Ergonomic Safety Ladders Promise to Reduce Workplace Accidents and Financial Losses
Ergonomics: The applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort. Also called biotechnology, human engineering, human factors engineering.1
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2014 more than 500,000 ladder-related injuries required medical treatment.2 Some were minor such as cuts, bruises and fractured bones, while more serious injuries included broken backs, concussions and even death. The Centers for Disease Control report that each year nearly 300 people die from ladder-related injuries, and that “the estimated annual cost of ladder injuries in the U.S. is $11 billion, including work loss, medical, legal, liability, and pain and suffering expenses”.3 Among workers who missed work due to occupational ladder accidents, the average case involved lost time of 11 days. Almost one-third of those cases involved missing 31 or more days of work.