OSH withdraws charge against ladder supplier

Monday 31 May 2004

The Occupational Safety and Health Service has withdrawn a charge it laid against Fletcher Distribution Ltd, which followed an investigation into the death last year of a man who fell off a ladder bought from The Building Depot.

OSH investigated the death in April 2003 of Hamilton man Robert Andrew Stewart, and started legal proceedings against Fletcher Distribution, trading as The Building Depot, for failing to ensure the ladder they sold to Mr Stewart's employer was safe for use.

The Building Depot, in consultation with OSH and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, ordered a nationwide recall of the ladder and subsequently withdrew from sale.

Clive MacGregor, OSH acting service manager for Waikato-Thames, said a recent review of the evidence, and representations from the company, had now satisfied OSH that The Building Depot had taken practicable measures in response to an earlier incident, not connected to the death of Mr Stewart, involving a similar ladder.

“The review showed that in the earlier instance, the purchaser was unclear whether he had set up the ladder correctly. He raised a concern with The Building Depot, but there was not sufficient information at the time to signal to The Building Depot that there was any serious defect in the ladder,” Mr MacGregor said.

“To The Building Depot's credit, steps were taken in response to the advice from the earlier purchaser, but at that stage there appeared to be nothing to warrant the withdrawal of the ladders, or their recall from the market.”

Mr MacGregor said the ladder, which had been imported from overseas, had international certification, which later turned out to be false. “Again, this was not known by Fletcher Distribution at the time.”

He said it was Mr Stewart's fatal fall that tragically drew attention to design flaws in the product.

“The company has since taken comprehensive steps to withdraw the offending model of ladder from the market, and intends to become actively involved in the development of national standards, to improve ladder safety generally.

“On this basis, OSH decided not to proceed with prosecution and has withdrawn the charge.”

Ladder safety continues to be a priority area for OSH, especially within the construction industry. OSH construction advisor Alan Barrett says the utilisation on worksites of ladders designed for domestic use is still way too high.

“The construction industry hasn't shown to date that it's capable of ensuring that ladders are suitable for the job, are free from defects, and that they are used appropriately.”

Mr Barrett said OSH's approach to ladder safety is simple – “we must change the culture towards ladder misuse and reduce the accident rate”. More than 900 new ACC claims from ladder falls are processed each year, costing the country around $17 million.
OSH is running an extensive set of tests through the Building Research Association (Branz) covering lightweight/domestic ladders, which have been identified as a problem area. The testing is a joint programme between OSH, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and ACC, and results should be available in August.

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