• Ladder safety systems offer fall protection for workers using fixed ladders.
• OSHA defines the required specifications for ladder safety systems.

A ladder safety system is a fall protection option permanently attached to a fixed ladder and is immediately adjacent to the ladder. The system must be designed to eliminate or reduce the possibility of falling from a ladder. The ladder safety system is made up of two parts:

• The carrier, also called a lifeline, which is a rigid or flexible track attached to or adjacent to the fixed ladder, and
• A safety sleeve, which is a moving component that travels on the carrier.

A ladder safety system allows employees to climb up and down using both hands. It must not require the employee to continuously hold, push, or pull any part of the system while climbing.

Additional requirements include:

• The connection between the carrier/lifeline and point of attachment to the body harness or belt cannot exceed 9 inches;
• Mountings for the rigid carriers are attached at each end of the carrier, with intermediate mountings spaced, as necessary. This will provide the system the strength to stop a worker falling;
• Mountings for flexible carriers are attached at each end of the carrier and cable guides and are installed at least 25 feet apart along the entire length of the carrier;
• The design and installation of the mountings and cable guides must not reduce the design strength of the ladder; and
• The ladder safety system and any support systems must be capable of withstanding, without failure, a drop test consisting of an 18-inch drop of a 500-pound weight.