Ladders and step stools are among the work equipment with the highest accident numbers in business, and not because of spectacular falls from great height, but because of slipping feet, bent stiles and missing spreaders at a standing height of two metres. Most of these defects would have been noticed during a regular inspection. And that is exactly what the legislator requires: ladders and step stools are work equipment under the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV) and must be inspected at recurring intervals.
This guide explains who has to inspect and how often, which inspection points DGUV Information 208-016 lists, how an inspection record is structured and when a ladder is taken out of service rather than repaired. It closes with a checklist you can use to carry out the inspection straight away.
Legal basis: BetrSichV, TRBS 2121 Teil 2, DGUV Information 208-016
Three documents govern the use of ladders in business:
- Betriebssicherheitsverordnung (BetrSichV, Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health): Under § 3 para. 6, the employer defines the type, scope and intervals of inspections in the risk assessment, as well as the requirements for the person carrying them out. § 14 requires recurring inspections of work equipment exposed to damaging influences.
- TRBS 2121 Teil 2 "Gefährdung von Beschäftigten bei der Verwendung von Leitern" (Technical Rule for Operational Safety, Part 2: hazards to employees when using ladders, as of December 2018): specifies when a ladder may be used as a workplace and when only as an access route.
- DGUV Information 208-016 "Die Verwendung von Leitern und Tritten" (formerly BGI 694): the practical guidance of the German accident insurance institutions, with inspection criteria and a checklist in the annex.
The DGUV Information is not a legal regulation, but it describes the state of the art. Anyone who follows it meets the requirements of the BetrSichV; anyone who deviates from it must justify the deviation in the risk assessment.
Who inspects, and how often
Section 6 of DGUV Information 208-016 distinguishes two levels of inspection:
- Visual check before every use by the user: look at stiles, rungs or steps, feet and fittings for obvious damage. Duration: one minute. A damaged ladder is not used but tagged and reported.
- Recurring visual and functional inspection by a person designated by the employer. The intervals depend on operating conditions, in particular frequency of use, stress during use and the frequency and severity of defects found in previous inspections. The DGUV recommends at least one inspection per year.
Twelve months is therefore the guide value for the normal case, not the upper limit. Many companies inspect ladders on construction sites, in outdoor use or in multi-shift operation every six months; a library ladder in an office can run longer if properly justified. What matters is that the interval is documented in the risk assessment and adhered to.
Requirements for the inspecting person
Under § 3 para. 3 BetrSichV, the employer defines the requirements that the person entrusted with the inspection must meet. For this, the DGUV Information refers to TRBS 1203 "Zur Prüfung befähigte Personen" (competent persons): vocational training, professional experience and recent professional activity in the field of the equipment being inspected. For ladders and step stools, in practice an experienced tradesperson who has completed an instruction session or seminar on ladder inspection and knows the inspection criteria is sufficient. The inspector must not be subject to technical instructions while carrying out the inspection; they alone decide whether a ladder remains in use.
Inspection points by ladder type
DGUV Information 208-016 names wear, deformation and destruction of components, missing components and the proper function of connecting elements as the main focus of the inspection. In practice, this results in the following scope:
All ladders and step stools
- Stiles: no cracks, dents, twisting or corrosion; no bandages or makeshift repairs; stile ends undamaged
- Rungs or steps: complete, firmly connected to the stile, not bent, not worn or smooth; anti-slip surface intact
- Ladder feet: present, undamaged, not worn down; on stabiliser bars, all foot caps in place
- Marking: manufacturer's label and pictograms legible; load rating (150 kg for ladders to DIN EN 131) present; inspection label with the date of the last inspection
- Contamination: no paint, oil or concrete residues that hide cracks or make rungs slippery
Leaning, extension and multi-purpose ladders
- Connecting fittings, hinges and locking pins move freely, are complete and have no play; hinges of multi-purpose ladders lock securely in every position
- Rope and pulley on rope-operated extension ladders undamaged, safety hooks functional
- Stabiliser bar (mandatory for leaning ladders of 3 m length and above under DIN EN 131-1) present, secure, not bent
- Wall stand-offs, hooks and head pads secure
Stepladders, platform ladders
- Spreader (strap, chain or anti-splay device) present, undamaged, correctly adjusted
- Hinge fittings secure, no lateral play when the ladder is set up
- Platform, tool tray, handrail and guard rail secure and undeformed
- On mobile platform ladders: castors, locks or lowering mechanism functional
Step stools and shelf ladders
- Steps and platform not bent, anti-slip, secure
- Castors and locking brakes functional; mobile step stools lower securely under load
- Shelf ladders: running rails, hooks and guides undamaged, the ladder cannot jump out of the rail
Inspection record and ladder inspection log
DGUV Information 208-016 recommends numbering all ladders and step stools and combining the checklists into an inspection log. This provides proof that every ladder in the company has actually been recorded and inspected, including the one in the boot of the service vehicle. A record for each ladder contains:
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Identification | Inventory number, ladder type, manufacturer, model, length or number of steps, location or vehicle |
| Inspection | Date, name of the inspector, inspection basis (DGUV Information 208-016) |
| Finding per inspection point | OK / defect / not applicable, with a short description in the case of a defect |
| Result | released / released after repair / withdrawn from service |
| Action | Repair, replacement purchase, person responsible, deadline, completion |
| Next inspection | Date, identical to the inspection label on the ladder |
The inspection label on the ladder is the short version for the user: anyone who picks up a ladder with an expired label knows immediately that it must not be used. Keep the records for the service life of the ladder; after an accident, they are the proof that the company has met its inspection obligation.
Withdraw rather than repair
DGUV Information 208-016 permits minor repairs by persons with sufficient craft skills, such as replacing ladder feet, shortening a ladder with damaged stile ends or replacing screw-in rungs. But it draws clear limits:
- Not permitted: bandages around broken ladder stiles.
- Like for like only: damaged or missing rungs may only be replaced by rungs of the same type; rung holders must not impair the strength of the stiles.
- Inspect after repair: the employer must ensure that ladders are re-inspected for safe condition after safety-relevant repairs.
- Wood: use only transparent varnishes and stains so that cracks remain visible.
Bent stiles, cracked hinges, worn-out fittings and deformed rungs are not repair cases. An aluminium ladder with a kinked stile has irrevocably lost its load-bearing capacity, even if it looks straightened. It is withdrawn from service, rendered unusable and replaced. With purchase prices of a few hundred euros for a leaning or multi-purpose ladder, the repair effort is rarely proportionate.
Replacement purchase: What counts since TRBS 2121 Teil 2
Inspections often reveal that the existing ladders no longer match the rules that have applied since December 2018. TRBS 2121 Teil 2 distinguishes between the ladder as an access route and the ladder as a workplace:
- As a workplace, a ladder is permitted without restriction only up to a standing height of 2 m. Between 2 and 5 m standing height, only temporary work is permitted, lasting no more than two hours per shift. Above 5 m, the ladder is no longer a workplace.
- Steps instead of rungs: as a workplace, ladders with steps or a platform are to be used as a rule, because the foot stands on its full surface there. Rung ladders remain permitted as an access route.
- As an access route, a ladder may be used for a height difference of up to 5 m and must project at least 1 m above the exit point.
- Priority of safer equipment: if safer work equipment such as a platform, a mobile scaffold or a mobile elevating work platform is proportionate, it takes precedence over the ladder.
For procurement, this means: for work on racking, machines or in the workshop, platform ladders with steps are the right choice; for frequent work at the same height, step stools, platforms and work platforms. Rung ladders remain for climbing, for example to mezzanines or roofs; for access to racking levels, shelf ladders with a running rail are safer than any leaning ladder. When buying, look for DIN EN 131 and, for leaning ladders of 3 m length and above, for the mandatory stabiliser bar.
Checklist: Ladder inspection in ten steps
- 1. Record the inventory: number all ladders and step stools, including vehicles and outdoor storage.
- 2. Define the interval: in the risk assessment, guide value 12 months, shorter under heavy use.
- 3. Appoint the inspector: designated person with instruction, appointed in writing.
- 4. Clean the ladder: dirt hides cracks.
- 5. Check stiles, rungs, steps, feet: visually and functionally, setting up and loading the ladder in the process.
- 6. Check fittings: hinges, locking pins, spreader, rope, stabiliser bar.
- 7. Check marking: manufacturer's label, pictograms, load rating, old label.
- 8. Decide: release, repair or withdraw; remove withdrawn ladders from access immediately.
- 9. Document: record in the inspection log, attach label with the next inspection date.
- 10. Instruct: instruct users annually on visual checks, standing heights and set-up rules (§ 12 BetrSichV, § 4 DGUV Vorschrift 1).
Frequently asked questions
Does the ladder inspection have to be carried out by an external company?
No. The inspection may be carried out by an in-house employee if they meet the requirements defined by the employer and can demonstrate instruction in ladder inspection. External service providers make sense if nobody in the company has the time or the knowledge, or if the inventory is large.
Does the inspection obligation also apply to step stools with two steps?
Yes. Step stools are work equipment like ladders and are expressly covered by DGUV Information 208-016. Mobile step stools with a lowering mechanism in particular have wearing parts that fail regularly.
How long does the inspection of a ladder take?
Five to ten minutes per ladder if the checklist and inspection log are prepared. With 30 ladders in the company, the annual inspection is thus completed in one morning.
What does "standing height" mean?
The height of the rung or step on which the user stands, above the floor. It is not the working height: someone standing at 2 m standing height works with their hands at about 3.5 to 4 m.
Sources
- DGUV Information 208-016 „Die Verwendung von Leitern und Tritten", August 2022 edition, Section 6 (inspection and maintenance) and Annex 2 (checklist)
- TRBS 2121 Teil 2 „Gefährdung von Beschäftigten bei der Verwendung von Leitern", as of December 2018
- TRBS 1203 „Zur Prüfung befähigte Personen"
- Betriebssicherheitsverordnung (BetrSichV), § 3 para. 3 and 6, § 12, § 14
- DIN EN 131-1:2019-11 „Leitern – Teil 1: Benennungen, Bauarten, Funktionsmaße"