Fixed Ladder Fall Protection and Rest Platforms

ScopeThe height test is a threshold comparison and the interesting part is what counts as protection above it. A CAGE IS NOT FALL PROTECTION UNDER THE CURRENT RULE, and that is the finding this exists to surface. Cages were accepted historically and are not accepted on new ladders, for the reason that a cage does not ARREST a fall: it may keep a falling climber roughly within the ladder's plane while they fall the full height inside it. Existing caged ladders are subject to a phase-out, after which a ladder safety system -- a rail or cable with a travelling attachment -- or a personal fall arrest arrangement is required. The cage may stay in place; it simply does not satisfy the requirement, and a facility that reads its caged ladders as protected has a compliance gap it does not know about. REST PLATFORMS BELONG TO THE OLDER PROVISIONS and are a different question from fall protection. They break a long climb into runs so a climber can rest, and whether they are present is part of surveying an existing ladder rather than an alternative to arresting a fall. A ladder with rest platforms and no fall protection is a ladder with rest platforms and no fall protection. THE FACILITY-LEVEL FINDING IS THE USEFUL ONE. A plant with fixed ladders installed under the older rules almost certainly has several in this condition, and they are on a fixed clock: a cage or well without a ladder safety system stops counting as fall protection on November 18, 2036, and any ladder installed or replaced since November 19, 2018 without one is non-compliant now. The action is a survey against the current requirement -- height, existing protection, installation date, dimensional compliance -- and it usually turns up more ladders than expected, because a caged ladder reads as a protected ladder to almost everyone who walks past it. And height is not the only requirement. Rung spacing and diameter, side clearance, the climbing space behind the ladder, the extension above a landing, and the landing platform all carry dimensional requirements a ladder can fail independently, and a ladder compliant when installed may not be under the current rule. This screens entered dimensions against entered thresholds. It builds in only the federal 2018 and 2036 phase-out dates (the threshold and the rest platform interval are entered because they differ between jurisdictions and have changed over time); it does not determine which state or older rule applies, evaluate anchorage adequacy for a personal fall arrest system, check the dimensional requirements above, assess ladder condition, corrosion or attachment, specify a ladder safety system, or address the rescue plan a personal fall arrest arrangement requires. 29 CFR 1910.28 and 1910.23, the applicable state plan, and a qualified person govern.

Formula or tablea height threshold above which fall protection is required (commonly 24 ft), and rest platforms at an entered interval; a CAGE does not satisfy the fall protection requirement on a ladder installed on or after November 19, 2018; one installed before is accepted until November 18, 2036.

Source and editionFixed ladder requirements as 29 CFR 1910.28 structures them. The threshold and the rest platform interval are ENTERED because they differ between jurisdictions and have changed; the federal phase-out dates (cages installed before November 19, 2018 acceptable until November 18, 2036, 1910.28(b)(9)) are built in over time.

Free accessTwo threshold comparisons.

What governsEstimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.

API field namesladder_height_ft, fall_protection_threshold_ft, rest_platform_interval_ft, existing_protection, height_over_threshold_ft, rest_platforms_required, longest_unbroken_climb_ft

• Thresholds are entered they differ between jurisdictions and have changed29 CFR 1910.28 or the state plan
• Height only rung spacing, clearances, climbing space and landing extensions are separate requirements29 CFR 1910.23
• Anchorage not evaluated a personal fall arrest arrangement needs an adequate onea qualified person