ASSP provides best-fit ladder safety practices focused on women

According to a new article from ASSP, ladder safety programs built around a single “default” worker may overlook differences in workers’ physical characteristics and capabilities.

In the article, author Ronilla Ernest, founder and principal consultant of Safety Leader Institute, LLC explains how these hazards can potentially increase fall and injury risks when equipment and task demands are not appropriately matched.

The article, “Ladder Safety for Women Workers: Integrating Evidence Into Safety Management Systems,” explores how employers can reduce ladder-related risks by building ergonomic ladder selection, capability-based training, and properly fitted PPE into their existing safety management systems.

Ergonomic and biomechanical considerations

Falls remain a leading cause of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs). In 2020, the United States recorded 22,710 workplace ladder injuries and 161 fatalities, according to NIOSH. At the same time, women’s representation in the U.S. construction workforce increased from 9.2% in 2011 to 10.9% in 2022.

“I wanted to examine ladder safety through an ergonomic lens with the straightforward principle of ‘fit the work to the worker,’” Ernest said. “While meeting safety standards and providing training are essential, they are only part of the picture. Safety leaders need to consider whether the equipment, task and work environment are a good fit for the workers who are actually performing the job.”

The article reviews ergonomic and biomechanical research showing that factors such as grip strength, reach, balance recovery, upper-body strength, and PPE fit affect a worker's margin for error on a ladder. It also provides the following recommendations for safety professionals:

• Select ladders by task - Use job hazard analyses (JHAs) and pre-task planning to evaluate reach, duration, load handling, and descent before work begins.
• Set clear escalation triggers - Define when a task should move to a platform ladder, mobile work platform, or scaffold instead of relying on workers to be "extra careful."
• Fit PPE to the workforce - Include size ranges, fit verification, and feedback from women workers in PPE procurement.
• Train for capability, not just rules - Help workers and supervisors recognize when a ladder, task, or PPE reduces the margin for error.
• Track the right data - Monitor leading indicators such as near misses and PPE fit issues, and break down injury data by gender, task, and ladder type where feasible.

While the article focuses on women workers, Ernest notes the same principles protect any worker outside traditional design assumptions, including workers of smaller stature, older workers, and those with reduced grip strength or prior injuries.