[Nhcoll-l] Museum platform ladders

Fri Mar 15 15:14:36 EDT 2024

Tonya

At various times we have used two different types of rolling ladders in our collections - the original ladders we bought for our wet collection facility some time ago now and a more recent ladder we bought for our paleobotany space.  Both have their pros and cons and we have learnt some lessons along the way:

  1.  Make sure that all four wheels can swivel.  The more recent ladder we ordered only has one set of swivel wheels while the other set are fixed and it is much less maneuverable making cornering and moving into tight spaces more difficult.
  2.  Our wet collection ladders have weight induced stabilization (you step on it and springs in the wheels compress to stabilize it to the floor) while the newer one has a kick mechanism that achieves the same.  I have found the kick mechanism to be vey finicky and unreliable and much prefer the weight-based solution although, as John mentions, it needs to be calibrated correctly (and recalibrated over time) to ensure that it works efficiently for all people weights.
  3.  The bigger and bulkier the ladder the more stable it is but the less maneuverable it is so there is a trade off in what application you need the ladder.  If you are going to handling large, heavy trays or drawers you probably want something with a staging area at the top that will add weight to the ladder but will make handling those that much easier.

This is similar to our newer ladder - https://www.uline.com/BL_3863/Rolling-Ladders?keywords=Rolling+Ladders
This is similar to our wet collection ladders - https://www.stokeslightingandelectric.com/brand-louisville-ladder/louisville-ladder-gsw2402/sku-V7778-gsw2402

Hope that helps

Andy
    A  :             A  :             A  :
 }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
    V                V                V
Andy Bentley
Ichthyology Collection Manager
University of Kansas
Biodiversity Institute
Dyche Hall
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard<x-apple-data-detectors://9/>
Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561<x-apple-data-detectors://9/>
USA<x-apple-data-detectors://9/>

Tel: (785) 864-3863<tel:%28785%29%20864-3863>
Fax: (785) 864-5335<tel:%28785%29%20864-5335>
Email: abentley at ku.edu<mailto:abentley at ku.edu>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258
http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu<http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/>
    A  :             A  :             A  :
 }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
    V                V                V

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of John E Simmons
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2024 9:08 AM
To: Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>
Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Museum platform ladders

Tonya,
When the fluid preserved specimen facility at the University of Kansas was built, we were required (by the university safety office) to purchase safety ladders to access the upper shelves. Although we thought these would be a problem, they actually worked very well and are still in use more than 25 years later.

The style we purchased are similar these--rolling ladders, with the wheels on springs, and a platform and railing:
https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-3132-24/Ladders/7-Step-Safety-Angle-Rolling-Ladder-Assembled-with-24-Top-Step?pricode=WA9521&gadtype=pla&id=H-3132-24&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwMqvBhCtARIsAIXsZparSypH65kAU7w_vJjYfk1Ro-0LTxtfU-tfUQQYnbnynPmuOpXU-pUaAnCGEALw_wcB

As Dirk mentioned, the most important thing is to match the ladder to the width of the aisles and the width of the area where the ladders are to be turned around. Even the narrow 25 inch wide ladders (such as are in use at KU) cannot be turned around within the aisle, but this is not a problem--just as with compactors, you quickly adjust your work habits to accommodate moving the ladders and opening and closing aisles. The ladders need a fairly wide space to be turned around, so make sure the ladders you purchase will fit your space. We cut a shape of the base of a ladder out of cardboard and used that to make sure the ladders could be easily wheeled about and turned around in your space.

Another important factor is to adjust the springs so that the weight of the lightest person using the ladders will cause them to settle on the floor. If they are adjusted for heavier people only, the ladders can slide.

We also found that having the railing around the platform is very useful for moving boxes or, in your case, heavy trays.

If you have any questions about using safety ladders in your collection space, you might want to check with Andy Bentley at the University of Kansas, who has now used the ladders longer than I did while there.

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
and
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima

On Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 8:27 PM Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au<mailto:Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>> wrote:
Hello again everyone,

I am wondering if any of you have ladder recommendations that you would be willing to share. We are moving to new taller cabinetry for our study skins. The trays are also quite heavy, as they are large and made of powder coat steel. I think I would like some ladders that have a moveable platform on them, in order to be able to retrieve trays from height and then lower them down mechanically. Ideally, they would also be manoeuvrable so that we could easily get them down aisles and around corners in very full collection halls. Any thoughts or recommendations on something like this, or alternatives I should look into, would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Tonya

_______________________________________________
Nhcoll-l mailing list
Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l

_______________________________________________
NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
society. See http://www.spnhc.org<http://www.spnhc.org/> for membership information.
Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20240315/a3c48b4b/attachment.html>