The complexities of cleanroom management can occasionally lead engineers and safety professionals to overlook some of the simplest, but crucially important, elements of workplace safety. In fact, ladder safety is a perennial resident on OSHA’s top 10 most-cited safety violations list. March is National Ladder Safety Month, so the beginning of the year is a perfect time to evaluate ladder use in your cleanroom or other controlled environment.

The first defense against improper ladder use is to define standard procedures including anyone who might need a ladder and should be trained on proper usage.

Choose the right ladder for the workplace in terms of style, height, and load capacity.

Finally, always use common sense when climbing. 

This cleanroom tip was contributed by Chris Filardi, Vice President of Marketing with Werner Co. of Greenville, Pa. www.wernerco.com