Before setting crew hours for ladder access, check foot placement, ladder angle, landing extension, and power line clearance.
Key takeaways
- Measure the working length below the top support before calculating foot distance.
- Include the angle check and ladder carry in setup time.
- Confirm landing extension and clearance at each access point.
- Mark unmeasured setup assumptions as provisional.
A ladder placed at the wrong angle, extended to the wrong height, or set too close to a line changes how the work gets done, and those changes do not show up on an estimate unless someone planned for them. Before you set crew hours, pin down the ladder figures the setup has to meet.
This post covers four of those figures. Each comes from a published safety source and applies only within the scope that source gives it. None is a time standard, so the minutes in your estimate still come from your own method, crew size, and experience. Use the list as a checklist to confirm against the project's safety plan, the ladder manufacturer's instructions, and the rules that govern the job.
Setup checks are easiest to skip when hours are set before the site is fully known. A line built on a measured figure is easier to defend in review than one built on memory, and easier to update when the site changes.
Place the ladder feet at 1/4 of the working length
The CCOHS extension ladder page says to place the ladder feet so that the horizontal distance between the feet and the top support is 1/4 of the working length of the ladder. The same page defines the working length as the distance along the side rail from the top support to the bottom of the ladder.
The foot distance depends on the working length, and the working length depends on the ladder the crew brings and where its top rests. Before you set hours, find out which ladder will be used and where the top support sits. If nobody on the project can answer those questions, the setup line is a guess and should be labeled that way.
Work out the working length from the actual ladder and support point, then write the foot distance beside the setup line. That gives the crew a target for the base and gives you a way to check the setup later. A foot distance is horizontal, not a height. Height is handled by the landing figure later in this post.
When a task has several support points at different heights, each gives its own working length and foot distance. Write each as a separate line rather than averaging them, since an average hides the setup that needs the most room at the base. Note the date and source of each measurement too. A figure taken from a drawing shows where the support was meant to be, so measure on site where you can. A support point or ladder can change between the estimate and setup day.
Illustrative example: calculate the foot distance
For an illustrative working length of 20 feet, divide 20 by 4 to get a horizontal foot distance of 5 feet. This calculation uses the length along the side rail below the top support. Extra ladder length above that same support does not itself increase this distance. Record the calculation beside the setup line, then check the rest of the setup before assigning hours.
Set the ladder at a 75 degree angle from the ground
The CCOHS extension ladder page states that the ladder will be leaning at a 75 degree angle from the ground. The page gives this angle separately from the foot distance, so treat the two as separate checks.
For an estimator, the angle is a condition the crew has to reach and confirm during setup. Ask the foreman how the crew will check it, and include that check in the setup time. Check the angle and the foot distance together in the same step, since they describe the same setup. Checking one at the start and the other at the end leaves room for the setup to drift from the plan.
If the planned foot distance and angle do not fit the support point you have, the plan has to change before the crew starts. Options include a different ladder length, a different support point, or a different access method. Each option requires reassessing the setup. Ask about the ground at each base position too, since the angle depends on where the base actually sits.
Extend the ladder at least 1 m (3 ft) above a landing
For access to an elevated work surface, the CCOHS extension ladder page says to erect ladders so that a minimum of 1 m (3 ft) extends above a landing platform. The word minimum sets the least extension.
This figure affects the ladder length you choose. Choose the length and base position together, and show the assumed length on the estimate.
Confirm the landing height and the length needed above it before picking a ladder. If the crew has to carry the ladder along a stair, through a hatch, or down a corridor to reach the base, include that carry in the setup time. Setup time covers the moves that get the ladder to the base and the checks made once it is in place, not only the placement itself.
If the landing is reached from more than one side, note each approach separately, because each may need a different length or base position.
Keep ladders at least 10 feet from power lines
The CCOHS extension ladder page says to keep ladders and other tools at least 10 feet away from power lines.
Clearance affects setup in a practical way. A position near a line may need to move, and a move can change the base position, the angle, and the landing extension all at once. Note on the estimate where lines sit near each access point, so the foreman can see which setups need a different plan before the crew arrives.
Take those questions to the site's electrical contacts and safety lead before the setup is scheduled. Confirm clearance before accepting the proposed position. Because the same sentence covers other tools, the setup line should also show where those tools are staged. For related planning, see the site storage checks.
Mark any setup line without measured figures as provisional
Mark any setup line that lacks a measured working length, angle, landing height, or clearance as provisional. An unmarked guess looks the same as a measured figure once the estimate is final, and the crew may not know which lines to check on site. Ask the team to fill in each blank before hours are approved, or label the line provisional so it is revisited.
These figures do not set an estimating format, so use your company's own practice for layout and these figures for content.
A simple test helps. For each setup line, ask whether someone could show you the working length, foot distance, angle, landing height, and clearance from the site itself. If the answer is no for any of them, hold the line until the missing figure is found, then price it.
Record who gave each figure on the estimate. If the foreman gave the support height and the safety lead gave the line clearance, name both, so the source of each number is clear later. When a setup changes on the day, that name tells you whom to ask whether the change affects the figure.
Ladder use appears on a commonly violated list in Oregon
The Oregon OSHA construction page names requirements for use of ladders [1926.1053(b)] among its most violated construction rules, almost every year. The same list includes general fall protection requirements, documentation of safety committee meetings, and the written hazard communication program.
The same page says its Division 3, Subdivision M section on fall protection highlights fall protection requirements for work on ladders and scaffolds. For estimating, that means the setup line should account for any fall protection checks that apply, not only the ladder itself.
The page describes Oregon rules only. Use it to know where to look in Oregon, and do not carry it into other states without checking their own rules.
If you work in Oregon, put the page's name and the rule number on the estimate next to the affected lines so each check can be traced. Elsewhere, leave those rule numbers out unless the rules for your job name them.
The list is also a reason to keep setup checks written down. A line that says "check the ladder" gives the crew nothing to confirm. A line that names the working length, the angle, and the landing extension gives the crew a specific check before climbing, and gives you a record to compare against if the work is reviewed later. The related ladder safety checks for a site estimate can help organize that review.
Devices and equipment the employer requires
The rule in WAC 296-155-105(3), which applies in Washington, says employees must apply the principles of accident prevention in their daily work and must use proper safety devices and protective equipment as required by their employment or employer.
For estimating, the crew's daily work includes using the devices and equipment the employer requires, so the setup line should cover the time to set them up. Ask the employer which devices it requires for the task and write the answer on the estimate. The rule ties that duty to the principles of accident prevention, so the device check belongs in the work itself, not in a separate paperwork step.
A crew working in another state should check that state's own rules rather than assume this wording covers the job. Name the state the rule came from on the estimate, so a reader can see which rule the device time is based on.
Check the portable ladder standard before final hours are set
The CCOHS extension ladder page refers readers to the CSA Z11-18 (R2022) Portable Ladders standard, or the most current version, for more requirements.
The four figures in this post are a starting point, not the full set, because the page points to the standard for more. Before final hours are set, get the standard, confirm that the version on file is the most current one, and compare its requirements against each setup line. If it adds a requirement that changes a setup, add the change to the estimate with a note on the affected line.
Read the standard against the setup lines rather than the whole job. Pick each ladder type on the estimate, find what the standard says about it, and note the result beside that line. This keeps the review focused and easy for the next estimator to follow.
Getting the standard is a cost too. If the company does not already hold a copy, add procurement to the schedule before the estimate is final. Finding out on site whether a requirement applies is the gap this post is trying to close.
Put each figure on its own line in the estimate
Each of the four figures should get its own line in the crew-hours estimate, with the assumption written beside it. A useful line names the ladder, the working length, the foot distance it implies, the angle, the landing extension, and the power line clearance. Where the Washington and Oregon rules apply, add the device and fall protection checks they bring into the setup.
Once the crew is on site, compare what is there against each line. If the support point is lower than planned, the working length changes, and the foot distance changes with it. If a line is closer than planned, the access point may need to move. Either change can alter the hours, so update the estimate before the next setup rather than absorbing the change in a later line where nobody will see it.
The four figures are simple to state and easy to skip. Written into the estimate, each one becomes a decision the team can see, question, and change before anyone climbs.
Read the four figures together before pricing
Read the four figures together, because a change to one can change the others. Moving the base requires checking the angle again. The landing extension sets how long the ladder must be, and the clearance from power lines limits how close the base can sit to a line. None of these figures stands alone on a real job.
For that reason, price the setup as one unit with four linked checks rather than four separate tasks. If the crew has to change one figure on the day, review the other three before the ladder is placed.
Do not carry one job's ladder figures to the next job
Do not carry one job's ladder figures to the next job without checking each one on site. The working length, the landing height, and the power line layout are site conditions. A figure that was right on one job can be wrong on the next because the support point, the ground, or the line layout is different.
A blank field is a prompt to measure or ask, not a place to enter the last job's number.
Check an access point today
Choose an access point on your current estimate today. Write down its support point and ladder choice, then ask the foreman to confirm any missing measurement before you assign setup hours.
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Questions before setting crew hours
Do these figures tell me how many minutes to allow?
No, estimate minutes from your method, crew size, and experience. Include the carry, placement, and checks for the actual access point.
Can I reuse the setup time on another job?
Recheck site conditions before reusing setup time. Compare the support point, ground, landing, and line layout with the assumptions behind the earlier estimate.