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The Ladder Rung Walking Task: A Scoring System and its Practical Application.

The Ladder Rung Walking Task: A Scoring System and its Practical Application.

Published on: June 12, 2009

Portable ladder assessment tool development and validation-quantifying best practices in the field.

Jack T Dennerlein¹, Christopher J Ronk, Melissa J Perry

¹Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA.

|February 18, 2010

Summary

A new audit tool quantifies construction worker compliance with portable ladder safety best practices. This assessment method helps identify areas for targeted interventions to prevent ladder falls.

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Area of Science:

Occupational Safety and Health
Construction Safety Engineering

Background:

Falls from ladders are a significant cause of injuries in the construction industry.
User activities contribute to many ladder-related accidents, but compliance with safety guidelines is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate an audit tool for assessing compliance with portable ladder best practices in construction.
To quantify user adherence to safety guidelines for ladder use.

Main Methods:

A checklist-based audit tool was developed for hand-held computers, covering ladder condition, setup, movement, and task completion.
The tool included 31 questions for step ladders and 33 for extension ladders.
Three trained raters assessed 78 observations (photos/videos) of ladder use scenarios.

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A Training Program Using an Agility Ladder for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

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Last Updated: Jun 16, 2026

The Ladder Rung Walking Task: A Scoring System and its Practical Application.

The Ladder Rung Walking Task: A Scoring System and its Practical Application.

Published on: June 12, 2009

Versatility of Protocols for Resistance Training and Assessment Using Static and Dynamic Ladders in Animal Models

Versatility of Protocols for Resistance Training and Assessment Using Static and Dynamic Ladders in Animal Models

Published on: December 17, 2021

A Training Program Using an Agility Ladder for Community-Dwelling Older Adults

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Main Results:

The audit tool demonstrated good inter-rater and intra-rater reliability.
Agreement between raters ranged from 79% to 97%.
Intra-rater reliability (kappa coefficients) ranged from 0.67 to 0.91.

Conclusions:

The developed tool provides a practical and reliable method for quantifying compliance with portable ladder safety best practices.
This quantification can inform targeted interventions to improve safety and reduce ladder falls in construction.