HANDLING OF FIBERGLASS EXTENSION LADDERS IN THE WORK OF TELEPHONE TECHNICIANS

The purpose of this study was to obtain detailed information on the cu rrent ladder handling methods of telephone technicians. Forty-two expe rienced telephone technicians handled their fiberglass extension ladde r on seven sites that were judged representative of actual work condit ions by a joint employer-union committee. Each technician was asked to unload his ladder from the truck he uses in his daily work, to carry the ladder to the installation site, to raise it, and then to perform the reverse maneuver back to the truck. The technicians were asked to use the usual work methods. After completion of the handling activitie s, each technician was interviewed about various aspects of the maneuv er he had just completed and on the usual work methods. In total, 49 r uns were completed and videotaped. An equal number of interviews were conducted on the sites. In one of the runs, a technician caught his la dder in an overhead obstacle. The observations in this study lead to s everal results of practical importance. First, the ladder itself repre sents a risk factor for overexertion injury which cannot be eliminated from the technician's work in the short term but can be reduced throu gh safer work methods. Second, the method currently used by telephone technicians to carry a ladder has many drawbacks which make it hazardo us in the presence of several environmental conditions. Third, the met hod taught to and used by telephone technicians to verify the inclinat ion of the ladder, the so-called Fireman's method, appears to be a ris k factor for sliding-at-the-base accidents. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.