Steel stairs
Steel Stairs – Fire Exits
Steel Stairs And Exit Points
Requirements
Fire Escapes – what are the rules?
Persons who manage or control workplaces must ensure that workers entering and leaving the workplace are as safe and without risks to health as practicable.
As builders, architects, etc., would be aware, the specific requirements for fire escapes (and hallways leading to fire escapes) are found elsewhere. Buildings must now comply with the Building Code of Australia, which has been given the status of building regulation by Australia’s states and territories.
NOTE: the States and Territories adopted NCC 2015 on 1 May
This page provides general information for HSRs and workers only. Employers and builders must seek separate advice from qualified architects or other suitably qualified professionals.
However, under health and safety legislation, workplace occupiers have duties with regard to emergency exits from buildings. Section 26 of the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act, 2004 specifies that persons who ‘manage or control workplaces’:
1) A person who (whether as an owner or otherwise) has, to any extent, the management or control of a workplace must ensure so far as is reasonably practicable that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it are safe and without risks to health.
2) The duties of a person under sub-section (1) apply only in relation to matters over which the person has management or control.
This means that the occupiers of workplaces must ensure that emergency exits are always adequate.
Further to this, the following can be found in the Compliance Code for Workplace Amenities and Work Environment (2008)
Access ways
120.
Movement in and around workstations needs to be free of obstructions such as plants, furniture, materials, or other employees. Employers need to ensure that the space for employees to move and work between plants, equipment, structures, and materials is at least 800 millimeters. This will enable employees to work safely between machines, benches, or counters and allow them to escape quickly in an emergency.
121.
Aisles, passageways, and access to cupboards, storage, or doors need to be included in the calculated clear workstation space.
EMERGENCY EXITS
158.
In workplaces that are buildings, the location of doors needs to be appropriately marked, and signs need to be posted showing the directions to exit doors to aid in emergency evacuation. Employers need to ensure that emergency exits in buildings comply with the requirements in the Building Code of Australia, part D1, Provision for escape.
Emergency access and egress
159.
Employers must ensure that paths to exits comply with the specifications in the Building Code of Australia, part D1 Provisions for escape.
160.
Aisles and passageways in factories, warehouses, depots, and similar buildings need to be kept free of furniture or other obstructions at all times and clearly marked to enable the routes to the exits to be seen in the event of an emergency. For example, side boundaries can be marked by a permanent line of white, yellow, or clearly contrasting color at least 50mm wide or by glowing markers.
This means that WorkSafe inspectors will look to ensure that fire escapes are unimpeded and can be used safely in an emergency. If they suspect problems with egress or the width of the passageways, they will refer the matter to the local council.
Advice from a local council is that, generally speaking, all fire escapes should be at least 1 metre wide. In addition, the Code states that ‘it may be necessary to liaise with local government bodies when determining which legislative provisions (e.g., Victorian Building Regulations or UBR’s) are appropriate for things like the ‘means of egress’ from a workplace.
Steps and Stairs
Nothing in OHS/WHS legislation specifically addresses steps and/or stairs. Both the employer and the person with management and control of a workplace have a legal duty to ensure that the workplace is safe and without risks to health under their general duty of care.
However, as builders, architects, etc., would be aware, the specific requirements for the construction of stairways, platforms, landings, and so on are found elsewhere. Steps and stairs must now comply with the Building Code of Australia, which has been given the status of building regulation by Australia’s states and territories.
NOTE: the States and Territories adopted NCC 2015 on 1 May 2015. NCC 2016 is now available and was adopted by the States and Territories on 1 May 2016.
This page provides general information for HSRs and workers only. Employers and builders must seek separate advice from qualified architects or other suitably qualified professionals.
The following is taken from the NCC 2015 Building Code of Australia (Volume one—commercial buildings) and is for information only. Please check the Building Code for more details. It has not yet been checked against the NCC 2019.
A stairway must have:
not more than 18 nor less than 2 risers in each flight, and
(generally except in certain circumstances as set out in D2.13 b & c*): going (G), riser (R), and quantity (2R + G) in accordance with the Table below); and
(generally except in certain circumstances as set out in D2.13 b & c*), goings and risers that are constant throughout one flight, and
risers, which do not have any openings that would allow a 125 mm sphere to pass through between the treads and
treads which have –
a surface with a slip-resistance classification not less than that listed (in Table D2.14 of the code) when tested in accordance with AS-4586 or
a nosing strip with a slip-resistance classification not less than that listed (in Table D2.14) when tested in accordance with AS-4586 and
treads of solid construction (not mesh or other perforated material) if the stairway is more than 10 m high or connects more than 3 storeys, and
in a Class 9b building, not more than 36 risers in consecutive flights without a change in direction of at least 30°; and
in the case of a required stairway, no winders in lieu of a landing.
D2.13 b & c – set out special circumstances for ‘non-required’ stairways and stairways discharging to a sloping public walkway or public road.
Table (from Table D2.13 ) Riser and Going Dimensions (mm)
Riser (R) Going (G)* Quantity (2R + G)
| MAX | MIN | MAX | MIN | MAX | MIN | |
| Public Stairways | 190 | 115 | 355 | 250 | 700 | 550 |
| Private Stairways | 190 | 115 | 355 | 240 | 700 | 550 |
270 mm in from the outer side of the unobstructed width of the stairway if the stairway is less than 1 m wide (applicable to a non-required stairway only); and
270 mm from each side of the unobstructed width of the stairway if the stairway is 1 m wide or more.
In addition, the Australian Standard has recently been updated to be consistent with the Building Code: AS-1657- 2013: Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders – Design, construction and installation.
Rise and Going:
All rises (R) and all goings (G) in the same flight of stairs shall be of uniform dimensions within a tolerance of +/-5mm
for each rise: minimum 130mm, maximum 225mm
for each going: minimum 215mm, maximum 355mm
The going shall be not greater than the tread depth (TD) plus a maximum gap of 30 mm between the rear edge of one tread and the nosing of the tread above.
The combination of twice the riser plus the going (2R + G) shall be not less than 540 mm, and not greater than 700 mm [i.e. 540 ≤ (2R + G) ≤700].
NOTE: builders must check that any stairs to be constructed comply with the Building Code and also ensure they are using the latest edition of the Australian Standard.
Guardrails and handrails
The Australian Standard specifies that stairways and stairway landings shall be provided with guardrails on any exposed side except where there is a fixed structure at a distance not greater than 100mm from the stairway stile.
The guard railing must be constructed to comply with one of the following requirements:
A top rail, supported by posts, parallel to the floor or slope of a walkway at a vertical height of not less than 900mm above the standing level of such a platform or walkway (where the fall height is significant, or where there may be wind forces, the height
should be increased to at least 1000mm).
Where the guard railing is of post and rail construction, there are requirements, such as distance between rails, OR
When it is constructed with welded mesh, supported by posts, and provided with a reinforced top edge capable of withstanding the prescribed design loads
With regard to handrails:
Every stairway shall be provided with at least one handrail, which shall have a smooth, continuous top surface throughout the length of each stairway flight and have no obstruction on or above them that will tend to break a handhold.
Where the width of the stairway exceeds 1000mm, a handrail shall be provided on each side.
Slips, trips, and falls
Slipping, tripping, or falling are risks associated with steps and stairs that can lead to serious injuries. Under S21 of the 2004 OHS Act, the employer has a duty of care to provide and maintain a safe and healthy workplace. All potential hazards must be identified, the associated risk assessed, and controls introduced to eliminate or reduce those risks as far as practicable.
Also, under the Act (S26), persons who ‘manage or control’ workplaces must ensure that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving it are safe and without risks to health.
References:
The National Construction Code – 2015: The Building Code of Australia and The BCA Guide (go to the NCC online to register and get access to the Code and guide). NOTE: The National Construction Code 2019 is now available.AS 1657- 2013: Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways, and ladders – Design, construction, and installation. (this can be obtained from SAI Global – publishers of Australian Standards)Amended May 2019