We’re continuing our year long campaign to improve tool box safety meetings by following the Ask Don’t TellTM safety meeting process. This month, even if you and your followers keep all four feet planted firmly on the ground, there’s something in this story you can put to good use.
Topic: https://www.nahb.org/blog/2025/03/ladder-safety-month-2025
Purpose: To talk about this topic with my crew so they recognize the potential to become complacent when using ladders, as well as other commonplace workplace tools and equipment.
Headline: It’s Ladder Safety Month.
Summary: Every year, a half-million people are treated and roughly three hundred die from ladder related injuries. Despite the investment in rules and training, injuries keep happening.
Connection: You might use a ladder at work; you might use a ladder at home; even if you never do either of them, there’s an important aspect of this story that applies to a big part of what we all do to earn a living.
Darn Good Questions
1. What do you think is the most likely explanation for why ladder injuries are so commonplace?
2. In the view of the National Association of Home Builders, the answer is “complacency”. Why do you think it’s easy to become complacent when working off a ladder?
3. Complacency is defined as a state of mind characterized by an absence of fear. What does that definition suggest about the hazards and situations that can cause us to become complacent?
4. What are the best ways to avoid falling victim to complacency?
Balmert Consulting
March 2025
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