vertical fixed ladders (cat ladders) welding onto rungs

[simisteven]

I have received a request from production personnel to weld flat strips onto the round steel rungs of various vertical fixed ladders. For various reasons I am opposed to this idea. I would like to hear from others on this subject both from a safety and from a mechanical point of view

 

[MikeHalloran]

Go stand on a rung for an hour, then think about it some more.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[hvacpiper]

Standing on a 3/4" round rung for any amount time,would probably fall under Geneva convention laws...it is torture on the feet.If there are tasks that require standing on one position of a ladder repeatidly,I would think platforms should be installed.So long as the metal strips were not so wide as to prevent a hand from fully grasping the rung,and the edges were beveled,there shouldn't be a problem welding flat strips on the rungs.

 

[NickE]

I've worked on those ladders when I was younger.. they do hurt, but once I started wearing Red Wings with a steel plate in the sole and a steel shank they wer'nt so bad... Tennis shoes, or light hiking boots are just too soft.



Nick

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Possibly they could "trip" over the flat stock - but they could do that on the round stock. As noted - standing for any length of time on 3/4'' bar is just in-humane!!

Go to Lowe's - do you see ANY round rungs??? NO - guess why??

 

[simisteven]

Thanks for the input gents. These ladders are not used for standing on or working off or from but for vertical access. My own reservations would include possible weakening of rungs from welding and basically interfering what is part of a structure.
We have got a few vertical ladders that have had flat strips welded on and it makes gripping with the hands very difficult or rather uncomfortable.
In addition there is always a possibility the flat strips could dislodge during climbing and cause a fall.
We also have some ladders where non slip sections were epoxied on some years ago. These are now coming loose and definitely create a hazard.

 

[dhengr]

Simisteven:
If you work on ladders, you should wear the correct foot ware, as mentioned above by NickE, flip-flops don’t cut it, even on sloppy Fridays. Fine em, for improper foot wear, they’ll have something else to think about that way.
Flat bars as rungs tend to be (can be) more slippery than most round bars. Both should have some anti-slip, anti-skid, treatment or ridges (deformations) formed in them.
Some safety codes and industry codes do not allow welding to, or on, any safety appliances and ladder rungs and the like. The AAR and FRA for example. This is because of the potential that welding imperfections, arc strikes, and the like can cause cracking and hard spots in the rung or piece, which might cause sudden failure of the part when loaded. The thinking goes that, a bolted, riveted connection might loosen and would be noticed for repair, but not be as likely to fail suddenly, as a weld might.

You can buy steel bar stock (3/16" x 1.5" for example) which has slightly rounded edges due to the rolling process. There are also bar sized channels (approx. 1.5" x .5" legs x 1/8", other sizes too) which might work with the legs down. If I were going to try to do this, I would cut the bar to length to fit btwn. the styles and weld them at their ends only, to the styles. I would do a little testing and form these bars/channels so they had a 3/16" +/- circular concave upward. Thus, when you applied them, you would weld one end to its style, then press the new rung down to weld the other end. This bending should prestress the two rung pieces together and prevent pinching. Don’t weld out in the middle of the primary rung. Weld process and material compatibility for welding is all important. Check with your local safety guys and OSHA.

 

[MikeHalloran]

If you have people regularly climbing bar ladders for routine operations, you should be looking at stairs, or remote operators, or something other than ladders.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[CalicoLadders]

I agree on the stairs recommendation.

For modifying the rungs, IKG makes a product I have used a several times called Mibak (sp). Simply welding a bar over the rungs may be subject to deflection, and add risk of injury (and liability) while using the ladder.

 

[dvd]

For a little more money you could pass on the liability for the welded strips to the manufacturer of these:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#ladder-rungs/=j2vtcx

 

[simisteven]

Many thanks for the response and advice chaps. From the measurements you all use I am guessing most of you are based in the USA.
It is always good to hear from people in different countries.

 

[chicopee]

Good working boots should help a lot on round rungs.