What Is a Safety Step?
A safety step is a stepladder that is designed to be safe for use by the elderly or children.
Compared to a normal stepladder, the safety step has a gentler angle of ascent and descent and wider steps. Many safety steps are equipped with handles. Simply having a handrail when ascending or descending increases the sense of security.
Uses of Safety Steps
Safety steps are used in a wide variety of locations, from homes to offices to factories.
In the home, safety steps are often used to change a light or to maintain a garden.
In offices, they may be useful for storing cardboard boxes in the upper shelves of storerooms. If used in a factory, work will likely be done on safety steps, so one with an anti-tip bar attached to the top frame will work well.
Safety steps are used in a wide range of applications, from children to the elderly, and are designed with the utmost care for people with weak legs and backs.
Features of Safety Steps
The following is an explanation of the features and considerations for safety steps.
Safety steps can be broadly classified into two types: stepladder type and step-stool type.
- Stepladder type
Most stepladder-type safety steps are designed with a gentle angle of ascent and descent. A stepladder can be raised or lowered from both sides, but safety steps can only be raised or lowered from one side, with the other side supporting the slope of the step.
By making the slope more gradual, the width of each step can be increased, thus reducing the risk of falling off the step when ascending or descending. In most cases, the steps are also equipped with a non-slip surface. Some large safety steps are equipped with sturdy handrails on both sides of the step. - Step-stool type
Steps are usually made of light and sturdy plastic or aluminum to make them easy to carry. This stepladder also has a handle attached to support the body during ascent and descent. These handles also reduce the burden on older people who have back or knee pain. Although the construction is relatively simple, it is designed so that it will not fall over even when weight is placed on the handles.