorate of Compliance Programs, Subject: Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices--Inspection Procedures and Interpretive Guidelines, which requires:7. Portable Ladders. Such ladders may not have conductive siderails in situations where the employee or the ladder could contact exposed energized parts. All ladders shall be in compliance with requirements of the standards found elsewhere in Part 1910. But my observation is that American elctricians generally use all-insulated step-ladders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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