29 Cfr 1910.26

Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Labor
(iv) Ladders shall not be placed in
front of doors opening toward the ladder unless the door is blocked upon,
locked, or guarded;
(v) Ladders shall not be placed on
boxes, barrels, or other unstable bases
to obtain additional height;
(vi)–(vii) [Reserved]
(viii) Ladders with broken or missing
steps, rungs, or cleats, broken side
rails, or other faulty equipment shall
not be used; improvised repairs shall
not be made;
(ix) Short ladders shall not be spliced
together to provide long sections;
(x) Ladders made by fastening cleats
across a single rail shall not be used;
(xi) Ladders shall not be used as
guys, braces, or skids, or for other than
their intended purposes;
(xii) Tops of the ordinary types of
stepladders shall not be used as steps;
(xiii) On two-section extension ladders the minimum overlap for the two
sections in use shall be as follows:
Overlap
(feet)

Size of ladder (feet)

cprice-sewell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with CFR

Up to and including 36 ........................................
Over 36 up to and including 48 ...........................
Over 48 up to and including 60 ...........................

3
4
5

(xiv) Portable rung ladders with reinforced rails (see paragraphs (c)(3) (ii)(c)
and (iii)(d) this section) shall be used
only with the metal reinforcement on
the under side;
(xv) No ladder should be used to gain
access to a roof unless the top of the
ladder shall extend at least 3 feet above
the point of support, at eave, gutter, or
roofline;
(xvi) [Reserved]
(xvii) Middle and top sections of sectional or window cleaner’s ladders
should not be used for bottom section
unless the user equips them with safety
shoes;
(xviii) [Reserved]
(xix) The user should equip all portable rung ladders with nonslip bases
when there is a hazard of slipping. Nonslip bases are not intended as a substitute for care in safely placing, lashing, or holding a ladder that is being
used upon oily, metal, concrete, or slippery surfaces;

§ 1910.26

(xx) The bracing on the back legs of
step ladders is designed solely for increasing stability and not for climbing.
[39 FR 23502, June 27, 1974, as amended at 43
FR 49744, Oct. 24, 1978; 49 FR 5321, Feb. 10,
1984]

§ 1910.26

Portable metal ladders.

(a) Requirements—(1) General. Specific
design and construction requirements
are not part of this section because of
the wide variety of metals and design
possibilities. However, the design shall
be such as to produce a ladder without
structural defects or accident hazards
such as sharp edges, burrs, etc. The
metal selected shall be of sufficient
strength to meet the test requirements, and shall be protected against
corrosion unless inherently corrosionresistant.
(i)–(ii) [Reserved]
(iii) The spacing of rungs or steps
shall be on 12-inch centers.
(iv) [Reserved]
(v) Rungs and steps shall be corrugated, knurled, dimpled, coated with
skid-resistant material, or otherwise
treated to minimize the possibility of
slipping.
(2) General specifications—straight and
extension ladders. (i) The minimum
width between side rails of a straight
ladder or any section of an extension
ladder shall be 12 inches.
(ii) The length of single ladders or individual sections of ladders shall not
exceed 30 feet. Two-section ladders
shall not exceed 48 feet in length and
over two-section ladders shall not exceed 60 feet in length.
(iii) Based on the nominal length of
the ladder, each section of a multisection ladder shall overlap the adjacent
section by at least the number of feet
stated in the following:
Overlap
(feet)

Normal length of ladder (feet)
Up to and including 36 ........................................
Over 36, up to and including 48 ..........................
Over 48, up to 60 ................................................

(iv) Extension ladders shall be
equipped with positive stops which will
insure the overlap specified in the
table above.
(3) General specifications—step ladders.
(i)–(ii) [Reserved]

123

VerDate Nov<24>2008

13:35 Aug 19, 2009

Jkt 217113

PO 00000

Frm 00133

Fmt 8010

3
4
5

Sfmt 8010

Y:\SGML\217113.XXX

217113

cprice-sewell on DSKDVH8Z91PROD with CFR

§ 1910.27

29 CFR Ch. XVII (7–1–09 Edition)

(iii) The length of a stepladder is
measured by the length of the front
rail. To be classified as a standard
length ladder, the measured length
shall be within plus or minus one-half
inch of the specified length. Stepladders shall not exceed 20 feet in
length.
(iv)–(vi) [Reserved]
(vii) The bottoms of the four rails are
to be supplied with insulating nonslip
material for the safety of the user.
(viii) A metal spreader or locking device of sufficient size and strength to
securely hold the front and back sections in the open position shall be a
component of each stepladder. The
spreader shall have all sharp points or
edges covered or removed to protect
the user.
(4) General specifications—trestles and
extension trestle ladders. (i) Trestle ladders or extension sections or base sections of extension trestle ladders shall
be not more than 20 feet in length.
(ii) [Reserved]
(5) General specifications—platform ladders. (i) The length of a platform ladder
shall not exceed 20 feet. The length of
a platform ladder shall be measured
along the front rail from the floor to
the platform.
(ii) [Reserved]
(b) [Reserved]
(c) Care and maintenance of ladders—
(1) General. To get maximum serviceability, safety, and to eliminate unnecessary damage of equipment, good safe
practices in the use and care of ladder
equipment must be employed by the
users.
The following rules and regulations
are essential to the life of the equipment and the safety of the user.
(2) Care of ladders.
(i)–(iii) [Reserved]
(iv) Ladders must be maintained in
good usable condition at all times.
(v) [Reserved]
(vi) If a ladder is involved in any of
the following, immediate inspection is
necessary:
(a) If ladders tip over, inspect ladder
for side rails dents or bends, or excessively dented rungs; check all rung-toside-rail connections; check hardware
connections; check rivets for shear.
(b)–(c) [Reserved]

(d) If ladders are exposed to oil and
grease, equipment should be cleaned of
oil, grease, or slippery materials. This
can easily be done with a solvent or
steam cleaning.
(vii) Ladders having defects are to be
marked and taken out of service until
repaired by either maintenance department or the manufacturer.
(3) Use of ladders. (i). A simple rule
for setting up a ladder at the proper
angle is to place the base a distance
from the vertical wall equal to onefourth the working length of the ladder.
(ii) Portable ladders are designed as a
one-man working ladder based on a 200pound load.
(iii) The ladder base section must be
placed with a secure footing.
(iv) The top of the ladder must be
placed with the two rails supported,
unless equipped with a single support
attachment.
(v) When ascending or descending,
the climber must face the ladder.
(vi) Ladders must not be tied or fastened together to provide longer sections. They must be equipped with the
hardware fittings necessary if the manufacturer endorses extended uses.
(vii) Ladders should not be used as a
brace, skid, guy or gin pole, gangway,
or for other uses than that for which
they were intended, unless specifically
recommended for use by the manufacturer.
(viii) See § 1910.333(c) for work practices to be used when work is performed on or near electric circuits.
[39 FR 23502, June 27, 1974, as amended at 43
FR 49745, Oct. 24, 1978; 49 FR 5321, Feb. 10,
1984; 55 FR 32014, Aug. 6, 1990]

§ 1910.27

Fixed ladders.

(a) Design requirements—(1) Design
considerations. All ladders, appurtenances, and fastenings shall be designed to meet the following load requirements:
(i) The minimum design live load
shall be a single concentrated load of
200 pounds.
(ii) The number and position of additional concentrated live-load units of
200 pounds each as determined from anticipated usage of the ladder shall be
considered in the design.

124

VerDate Nov<24>2008

13:35 Aug 19, 2009

Jkt 217113

PO 00000

Frm 00134

Fmt 8010

Sfmt 8010

Y:\SGML\217113.XXX

217113