Storage Rack Unsafe For Climb

A plant worker climbed eight feet up a steel storage rack structure to retrieve material from a top shelf. He fell to the concrete floor and died. The workplace did not have the proper equipment to help workers remove items from the storage racks.

Never use a steel rack structure as a ladder for climbing. The lack of hand- and footholds invites a fall, and it’s possible to cause the rack to tip over or collapse this way. An ordinary ladder would not have been a safe solution either, because the worker would not have been able to use both hands for safe climbing while he was carrying materials. A ladder should be used only for access to and egress from a work area. Instead, an elevating work platform such as a scissor-lift, a rolling staircase or an order-picker should have been used. This equipment must be maintained according to safe standards.