Free toolbox talk · Fall · 10 min

Ladder Safety — Portable Ladders

Construction and general industry · Ver en español

Talking points

  1. Inspect all rungs and rails before use — set aside any ladder with cracks, loose hardware, bent rails, or missing feet.
  2. Set the base 1 foot out for every 4 feet of height. Secure the top against the structure so it cannot slide or shift.
  3. Maintain three points of contact at all times — two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand.
  4. Never stand on the top two rungs of a stepladder or the top three rungs of an extension ladder.
  5. Face the ladder when climbing — do not lean or reach beyond the side rails. Move the ladder instead of overreaching.

Ask the crew

If you get to a ladder and notice a bent rung, what do you do — and who do you tell?

Standards this talk is built on

A toolbox talk is a short safety briefing. It supports the training a standard requires; it does not replace it.

Run this talk with your crew and keep the record

In Jobsite, workers sign in on their phones in English or Spanish, and you keep who attended, when, and where, with every other talk your crew has had.

Using an AI assistant? Jobsite's free MCP server serves this library, with OSHA rule text, no sign-in: https://jobsitecerts.com/api/mcp/public (/mcp)

Sign-in sheet

Print this page to collect signatures, or run the talk in Jobsite and workers sign in on their phones.

NameSignatureDate

© Jobsite. Free to read aloud, print and use in your own crew's safety meetings. Republishing, reselling or bulk-copying these talks is not permitted.