National Ladder Safety Month is observed next month, as it is every March. Begun by the American Ladder Safety Institute, the event raises awareness about ladder safety and encourages employers and their workers to engage in annual ladder safety training. In industrial settings, ladders and climbing are often integral to certain job functions, so safe practices are critical to success.

If your job responsibility includes employee safety, now is the time for you to sign up at ALI’s Ladder Safety Training site and prepare for training. The site makes safety training easy all year long, with an organized curriculum and video and resource libraries – all completely free.

Training courses are designed to seamlessly complement and integrate with an organization’s existing training program. Managers can choose as much or as little as they require; use the entire program wholesale or select a la carte to bolster gaps in their own training.

After signing up, trainers and training managers can develop a custom dashboard, called a Trainer’s Toolbox, in which they select training and testing, assign them to trainees and monitor trainee performance and progress on the assignments. These dashboards can track everything from a handful of trainees for smaller organizations all the way up to hundreds for larger enterprises.

Topics covered include single and extension, articulated, mobile and stepladders, with courses available in English or Spanish.

Taking training on ALI’s Ladder Safety Training site does not require an invitation from a trainer. Anyone who wishes to enhance their awareness of ladder safety can sign up. And, obviously, training is available 24/7/365 – not only during Ladder Safety Month.

These four weeks each year allow ALI to take deep dives into different aspects of ladder safety, narrowing in tightly on one topic each week to promote safety tips and training. This year’s topics include Training and Awareness (Week One); Inspection and Maintenance (Week Two); Stabilization, Setup and Accessories (Week Three); and Safe Climbing and Positioning (Week Four).