Walking Working Surfaces

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General Requirements

Proper housekeeping must be maintained in all permanent work facilities.

Where mechanical handling equipment is used, aisles and passageways must be properly maintained clear of materials, in good repair, and marked.

Covers and guardrails must be provided to protect employees from hazards of open pits, tanks, vats, and ditches.

Floor loading areas must be marked and proper floor loading procedures must be maintained.

Guarding Floor and Wall Openings and Holes

Every stairway and ladder-way floor opening or platform must be guarded by a standard railing.

Every hatchway, chute, skylight pit, trapdoor, manhole, and temporary floor opening must be guarded.

Wall openings and holes must be guarded if there is a drop of more than 4 feet. IP H&S policy. In the absence of local regulatory requirements, the use of fall protection shall be required when employees are working at elevations greater than 4 feet above the ground or lower level, or when a fall from a lesser height involves an unusual risk of injury, e.g., working above dangerous equipment. Sites in the U.S. may continue to use 6 feet for fall protection for major construction/capital projects as is allowable under the OSHA Construction Standard.

Chute wall openings must be guarded if there is a drop of more than 4 feet.

Every window wall opening at a stairway landing, floor, platform, or balcony from which there is a drop of more than 4 feet, and where the bottom of the opening is less than 3 feet above the platform or landing, must be guarded. IP H&S policy. A standard handrail constructed in accordance with local regulations shall protect raised or open-sided floors, mezzanines, balconies, work platforms, ramps, and walkways.

Every temporary wall opening must have adequate guards.

Wall holes with a hazard of materials falling through the hole where the lower edge of the near side of the hole is less than 4 inches above the floor and the far side of the hole is more than 5 feet above the next lower level must be protected.

Every open-sided floor or platform 4 feet or more above adjacent floor or ground level must be guarded by a standard railing.

Every runway must be guarded by a standard railing on all open sides 4 feet or more above floor or ground level.

Railing and toeboards must be provided for certain structures.

Every flight of stairs having 4 or more risers and all winding stairs must be equipped with standard stair railings or standard handrails.

A standard railing consists of a top rail, intermediate rail, and posts, and have a vertical height of 42 inches nominal from upper surface to top rail to floor, platform, runway, or ramp level.

A stair railing must be of construction similar to a standard railing but the vertical height must be not more than 34 inches.

Railing constructed of various materials must meet certain construction requirements.

A standard toeboard must be 4 inches nominal in vertical height from its top edge to the level of the floor, platform, runway, or ramp.

Handrails must be constructed in accordance with certain requirements.

Handrails and railings must be provided with at least 3 inches of clearance between the handrail or the railing.

Floor coverings must meet specific strength requirements.

Skylight screens must be of such construction and mounting that they are capable of withstanding a load of at least 200 pounds applied perpendicularly at any one area of the screen.

Wall opening barriers (railings, rollers, picket fences, and half doors) must be able to withstand a load of at least 200 pound applied in any direction except upward, applied at any point on the top rail or corresponding member.

Wall opening grab handles must be at least 12 inches in length and must be so mounted as to provide 3 inches of clearance from the side framing of the wall opening.

Wall opening screens must be of such construction and mounting that they are capable of withstanding a load of at least 200 pounds applied horizontally at any point on the near side of the screen..

Fixed Industrial Stairs

Fixed stairs must be provided for access from one structure level to another where operations necessitate regular travel between levels.

Fixed stairways must be designed to support 5 times the normal live load anticipated.

Fixed stairways must have a minimum width of 22 inches.

Fixed stairs must be installed at an angle to the horizontal of between 30 and 50 degrees.

All stair treads must be reasonably slip-resistant and the no sings must have a nonslip finish.

Stairway platforms must be at least as wide as the stairway and must be at least 30 inches in length.

Standard railings must be provided for stairways and stair platforms.

Vertical clearance between any stair tread and any overhead obstruction must be at least 7 feet.

Portable Wood Ladders

All wood parts must be free from sharp edges and splinters.

Portable step ladders longer than 20 feet must not be used.

A uniform step spacing with a minimum of 12 inches must be employed.

Single portable rung ladders longer than 30 feet must not be supplied, and two section ladders longer than 60 feet shall not be supplied.

Painters' step ladders, masons' ladders (a special type of single ladder intended for use in heavy construction work), and trolley ladders longer than 12 feet, 40 feet, and 20 feet, respectively, must not be supplied.

To ensure safety and serviceabilty, precautions for the care of ladders must be observed. Ladders shall be inspected frequently and those which have developed defects shall be withdrawn from service for repair or destruction and tagged or marked as "Dangerous, Do Not Use."

Safety precautions must be observed in connection with the use of ladders. IP H&S policy. Employees may work from portable ladders without fall protection provided that: the employees center of gravity is maintained between the ladder side rails and the employee has one hand available to hold onto the ladder or other support; the ladder is not positioned near an edge or floor opening that would significantly increase the potential fall distance.

Ladders must be in good condition and assembled to meet certain safety requirements.

Fixed Ladders

Ladders must be designed to meet load requirements.

All rungs must have a minimum diameter of 3/4 inch for metal ladders and a minimum diameter of 1 1/8 inch for wooden ladders. In addition, the distance between rungs, cleats, and steps, must not exceed 12 inches and the minimum clear length of rungs or cleats must be 16 inches.

Side rails that might be used as a climbing aid must provide an adequate gripping surface that does not have sharp edges, splinters, or burns.

Fastenings must be an integral part of fixed ladder design.

All splices and connections must have a smooth transition and original members must not have sharp or extensive projections.

Adequate means must be employed to protect dissimilar metals from electrolytic action when such metals are joined.

All welding must be in accordance with the "Code for Welding Construction".

Ladders must be protected from deterioration.

Fixed ladders must meet certain requirements for clearance.

Ladders with cages or baskets must meet certain specific requirements for clearances.

Ladders with smooth-walled wells must meet certain specific requirements for clearances.

Hatch covers must meet specific design requirement.

Cages and wells must meet specific design requirements.

Landing platforms must be provided in accordance with certain requirerments.

Landing platforms must be equipped with standard railings and toeboards, arranged to give safe access to the ladder.

A rung must be located at the level of the platform laterally served by the ladder.

The side rails of through- or side-step ladder extensions must extend 3 1/2 ft above parapets and landings.

Grab bars must be spaced by a continuation of the rung spacing when they are located in the horizontal position.

Ladder safety devices may be used on tower, water tank, and chimney ladders over 20 ft in unbroken length in lieu of cage protection.

Fixed ladders must be in stalled with a pitch range of 60 degrees to 90 degrees with the horizontal.

Fixed ladders must be maintained in a safe condition.

General Requirements for Scaffolding

The footing or anchorage for scaffolds must be sound, rigid, and capable of carrying the maximum intended load without settling or displacement.

Scaffolds and their components must be capable of supporting at least 4 times the maximum intended load without failure.

Scaffolds and other devices mentioned or described in 29 CFR 1920.28 must be maintained in a safe condition.

Any scaffold that is damaged or weakened from any cause must be immediately repaired.