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Keep Your Ladders Secure!

wendy Rudd March 11, 2021 0
In September last year, disaster nearly struck at Birmingham airport when a step ladder fell from a maintenance truck onto the runway, and was narrowly missed by three landing aircraft.  The stepladder had been loaded into the back of a flatbed truck and secured with a bungee cord; which was stretched so far that it was no longer acting as a suitable method of fastening the ladder. The maintenance crew did not realise the ladder had fallen from their vehicle as they accelerated towards their next job, and it is astounding that no accident arose as a result.  The sharp eyesight and quick thinking of the pilots who noticed the ladder as they descended surely saved lives and prevented serious damage to the aircraft, as it was just next to the centre line of the runway. The second pilot to lan...
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Who Makes Wooden Ladders?

wendy Rudd March 04, 2021 0
For many of us wooden ladders are a thing of the past, nice to use for interior decoration, or for putting in a museum, but not for actually using.  It may not be the easiest thing to find a new wooden ladder, but there are some manufacturers out there still making them.  Wooden or timber ladders are ideal for electrical work as they are non-conductive, and they're environmentally friendly, lasting for decades with proper care, and can be used for firewood or home décor projects when their useful life is over. There's still a small but persistent market for timber ladders and the Health and Safety Executive recognises that they are especially useful for electrical work, and they don't advise against the use of wooden ladders.  BS 1129 is designed to cover wooden ladders, and it should be n...
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Your Duty Of Care On-Site

wendy Rudd February 25, 2021 0
As a construction site owner or manager you have a duty of care to your staff and contractors, but also to trespassers and potential thieves.  This may seem unfair, but the law states that the owner or manager of the site is liable for any person sustaining an injury on a site, whether they are there with permission or not.  Of course, most landlords and site managers take this duty of care very seriously, and take measures to ensure the health and safety of everyone on site at all times. There are many ways that a site owner or manager can ensure health and safety provisions are being met, and these include fall arrest systems for those working at height, chutes and scaffold netting to manage the removal of waste and ensure no objects can fall from height accidentally, and hard hats for s...
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Truck Toolbox And Ladder Combo

wendy Rudd February 18, 2021 0
Big vehicles often come with ladders for access – tankers and transporting vehicles have a ladder that provides access to the top of the vehicle, while camper vans also have a rear-mounted ladder which allows the owner access to the roof storage.  Standalone ladders are also used to access vehicles; our tanker ladders can be wheeled alongside the vehicle to provide access to the top, while our lorry ladders connect with the rear of a lorry to provide easy access in and out of the lorry bed. Large HGVs and tractors also have ladder, but built into the cab to make entering and exiting the vehicle much easier – these vehicles have a very elevated driving position and their sheer size means some form of height access method is needed.  Even some smaller vehicles, like transit vans or 4x4s, hav...
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Stairway To DIY Heaven

wendy Rudd February 11, 2021 0
When it comes to DIY and odd jobs around the house our stepladder is the go-to piece of equipment for most of these jobs.  The deeper treads and platform top on most step ladders makes them ideal for casual and novice users, as they're stable and comfortable to use for long periods of time.  Step ladders also have the advantage of a handrail at the top for extra stability and it's these features that mean that the humble step ladder is part of every homeowner's kit. Projects on the stairs, such as decorating, dusting or replacing light bulbs can be hard to achieve safely as most step ladders don't come with individually adjustable legs.  Without this feature it is impossible to safely set up a ladder on your staircase, and all too often people trying to cut corners or use ladders improperl...
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The Cost Of Complacency

wendy Rudd February 04, 2021 0
Both professional and domestic ladder users can become the victims of a ladder accident, and although professional users, such as tradespeople and builders, may have more experience and training in safe ladder use, this doesn't guarantee that they won't sustain an injury, or worse, in the course of their day. A self-employed joiner from Stoke-on-Trent unfortunately died after falling from a ladder on the property where he was working.  The 37-year-old fell while working up a ladder, and police asked for any witnesses, in particular, a woman who is believed to have been walking in the street at the time, to come forward with any information about the fall.  However, it appears the accident was not directly witnessed by anyone. 17-year-old Justin Lee Smith tragically died in Mississippi in e...
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Ladders In The Home – Form Or Function?

wendy Rudd January 28, 2021 0
If you asked the average person if they had a ladder at home the answer would probably be “yes, I have a step-ladder” or “yes, I have an extension ladder for cleaning out the gutters”.  Not many people would say they have any other type of ladder, except a loft ladder.  The Beckhams, who are not your average family, actually have a ladder in their kitchen. The Beckhams' kitchen ladder is similar to a library ladder in that it is attached to a rail and can be slid along the kitchen units to provide access to the highest cupboards (and we can only assume they have very high ceilings in their home, as a standard house doesn't have the sort of ceilings needed for extra tall units).  This unique piece of kitchen equipment was spotted in an Instagram post on Victoria Beckham's page, showing her ...
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Little Giant Ladders – A Metaphor

wendy Rudd January 21, 2021 0
As we look back over 2020, (and wonder whether 2021 is going to turn out better) it struck us that the Little Giant multipurpose ladders are the perfect metaphor for the changes we have had to make over the last 12 months, and the various roles we have had to take on and manage. Anyone with children is already multi-tasking, being a chauffeur, cook, nurse, counsellor, personal dresser, life coach and more, but in 2020 they also had to be a teacher, careers guidance advisor, relationship coach and more.  Those of us used to coming into the office every day had to get used to working from home, and establishing a routine that was productive.  We also had to become our own tech support, learning how to restart the internet, how to dial into a VPN and how to conduct a video call.  We've also h...
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What Is The Ladder Association?

wendy Rudd January 14, 2021 0
The Ladder Association, formed in 1947, is the UK's leading light on ladder safety, training and innovation.  They advise the Health and Safety Executive about safe ladder use and work with them frequently on any issues related to ladder safety in the workplace.  Members of the association, (which includes us at Midland Ladders as well as manufacturers, distributors, training centres and other ladder related bodies in the UK), can access training, help influence the industry and develop guidance for ladder use, and stay up to date with the latest news in the height access market.Each year the Ladder Association runs a ladder exchange scheme, which offers customers a discount on a new ladder when they swap their old one for an upgrade at participating suppliers.  This runs alongside a month...
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A Fitting Memorial

wendy Rudd January 07, 2021 0
We've written about ladders in sculpture before, inspired by the semi-nomadic community artist Charlie Brouwer, who creates stunning temporary sculptures out of ladders donated by the town he is in at the time.  The idea of borrowing ladders from the community helps reinforce the message of his art, which is that the total is greater than the sum of its parts and that all communities are inter-dependent on the people who make up that community, in order to create a sense of an equal and open society where people help and support each other. This latest ladder inspired sculpture actually has no ladders in it at all, although it is the combined effort of three parties based in the community for which the sculpture is intended.  The sculpture, in Naperville, Illinois, was designed to commemor...
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