The handrail system meets osha strength requirements with a 2. Guardrail systems, stair rail systems, and handrails in. Osha standards require handrails on flights of stairs with more than four risers, states the u. Handrail is rail that provides a handhold on a platform, walkway, stairway or step ladder. Required if 48 inches or greater drop from walking surface top rail, intermediate rail and posts. Handrail and stair rail systems if a stair has a minimum of four risers, a handrail is required. The osh act covers most private sector employers and their workers and osha standards generally only apply. Handrailing continuity requirements at landings and other. Osha railing requirements avoid problems with osha. A stair railing shall be of construction similar to a standard railing but the vertical height shall be not more than 34 inches nor less than 30 inches from upper surface of top rail to surface of tread in line with face of riser at forward edge of tread. Guardrails, stair rails, and handrails are common fall protection solutions. Refer to the complete osha standards for important details. Know your railings, toeboards and handrails 1 july 15, 2016. Osha standard design stairways provide access to the top of the tank from a platform attached to one end of the tank and include nonskid fiberglass grating on the stair treads and platforms.
Ada, building codes, and standards relating to handrails. Safrail systems meet osha standards for a height of 42 1067mm from the top of walkway to the top of the guardrail with a 2. Handrails, stair rail systems, and guardrail systems are provided in accordance with 1910. Oregon osha requires that employees at general industry. When a door or a gate opens directly on a stairway, a platform is provided, and the swing of the door or gate does not reduce the platforms effective usable depth to. A guardrail is a safety railing or barrier located along a horizontal surface such as a balcony, deck, or porch. Platforms must be at least 30 inches deep, as measured in the direction of travel.
Handrails should be between 30 and 37 inches above the step surface, with a clearance of at least three inches between the rail and the wall. Following osha standard strictly leaves you and your company with a liability should an accident occur. What is the impact on doe facilities of oshas updated 29. The teaser title was click bait, but if you took the time to read the article, you came away with a simple explanation. A stair is a system of steps by which people and objects may pass from one level of a building to another. A rail fixed parallel above the pitch line at the sides of a stair. The height of a handrail, measured vertically above the floor, walkway surface or the nosing of a stair tread, shall not be less that 900mm or greater than 1100mm, as shown in figure 5. Existing stairs shall be permitted to remain in use, provided that they meet the requirements for existing stairs shown in table 7. The osha rules apply to all stairways and ladders used in construction. Osha guidelines for fixed stairways in industrial settings. Osha requirements for guardrail and safety railing. Stairs wider than 44 inches must have a handrail on each side. Should be part of permanent structure shall be equipped with handrail offset to prevent walking where tread is less than 6 see osha standards 1926. The icodes define handrail as being in place to provide guidance.
Handrails are not required on walking surfaces with running slopes less than 1. The osha loading requirement for both guardrail and handrail is a 200 pound 890 n concentrated load at any point or direction on the top rail. Fixed stairs having four or more risers shall have stair railings or handrails complying with 1917. Check with your local building department for any changes that go above and beyond the osha standard. This practice contains the design details for fabrication and installation of typical osha regulated stairs for open structures and miscellaneous platforms for regular operational accessegress. Westhead associates offers numerous osha guardrails and handrails to keep manufacturing operations safe for all workers.
Safety standard part 32 aerial work platforms a reference to 1926 subpart m fall protection, means construction safety standard part 45 fall protection. At least one handrail must be provided for stairs with four or more risers or 30 inches of ascent. A stair is to be designed to span a large vertical distance by dividing it into smaller vertical distances, called steps. Safety railing and guardrail requirements edge fall. A while back, we did a post titled why a horizontal lifeline may be the wrong solution. A handrail is required on stairs with two or more risers and ada ramps with a rise of 6 inches. Specifically, the following sections are the most relevant to guardrail construction. Occupational safety and health administration osha. Details for pipe railing for walking and working surfaces. Osha standards for trail bridge university of montana. Handrails can become loose and may need to be resecured or replaced. Table d2 stairway handrail requirements stair width enclosed one open side two open sides with earth built up on both sides less than 44 inches 1. Handrails and provisions for anchoring stairway to a support pad are also included. Osha, known as the occupational safety and health administration, is a united states federal agency that regulates and enforces workplace safety and health.
Handrails should be provided with stairs and shall not be more than 37 inches nor less than 30 inches from the upper surface of the handrail to the surface of the tread, in line with the face of the riser at the forward edge of the tread. The osha rules apply to all stairways and ladders used in construction, alteration, repair including painting and decorating, and demolition of work sites covered by osha s construction safety and health standards. Osha regulates every factor about a workplace, and below you will find the code that we follow for our fixed, industrial stairs. Stairways and ladders national interagency fire center. Ibc stairs typically have a 7 closed riser and an 11 tread. Both osha and ibc require landings at the top and bottom of the stairs, although ibc landings are larger, typically 4. A single bar or pipe supported on brackets from a wall or partition to provide a continuous handhold for persons using a stair stair railing. The stringers are notched so that the risers and treads fit into them. The height of handrails should not be more than 37 inches or less than 30 inches from the upper surface of the handrail to the surface of the tread. Osha stair requirements to keep your workplace safe and. They are required on both sides of stairs and ramps. Osha stair rail requirements stair railings may serve as handrails, and viceversa. Update on stairhand rails and ladders in 2016, the occupational safety and health administration osha revised its general industry standards addressing slip, trip and fall hazards found in subpart d, otherwise known as the walking working surfaces standard.
Fixed stairs must have a rise and run per table d1 of wac 29624765. For stairs installed before april 3, 1997, this height shall be between 30 and 38 inches. In highway applications, for instance, guardrails are designed to. The following requirements apply to all stairways as indicated. A stair rail or stair guard is a safety railing or barrier located along the open sides of a stairway. Osha stairs typically have an 8 open riser and an 9 tread. Jul 10, 2017 osha and many building codes use the term guardrail to refer to fall protection for raised platforms and stairways, but the industrial safety industry uses the more specific term handrail, with guardrail used only to refer heavyduty beams of formed steel. As an experienced designer and assembler of custom mezzanines, equipment platforms, modular inplant office buildings, and many other types of custom steel fabrications, our knowledge of ibc building codes and full compliance with osha. A vertical barrier erected along exposed sides of a stairway to prevent falls of persons. Stairs shall have stair railings on both open sides. Osha requirements for stairs also dictate that any spiral stair must have a handrail.
For these stair rail systems, the top rail may serve as a handrail, provided the top rail is 36 to 38 inches in height as measured at the leading edge of the stair tread to the top surface of the top rail and meets all other handrail requirements in 1910. Stairs wider than 88 inches must also have a handrail down the middle of the stairway. The basic requirements for railings, including handrails, and toeboards used for guarding floor and wall openings and holes are set out in osha standard. Riser height and tread depth shall be uniform within each flight of stairs, including any. This section covers all stairways including standard, spiral, ship, and alternating treadtype stairs, except for stairs serving floating roof tanks, stairs on scaffolds, stairs designed into machines or equipment, and stairs on selfpropelled motorized equipment. Details are at guardrails on balconies, decks, landings a guardrail is shown by the red arrows in our photo at above left. Handrails must be between 30 and 38 inches as measured from the leading edge of the stair tread. We show examples of breaks in the handrail and discuss when the. A stair railing shall be of construction similar to a standard railing but the vertical height shall be not more than 34 inches nor less than 30 inches from upper surface of top rail to surface of. Riser height and tread width uniform on flight of stairs.
Stairway landings and platforms are at least the width of the stair and at least 30 inches 76 cm in depth, as measured in the direction of travel. Do not assume someone else will repair or report it. Intermediate rail at about halfway up must have a toe board. Here are some basic pieces of information to bear in mind when constructing a handrail to comply with osha standards. Ibc also requires an intermediate landing on stairwells for stairwells over 12. Frequently asked questions osha standard for walking and.
Platforms can be placed at the top, middle, or bottom of a set of metal stairs. These standards for building stairs and ladder systems are set up by osha and ibc. Guardrail systems, stair rail systems, and handrails. Spiral stairs must meet the vertical clearance requirements in paragraph d. In addition, a roof handrail must be able to withstand 200 pounds of force without falling. The requirements of osha safety regulations for the safe use of ladders and stairs subpart x, title 29 code of federal regulations, part 1926. The section of the osha code that specifies most of the primary guardrail requirements and directly relates to safety railing is 1910. Osha stair code industrial metal stairs for employees. Some of the functional requirements of staircases are. Osha vs ibc approved stairs what is the difference, and. At least one handrail one stair rail system with handrail on open side. What is the difference between osha and ibc approved stairs. They also specify when stairways and ladders must be provided.
November 16, 2018 oshas walking working surfaces standard. Scope and application the osha rules apply to all stairways and ladders used in construction, alteration, repair including painting. Handrails requirements for handrails are as follows. It only makes sense that, if you are high enough to need a 42 guardrail on a flat surface, you need a 42 guardrail to guard the edge of a stair.
The round rails are easy to grip and 90o molded corners eliminate sharp edges. The top surface of a stair rail system may also be a handrail. The height of a handrail above the floor or the nosing of a stair tread, shall be between 900mm and 1100mm. Highland tank fabricates standard and custom stairs to facilitate access to tank fill ports and manways. May 10, 2019 the height of a handrail, measured vertically above the floor, walkway surface or the nosing of a stair tread, shall not be less that 900mm or greater than 1100mm, as shown in figure 5. Our railing system meets or exceeds all of these osha requirements. Heights of handrail and stair rail systems occupational.
If you need a 42 guardrail you need a lower rail on the stair to grasp. Handrailing continuity where are breaks permitted in handrailings. Guardrail can be designed to be suitable for use as a handrail. Osha standards or the occupational safety and health act of 1970. Condition topic standard yes no action taken stairways 1910. Standard handrails must be provided for stairs with four or more steps. Ada, building codes, and standards relating to handrails and. New handrails on open sides of stairs must have intermediate rails or an ornamental pattern through, which. When the top edge of a stairrail system also serves as a handrail, the height of the top edge shall be not more than 37 inches 94 cm nor less than 36 inches 91. Following is a summary of the osha stairway guidelines for industrial settings. Contractors must comply with the following safety and health standards that are applicable to the hazards at their covered workplace.
Stairway landings and platforms are at least the width of the stair and at least 30 inches 76. The osha standard does not meet most local building codes. How can you tell if a handrail meets osha standards. Osha guardrail requirements also include that safety railing systems be required even when occasional or temporary work is performed on the roof, whether for repair or for maintenance. Temporary stairs spiral stairways spiral stairways. D stair rail return round handrail system the safrail round handrail system is a round fiberglass system that is ideal for any high traffic area where handrail is needed. Osha requirements for guardrail and safety railing compliance. The following definitions from osha 1910, subpart d, shall apply to this practice. Handrails should be 30 to 34 inches from the top of the stair tread, measured in line with the face of the riser.
Top rail may also serve as handrail if height of the system is between 36 and 38 inches. In addition, osha regulations prohibit handrail installations that create projection hazards, and the standards require a minimum 3inch clearance around handrails. Industrial handrail height and australian standards moddex. X stairways and ladders division 3 ao 32015 oregon administrative rules oregon occupational safety and health division 4370030001 x 2 4370030001 or osha admin. Allowing employers to use stair rail top so they are able to maintain a firm grasp rails as handrails under these conditions on the handrail while. Handrails and the top rails of stair rail systems are capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds 890 n applied in any downward or outward direction within 2 inches 5 cm of any point along the top edge of the rail. The difference between ibc and osha stairs erectastep. The height of the top of the handrail shall be consistent through the ramp or stairs and any landings. Guardrail is to provide edge protection at the edge of a floor, platform or walkway.
681 384 48 499 772 905 639 1370 471 31 602 464 1261 676 1472 1280 710 989 26 1463 1109 1339 91 707 619 1441 208 218 1494 714 973 630 1061