title: Straight ladder inclined angle in a field environment: the relationship among actual angle, method of set-up and knowledge.
abstract: Ladder inclined angle is a critical factor that could lead to a slip at the base of portable straight ladders, a major cause of falls from heights. Despite several methods established to help workers achieve the recommended 75.5° angle for ladder set-up, it remains unclear if these methods are used in practice. This study explored ladder set-up behaviours in a field environment. Professional installers of a company in the cable and other pay TV industry were observed for ladder set-up at their worksites. The results showed that the actual angles of 265 ladder set-ups by 67 participants averaged 67.3° with a standard deviation of 3.22°. Although all the participants had training on recommended ladder set-up methods, only 3 out of 67 participants applied these methods in their daily work and even they failed to achieve the desired 75.5° angle. Therefore, ladder set-up remains problematic in real-world situations. Practitioner Summary: Professional installers of a cable company were observed for portable straight ladder set-up at their worksites. The ladder inclined angle averaged 67.3° with a standard deviation of 3.22°, while the recommended angle is 75.5°. Only a few participants used the methods that they learned during training in their daily work.
authors.affiliation: a Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety , Hopkinton , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Wen-Ruey
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: a Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety , Hopkinton , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Yueng-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: b Deparrtment of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management , National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu , Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chien-Chi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: c Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering , University of Wisconsin , Madison , WI , USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brunette
authors.affiliation: d National Research Centre for the Working Environment , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fallentin
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004869:Equipment Safety / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D000072799:Stair Climbing / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Ladder set-up; angle measurement; extension ladder; field study