Wash. Admin. Code § 296-876-60065 – Protective structures and equipment

Note:

DOSH and federal OSHA plan to phase out the recognition of ladder cages as effective means of fall-protection in the requirements below. New fixed ladders constructed after October 1, 2020, must incorporate ladder safety systems. Employers have until October 1, 2040, to equip preexisting fixed ladders with ladder safety systems/personal fall arrest systems.

(1) You must make sure a cage, well, or ladder safety system is provided if:
1. (a) The length of climb is less than twenty-four feet; and
2. (b) The top of the ladder is more than twenty-four feet above the ground, floor, or roof.

(2) You must make sure a ladder with a single length of climb that is equal to or greater than twenty-four feet is either:

(a) Equipped with a ladder safety device; or

(b) Uses multiple ladder sections and meets all of the following:

(i) Each section is provided with a cage or well.
(ii) The length of climb of any ladder section is not greater than fifty feet.
(iii) Each ladder section is offset from adjacent sections.

(iv) Landing platforms are provided at maximum intervals of fifty feet.

EXEMPTION:

During construction activities, a self-retracting lifeline with landing platforms provided at maximum intervals of one hundred fifty feet may be used instead of a ladder safety device or multiple ladder sections.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060 and chapter 49.17 RCW. WSR 20-09-146, § 296-876-60065, filed 4/21/20, effective 10/1/20; WSR 14-09-095, § 296-876-60065, filed 4/22/14, effective 7/1/14. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060. WSR 06-16-020, § 296-876-60065, filed 7/24/06, effective 12/1/06.]