Grab bars are safety devices designed to enable a worker to maintain balance by holding onto each bar as he or she climbs. Grab bars are found on equipment or above fixed ladders where footholds exist but other handholds are lacking. They may be positioned horizontally, vertically, or at an angle. When using grab bars as safety devices, in order to prevent falls, the optimum choice would indicate the use of a horizontal bar.

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  • Grab bars are safety devices designed to enable a worker to maintain balance by holding onto each bar as he or she climbs. Grab bars are found on equipment or above fixed ladders where footholds exist but other handholds are lacking. They may be positioned horizontally, vertically, or at an angle. When using grab bars as safety devices, in order to prevent falls, the optimum choice would indicate the use of a horizontal bar. In industry and construction, only horizontal grab bars are reliable to sustain a dynamic fall of the body, especially if the feet should slip off a fixed rung near the top of a ladder. The best size is approximately 5 inches (13 cm) clear width, diameter similar to the ladder rungs, and spaced 12 inches (30 cm) apart. If a vertical member is held, such as a ladder side rail bar, no matter what the shape of the side rail or the strength of the grip, the force of falling causes the hand to slide, producing an impact with whatever is below, resulting in the release of the handhold and subsequently resulting in a fall, all in a fraction of a second. USDOL Bureau of Labor Statistics produced an 11-year study through 2002 showing 26 occupational fatalities on fixed ladders that resulted from falls which occurred at American industries. Scientific research, including physical testing, has found that the human hand simply cannot maintain a grip on a vertical bar or rail in a fall situation. Further research and testing in this area, using lifelike dummies, continues in order to determine the maximum strength that can be expected from the human grip in fall situations. Research demonstrates, however, that a hook grip can be maintained on a horizontal bar. This makes horizontal grab bars the safest and only logical choice. Horizontal grab bars have been used by industry on fixed-ladder siderail extensions for some time with good acceptance. Products such as GrabSafe provide bolt-on or weld-on horizontal grab bars for fixed ladders. LadderPort and HatchGrip do the same for roof hatch ladders by mounting to the curb for rooftop access security. Application for horizontal grab bars is not limited to industrial use. Horizontal grab bars provide for the greatest safety in bathroom, hospital, and nursing care facilities. Only a horizontal grab bar can reasonably stop a fall.
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  • Grab bars are safety devices designed to enable a worker to maintain balance by holding onto each bar as he or she climbs. Grab bars are found on equipment or above fixed ladders where footholds exist but other handholds are lacking. They may be positioned horizontally, vertically, or at an angle. When using grab bars as safety devices, in order to prevent falls, the optimum choice would indicate the use of a horizontal bar.
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  • Grab bar
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