Neil Bell interviewed Matt Schulze on the Bell Board podcast.  Here’s what Schulze said about staying safe on a billboard.

Let’s talk safety. The vertical fall-arrest cable on ladders — is that required now?

Everything over about 25 feet is required to have a ladder safety cable. Your ladder starts 12 to 15 feet off grade, so you’re talking about roughly 10 feet of fall protection before you even get on the structure. We send it out on every sign now — some people buy their own, but it’s just easier when it comes with the structure.

You should be tied off from the moment you put a foot on that pole. You’ve got two hooks — you should be 100% tied off at the top. The big companies don’t play around with this: if they catch one guy not tied off, he’s done. Doesn’t matter if he’s been there 30 years.

When I first got in the business in the ’90s, we were climbing signs with no safety cables at all. I think the evolution of safety in this business has been real, but there’s really no excuse not to be hooked up. It’s dangerous up there, and no billboard is worth a life.

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