Wash. Admin. Code § 296-876-60080 – Ladder safety devices

Notes:	• Requirements for ladder safety devices, also referred to as ladder safety systems, are described below. Ladder safety devices typically consist of a carrier (see definitions in WAC 296-876-099), safety sleeve or carrier/cable/rope grab, lanyard, connectors, and full body harness (typically with frontal d-ring). The requirements below apply to the combination of components in use.
	• Where an employer elects to use automatic self-retracting lifelines (SRL); and the SRL is installed, used, inspected, and maintained consistent with the manufacturer's instructions and terms of use, the SRL would fulfill the employer's ladder safety device obligations.
	• Information related to fall protection requirements (fall arrest requirements, inspection criteria, training requirements, etc.) are found in DOSH's Safety Standards for Fall Protection (chapter 296-880 WAC).

(1) You must make sure ladder safety devices and related support systems meet all of the following:
1. (a) Are capable of withstanding, without failure, the test drop of a five-hundred-pound weight for a free-fall distance of eighteen inches.
2. (b) The device does not require a person to continually hold, push, or pull any part of the device and allows them to have both hands free to grip the ladder.
3. (c) In the event of a fall, the device:
  1. (i) Is activated within two feet; and
  2. (ii) Limits the fall velocity to seven feet per second or less.
4. (d) Uses a connection between the carrier or lifeline and the point of attachment on the full body harness that is not longer than nine inches.
(2) You must make sure ladder safety devices with rigid carriers have mountings that:
1. (a) Are attached at each end of the carrier; and
2. (b) Have intermediate mountings that are all of the following:
  1. (i) Spaced along the entire length of the carrier in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
  2. (ii) Installed within one foot below each splice on the carrier.
  3. (iii) Have a maximum distance between mountings that is twenty-five feet or less.
(3) You must make sure ladder safety devices with flexible carriers have:
1. (a) Mountings that are attached at each end of the carrier; and
2. (b) Cable guides that are spaced at least twenty-five feet, but no further than forty feet, apart along the entire length of the carrier.
(4) You must make sure the design and installation of mountings and cable guides does not reduce the design strength of the ladder.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060 and chapter 49.17 RCW. WSR 20-09-146, § 296-876-60080, filed 4/21/20, effective 10/1/20; WSR 14-09-095, § 296-876-60080, 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, § 296-876-60080, filed 7/24/06, effective 12/1/06.]