NIOSH Ladder Safety App a Finalist in HHS Contest
Public voting period to help select "The People's Choice" is taking place through June 6.
NIOSH's ladder safety smartphone app is a finalist in the national HHS Innovates awards contest, the agency announced, adding that public voting is taking place right now and continues through June 6. The app addresses the major causes of ladder falls with interactive and easy-to-use, graphic-oriented safety tools, checklists, and guides. Vote here: www.hhs.gov/idealab/innovate/ladder-safety-niosh-has-an-app-for-that/.
The HHS Innovates program recognizes internal innovations by employees and promotes them across the department and to the public.
The app was developed by three researchers in NIOSH's Division of Safety Research in Morgantown, W.Va. -- Peter Simeonov, Hongwei Hsiao, and John Powers. It uses the latest safety research and smartphone technology to provide instant feedback on the angular position of an extension ladder to help set the ladder to the optimal angle. The app also features selection and inspection tools to assist in choosing the appropriate ladder for the task, and there is a checklist for ladder inspection prior to using it. The app's multi-modal angle indicator is based on a ladder positioning concept that has been awarded a U.S. patent, according to NIOSH.
It's available in English and Spanish as a free download for iPhone and Android mobile devices and has been downloaded more than 18,000 times since its release in June 2013. To learn more and download the app, visit http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/falls/mobileapp.html.