Was the ladder secured, that is the law. If you do a job with out working from the ground eg a pole, a full written risk assesment has to be done for each job, thats the law. Was the ladder numbered & recorded in an inspection book, was it a trade ladder, the list goes on.
Here is the link from How Do They Affect Window Cleaners?
http://www.professionalwindowcleaner.co.uk/wahd.htmlEven before the regulations were published, the consultation document made it clear that they would have a profound impact on window cleaners. There are few other trades where work at height, in particular the use of ladders, plays such an integral part of the working process.
Put simply, the regulations say that if a task can reasonably be done without the need to work at height, then it must be done that way.
They also require that when ladders are used (and a risk assessment must show that work at height was unavoidable) then those ladders must be "secured".The Regulations and Water-Fed Pole Systems
An obvious question that arises is how does the advent of water-fed pole systems affect window cleaners in light of the new regulations? The answer is somewhat complex.
It is now illegal to work at height where a risk assessment would show that it is reasonably practical to complete the task from the safety of the ground.
Its a simple fact that the vast majority of window cleaning work can now be done without the need to work at height by using a water-fed pole system. As using a system is almost always faster (and therefore more efficient) than using ladders, and can clean to greater heights than is possible from ladders, it would be very hard to argue that using a water-fed pole was not "reasonably practical" in the majority of cases.
This takes on a particularly serious dimension for employers who could be prosecuted under the new regulations if their worker has an accident while using ladders for a cleaning task that could have been done with water-fed pole.
The HSE has promised more guidance on what it would consider to be "reasonably practcable" in the context of the regulations, but this has not yet been produced.
All Ladders Must Be "Secured" - What Does That Mean?
Schedule 6 of the regulations require that when ladders are used, they must be "secured", and then goes on to describe specifically how that is to be done.
1)"Securing the Stiles"
For example, tying them using straps or chords to an existing structure (eg scaffolding). This method is not practical for most window cleaning
2)"An effective anti-slip or other effective stability device"
For example a rojak stopper or ladder leveller. More than one device may needed.
3)"Any other arrangement of equivalent effectiveness"
This may include having another person 'foot' the ladder as a last resort
The law and guidence is there for those who want to look, others just make excuses, with a wont happen to me attitude.
the simple fact is its law, we use it , we are safer and earn more money quicker, great, imagine having to do a written risk assesment for every individual job, when using a ladder ?
idealrob