How to Check if Your Ladders are OSHA Rated Aluminum Ladders

Ladders are a necessary accessory in homes, commercial establishments and buildings, industrial workspaces like factories, and certain outdoor applications like gardening and landscaping. And for these applications, heavy-duty, OSHA rated aluminum ladders are what is generally recommended for two primary reasons: safety and durability. The OSHA factor here is critical as it is that one factor that could save you and your workers from fall accidents that could cause injuries or in worst-case scenarios, death.

OSHA rated heavy duty aluminum ladders

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a part of the United States Department of Labor. Its primary function is to make sure certain workplace tools and equipment meet their standards for the safety of the workers as well as other users.

These standards have been carefully studied and analyzed before implementation to make sure they can effectively reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities in the workplace. With that said, tools and accessories like commercial, industrial, or public-use ladders must be designed and manufactured following these strict OSHA standards. Any commercial establishment, residential building or industrial workplace found in violation of OSHA standards could be legally held liable should a ladder-related accident occur.

How to make sure your ladders are OSHA rated aluminum ladders

If you’re a building contractor, roofing contractor, engineer, architect, specifications writer, interior designer, or industrial plant manager or supervisor, and you’re shopping for OSHA rated heavy duty aluminum ladders, how do you make sure the ladder you’re considering buying is really OSHA-compliant? If you’re not familiar with OSHA standards for ladders, you might not be able to tell right away if the ladder is indeed OSHA-compliant. But the following tips might be able to help you check the ladder’s OSHA compliancy:

1. Brand or manufacturer

If you’re purchasing a ladder for work purposes for the first time, it could be assumed you’re not familiar with ladder brands or manufacturers. When in doubt, go with a manufacturer that has a good reputation in the following areas: high-quality ladders, OSHA compliancy, and customer service. You’d particularly want a manufacturer with excellent customer service as you might need help with installing the ladder, accurately measuring your space, or after-sale support.

2. Popularity

First off, popularity isn’t always a fool-proof way of ensuring the trustworthiness of a manufacturer or brand, and the quality of the product. However, it is a good place to start when searching for OSHA rated heavy duty aluminum ladders that fit your needs and requirements. If you can, try to see what others in your industry are using. Find out what ladder brands other players in your field are using, and how the ladder fares in terms of safety, ease of use, and stability.

3. Internal or third-party quality control check

Last but not the least, quality control check. You can ask your internal quality control specialists to check the ladder’s OSHA compliancy, or you can hire a third-party provider to check the ladder. In either case, these professionals know what they’re looking for in terms of OSHA standards for every product or equipment, so you can rest assured they will be able to tell whether or not your ladder was designed and manufactured following strict OSHA standards.

Alaco Ladder Company OSHA rated aluminum ladders

Alaco Ladder manufactures ladders that follow OSHA and ANSI standards to ensure that every user can safely and comfortably use their ladders. To give you an overview of Alaco’s OSHA compliancy, here are a few of the specific standards that Alaco strictly follows regarding the design and manufacturing of their ladders:

For exterior ladders:

• OSHA standard 1926.1053(a) for weight capacity or intended loads for exterior ladders
• OSHA standard 1926.1053(b) for exterior ladder safety
• OSHA standard 1910.25(b) for roof hatch and mezzanine ladder safety
• OSHA standard 1910.25(d) for ship ladder and spiral stairs headroom, tread depth, and clear width

Further details of Alaco’s OSHA compliancy can be found here.

Alaco Ladder Company is your go-to manufacturer of OSHA-rated ladders for various applications

Are you a general contractor looking for OSHA-rated, heavy-duty ladders? Do you own a roofing company and you’re in need of sturdy and durable roof access ladder or crossover ladder? Please let us know what you need. Our team of experts has worked with building contractors, engineers, specifications writers, architects, designers, and owners of residential and commercial spaces. Whatever you need, we are here to help.

If you have more questions about our heavy-duty OSHA rated aluminum ladders, please feel free to fill out the Contact Form here. You may also reach Alaco Ladder at (888) 310-7040.