Read-aloud huddle
Before we reach for a shared office ladder, let's ask whether the task needs climbing. On June 7, 2023, a Ball Colegrave employee in Banbury, England, was checking irrigation for hanging baskets. As he climbed, the ladder fell and collapsed. He suffered five broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. This was a horticultural workplace, not an office. HSE found a failure to plan and carry out the work at height safely so far as reasonably practicable. HSE case
For our office planning, first consider moving frequently used supplies within reach from the floor. For workplaces covered by U.S. OSHA's general-industry ladder rules, inspect ladders before initial use in each work shift, and more often as necessary. A defective ladder must immediately be tagged 'Dangerous: Do Not Use,' or similar wording, and removed from service until repaired under the applicable rule or replaced. Tagging alone is not enough. Let's confirm our stop-work and no-retaliation procedures before the next task. These are adaptable planning prompts. OSHA ladder rule · Control planning
What the enforcement establishes
Ball Colegrave pleaded guilty under the UK's Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. On October 14, 2025, Oxford Magistrates' Court fined the company £80,000. This was UK enforcement; the U.S. ladder requirements below are a separate reference for covered workplaces. HSE's account does not identify a specific ladder defect or establish that a missed inspection caused this incident. HSE case
Controls to consider before climbing
Adapt these options to the task. OSHA's control hierarchy prioritizes elimination or substitution and engineering solutions before work practices, administrative controls and PPE. The office examples below apply that approach; they are not findings about the incident. Control hierarchy
- Elimination: Consider relocating frequently used supplies so they can be reached from the floor, removing that climbing task. Check that the change creates no new hazard. Control selection
- Engineering: If a stepladder is selected, its spreader or locking device must securely hold the front and back sections open during use. 1910.23(c)(2)
- Work practices and administrative controls: Apply the shift inspection and defect tag-and-removal requirements. Do not use a stepladder's cap or top step as a step. 1910.23(b)(9)–(10), (c)(8)
Adaptable team action plan
Choose the relevant actions together. Name an owner and agree on a due time for each; OSHA recommends assigning responsibility, setting completion dates and verifying controls. Planning guidance
- Identify one storage task that could be done without climbing; agree on a suitable layout change. Owner: Assign together Due: Agree before the next retrieval task
- Inspect the ladder before initial use this shift; if defective, immediately tag it against use and remove it from service. Owner: Assign together Due: Before initial use this shift
- For any removed ladder, assign follow-up for compliant repair or replacement and agree how completion will be verified. Owner: Assign together Due: Agree a date; keep it out of service pending repair or replacement
Ask, verify and close the loop
- Discussion: Which office task could we move to floor-level reach? What are our stop-work and no-retaliation procedures, and whom do we contact?
- Verification: Right now, is every defective ladder both tagged and out of service, and can the assigned owner show us?
- Close the loop: At the agreed due time, what evidence will show the storage change, repair or replacement is complete, and who will verify it?
Note: Comprehension check: Is tagging a defective ladder enough to leave it available for use? No; it must also be removed from service until repaired under the applicable rule or replaced.
Sources
- Fine for firm after worker fell from ladder — Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-06. press.hse.gov.uk
- 1910.23 — Ladders — Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Accessed 2026-10-06. osha.gov
- Recommended Practices: Hazard Prevention and Control — Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Accessed 2026-10-06. osha.gov