Safety App Of The Week
July 8, 2013 No Comments
Below is our “Safety App of the Week”. These weekly features are published every Monday. New apps are tested on Apple iPads and rated from ♥ to ♥♥♥♥♥ (♥♥♥♥♥ is the best). Prior app of the week articles are archived here.
This week we reviewed two ladder safety apps. One is called Ladder Safety and the other Safety Ladder. Don’t be confused by the two similar sounding names, these two apps are very different!
The “Safety Ladder” app costs $1.99. It is shown on the left side of the above graphic. We found that it works fine, but it lacks instructions and does not have all of the many extras that you get with the Ladder Safety app. We gave the “Safety Ladder” app ♥♥♥.
The second app we reviewed is called Ladder Safety. It is free and shown on the right side of the above graphic. It is much better and more comprehensive than the “Safety Ladder” app. We gave Ladder Safety ♥♥♥♥♥.
Save your money, just download the free Ladder Safety app and forget about spending $1.99 on the “Safety Ladder” app.
All of the following information is on our preferred and recommended ladder safety app – Ladder Safety.
Official Description
“The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is dedicated to ensure the safety of extension-ladder users by developing and disseminating an easy-to-use interactive ladder safety application for smart phones. The NIOSH Ladder Safety application features a multimodal indicator, which uses visual and sound signals to assist the user in positioning an extension ladder at an optimal angle. Furthermore, the application provides graphic-oriented interactive reference materials, safety guidelines and checklists for extension ladder selection, inspection, accessorizing, and use. The application is intended to help a wide range of ladder users, employers, and safety professionals, with their ladder-related safety needs. The ladder safety app is also 508 compliant.”1
Thumbs Up
- cost is free and there are no distracting advertisements
- no registration or sign in required
- well organized and easy navigation
- excellent instructions
- the color and contrast of the screen can be changed to make it easier to read in different light
- lots of extras including ladder: safety considerations, selection guide, safety inspection graphic, set up & use instructions, safety rules, & safety accessories
- can be used off-line
Thumbs Down
- optimized for iPhone use, when enlarged to iPad size the picture is a little grainy
Overall Rating
- iPad – ♥♥♥♥♥
- iPhone – ♥♥♥♥♥
- Android – ♥♥♥♥♥
¹ Descriptions courtesy of Apple Inc.
Safety Articles