[steven ainger]

in my town is a big respectable painter firm and all their vans have triple ladders on them,looks like they use them a lot judging by the paint splashes on them.

Could be were they spilt the paint on the way down !!

[Nathanael Jones]

in my town is a big respectable painter firm and all their vans have triple ladders on them,looks like they use them a lot judging by the paint splashes on them.

Painters have no practicable alternative to ladders - window cleaners do! That's the whole basis of this law, NOT banning ladders completely, but banning their use when there is an alternative,.. you're allowed to use ladders if there is no practicable alternative, but where one exists you are breaking the law if you use ladders.

Its up to the individual to decide what is "practicable", but if there is an accident you may need to defend your decision in court,... access issues, wfp costs etc are all real factors in this & if there ever was an accident where a newbie cleaner who's been in the business only 6 months ended up in court over ladder use, I'm confident the "I couldn't afford WFP" excuse would be valid. If you're in the business years then I doubt the same argument would carry much weight.

The law is clear - read back a few pages where I quoted the actual text - & I have heard of companies being prosecuted for ladder use after avoidable accidents/injuries occurred.

[steven ainger]

Ive always thought that painters should use tower scaffolding when painting, but i rarely see them using this method.