What you need to know about the new ladder standard

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there are approximately 622,000 cases of reportable work-related accidences occur in the UK each year.

Such accidents often involve ladders. The European Committee for Standardisation therefore recently published the standards EN 131-1 and 2. The guidelines describe new design and test requirements. As of January 2018, ladders used in commercial operations fulfil all criteria for structural stability and load capacity.
 
As new regulations and guidelines are released, companies must understand how the changes will affect them. In the context of the standards EN 131-1 and 2, this can be summarised as follows: the new standard will include a “Professional” category that will replace BS 2037 Class 1, the current standard for industrial and heavy-duty ladders, in addition all leaning ladders that are three metres or longer will have to be equipped with a base stabiliser to ensure stability. Along with stricter test requirements in terms of stile strength and slip-resistance, EN 131-2 also sets out additional regulations for mechanical durability tests and torsion tests.

Other guidelines concern the use of combination ladders as well as the categorisation of access systems. The new regulation will take effect as of 1 January 2018 in the UK and throughout Europe and will affect companies of all industries and sizes. 
 
What is going happen in 2018?
Ladders are ubiquitous in industry and skilled trades and the new standard is intended to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities in the workplace. However, EN 131 does not expressly prohibit the continued use of ladders that are already in use. Commercial users in the UK and Europe, such as companies, skilled workers or public authorities, are merely asked to adhere to the respective workplace regulations. "Companies are currently in somewhat of a grey area. On the one hand, even though EN 131-1 and 2 have already been adopted, ladders made according to the old standard are still allowed to be sold in the UK until October 2020 at the latest, according to BSI Assurance" explained Rainer Üblacker, Head of R&D at ZARGES.

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