Our ladder safety was combined with high rise and covered areial lifts, ladders and rope descent.

 

That company no longer performs that class. OSHA has some basics or IWCA has courses but I personally will not use IWCA but is a source available. 

A 12 x 12 block might be a little more work to carry around than the average person is willing to do. There are ladder footing products that work similar with less hassle and that cover the entire 18" width of a ladder if needed.

True. For me I don't set a ladder 25 times at a property. 1-2 ladder sets is all I ever need. I don't find the blocks that heavy, just the inconvenience of a second trip. Ladders are rarely used in my business. I only carry a 24' extension, 17' multi ladder and a step ladder. Ladders are mostly used for stairwells and roof access. Poles and other equipment do most all the other work. 

 

Just because someone makes something, doesn't mean the costs are not too high or that it is best for what you do in your business. I don't use leg levelers because they don't work for me nor justify their expense. Whatever works for each of us, and is safe, is what is best. Being a S/P makes a difference too. I don't have to answer to OSHA or worry about workers. If anyone is helping me, they never do the work that may be more dangerous. I would never put anyone on a ladder other than myself. 

I find stand-offs incredibly important so that you are not too close to the working surface and it does just what it's supposed to, STABILIZE the ladder and make it very safe.

 

I had an employee last year who insisted on using a sectional ladder without a standoff, while I could see some of the advantages (mostly inside),... I would take an extension ladder with levelers and stand-offs any day. It is the safest ladder setup you can have.

 

These No Bull Stabilizer ends look great but are a bit pricey for my taste. We have around 30 ladders to outfit and that would add up. I like to replace the standard Werner ends regularly and tape them on. It's important to use those metal end caps under the rubber to keep the sharp metal from cutting thru the rubber, for better durability.

LOL, is a standoff different from a stabilizer?

Im not sure why people feel safer with a stabilizer but was initially sold as a standoff to get off the work surface like for painters and why they often come with pail hooks. Besides its primary purpose I'm not that sure it stabilizes much more than mits alone do.

 

A wider stance can make twisting a ladder more unlikely but twisting isn't much of a risk? The risk is improperly footed ladders could cause ladder tip to slide or kicknout feet if to steep, tio back if too straight? A rubber pad on standoff or ladder directly grips the same.

 

What factor does a standoff make it more stable?

Mmmm. I have two different styles of "stand offs". One is fixed width/size. The other you can adjust the legs to be wide and a low stand off position, or narrower with a much farther (taller) stand off position. Stand off VS stablizier? I think it's splitting hairs. They seem like the same thing to me.

 

I prefer the No Bull protectors. You don't need the metal plate inside the stabilizer and they are tough as it gets. Well worth the money IMO. 

 

Stand off's are way safer on a roof edge IMO. No chance of a ladder sliding.  Get a wide enough one, and they straddle the frames of windows and other objects on the side of a house. Also work great to hang something off of if you are working on top of the ladder very long. Much better than hanging stuff on the wrungs. 

It surely is splitting hairs but are peoole misinformed and the question is what is the purpose of them?

 

Is it to get distance, stability, or both? 

 

I see the stability factor as uniformed ladder users needing reassurance so they feel safer. 

 

I have never seen any ladder safety training to recommend them as part of a safer means for stability. Ladder safety states no reaching from a ladder where using many stabilizers will say user can reach further than a ladder without. Not sure this is helpful advise.

Definitely both a standoff factor and a stabilizing factor. 

 

As window cleaners, we need to be able to reach out sideways as much as possible to cover more surface area from one ladder placement at a time, reducing how much one is climbing and reducing ladder placements can speed things up considerably. Stabilizers allow one to reach out in all directions without creating as much twisting force on the ladder, which is one of the most dangerous factors, the ladder twisting and one foot coming loose. If this happens you're going down.

 

Before WFP we did so much more ladder work and all the window cleaners in our area started using stabilizers on all their ladders making their trucks look like they have antlers from all the ladders.

 

IMO, Levelers, and Stabilizers are a must for professional ladder work.

Standoffs 100% restrict reach because user is farther off the glass so any extra reach is wasted from the started distance.

 

Above all to say working from a ladder with standoff allows user to reach further puts your workers at risk and deviates from ladder safety and common sense. Reaching causes ladder accidents.

 

It is crazy how different so many opinions are on ladder safety. No wonder why they have the most accidents 

Having researched ladder safety for our safety manual/training found the key safety information to be proper footing/angle. This is the main factor in ladder safety, second was user process, facing ladder when ascending or descending and access whatbuser can naturally reach with body aligned within ladder, no reaching. We all know the reaching piece will forever be pushed outside required practice.

 

No where does safety state any safer use if using any adapter to ladder tip. It also looks doesn't allow a Reach distance with an adapter or without. The reaching rule is standard and doesn't allow a longer reach for situations.

I can assure you from my own experience, that setting a ladder with a stand off on a roof's edge in the dirt, is more stable then without. The stabilizer stops the ladder from sinking further into the dirt and stops the ladder from sliding on the roof's edge. On siding? Slightly safer. It stops some of the twist on a ladder when reaching out from it, since it has a wider contact surface. While the "protection" factor is slightly more than without stabilizers, it is some benefit. 

 

No, you should not reach from a ladder. Everyone does it because it's impractical not to in most cases. A lift eliminates most of the "reach" problem, but again, impractical for most operators/situations. 

 

I do not see the stabilizer as a view by the uninformed. They have their place. I certainly am not uninformed and I would not use a ladder off concrete without a stabilizer anymore. I have used them without, and since using it both ways, I have decided what is safer from experience. A stabilizer has more than once also, allowed me to set a ladder where I can directly reach what I was trying to reach and be square on the ladder, as opposed to reaching from the left or right because I could not straddle something. 

 

I don't think they are right for every situation, but for what I do they are. I can also pull them off if need be. So it's not like a ladder is locked to using a stabilizer once mounted. Do they give a false sense of security? Maybe to those who don't know how to use ladders, probably yes. If someone does not even know how to set a ladder at the proper angle, then they probably should not be using a ladder at all. 

Good discussion from many different angles.