All ladders that can be used as leaning ladders and are longer than 3,000 mm when extended must be equipped with a stabilizer in accordance with the new standard.

The crossbeam is the most common solution for ensuring the increased stability required by the new standard. However, this wide and bulky component can be impractical in day-to-day work (especially when transporting and storing the ladder). As a space-saving and equally standard-compliant solution, we offer foldable stabilisers for various ladder types.

(0.1 × ladder length) + outer width of ladder. The required width of the stabilizer therefore varies with the ladder length. However, the maximum width of the required stabilizer is 1,200 mm.

No. Ladders built according to the old standard are not automatically considered unsafe by the appearance of a new standard and may therefore continue to be used. The company in whose operations ladders are used commercially must decide for itself, as part of a risk assessment, which work equipment is safe for its purposes and which it provides to its employees.

No, because the changes to EN 131 for ladders do not only affect the widening of the base for leaning ladders. In addition to the changes in Part 1 of the standard that affect the design, the requirements described in Part 2 for the tests that a ladder must undergo before the manufacturer can launch it on the market are also affected. In addition, new tests have been introduced (e.g. the slip resistance test on the ground for leaning ladders). Without testing a ladder built according to the old standard, there is no way of ensuring that it will meet the new requirements. It cannot be automatically assumed that a ladder retrofitted with a cross-beam also fully complies with the new standard.

No. Not all types of ladders available on the market are clearly covered by EN 131. Hookable ladders are not described in the standard and can therefore only partially comply with it (e.g. in terms of load capacity). In practice, however, it can be assumed that there is no risk of tipping over for ladders that are only used when hooked in, and that a cross-beam is therefore not necessary for safe use.

No. Telescopic ladders are covered by Part 4 of the EN 131 ladder standard. This part refers to the amended specifications in Part 1 of the standard with regard to the design features. This means that, as things stand, only telescopic ladders with stabilizers can comply with the new standard. However, cross-beams of this width tend to be rather impractical in everyday work, which is why our telescopic ladders feature folding stabilisers that provide increased stability.

One new feature of Part 3 of EN 131 is the division of ladders into two classes:

• Ladders for professional use (PRO)
• Ladders for non-professional use (PRIVATE)

Depending on the ladder class, the product must be tested by the manufacturer according to different test requirements, e.g. for the durability test for freestanding ladders:
 

• 50,000 load cycles for ladders for professional use
• 10,000 load cycles for ladders for non-professional use

The standard clearly describes the mandatory labeling for ladders:

• Ladders for professional use
• Ladders for non-professional use

The decision as to which class of ladder the commercial user chooses for his equipment is left to the entrepreneur himself as part of a risk assessment. However, due to the higher load in the commercial environment, the exclusive use of profile ladders is expressly recommended.

Yes. The changes to the standard are generally not relevant for retailers. Ladders that were built according to the old standard are not automatically considered unsafe by the appearance of the new standard and therefore remain legally compliant even after the standard has changed. Retailers can therefore sell off their old stock of ladders built according to the old standard without concern.

The manufacturer must state on the product label which standard they have used to manufacture the ladders. If the product label does not state the date of issue of the standard, the ladders must always comply with the most recent version of the standard.

In principle, products may also be placed on the market that do not comply with an existing standard. However, the manufacturer is responsible for the safety of these products and must ensure that there is no danger to the user in the event of so-called “foreseeable misuse”. This means specifically that leaning ladders longer than three meters without a stabilizer bar may be placed on the market as long as it is ensured that the user is clearly aware of how to ensure safe use of the ladder (e.g. by fixing the ladder) and receives all the necessary parts from the manufacturer (e.g. suspension hooks). However, if the product description and fittings are designed in such a way that they are also aimed at users who simply do without the required stabilizers but also do not want to fix the ladder, the manufacturer exposes himself to a considerable liability risk.