Safety Presentation

1
Safety Presentation

• Stairways

2
Important Topics

• We will discuss
• Safety Statistics
• The importance of safety in stairway construction
• OSHA regulations- General Requirements
• Handrails and Stairrails
• Proper safety precautions.

3
Stairway Statistics

• A large majority of fatal and non-fatal injuries
  involving older people are from falling down
  stairs.
• Over 60 of death related accidents, for elderly,
  are from falling down the stairs.
• Around 10 children die each year as a result of
  some type of fall, mainly from stairs.
• In Canada, falls on stairs account for about 10
  percent of all fatal falls.

4
More Statistics

• 40 of all admissions to nursing homes are
  related to falls.
• Lighting is one of the most common problems when
  it comes to stairway falls.
• Falls account for an average of 5.1 million
  injuries and 6,000 deaths a year.

5
Safety in Construction

• Stairs tend to experience higher hazards when
  that are built too high (over 7 inches) or not
  deep enough (under 11 inches).
• Each riser height and tread depth must be kept
  the same, because variations lead to trips and
  falls.
• Having too many steps (more than 10) without a
  landing, can lead to fatigue which increases the
  risk of falls.

6
General Requirements

• A stairway or ladder shall be provided- at all
  personal points of access where there is a break
  in elevation of 19 or more, and no ramp, runway,
  sloped embankment, or personal hoist is provided.

7
General Requirements

• Slippery conditions on stairways shall be
  eliminated before the stairways are used to reach
  other levels.
• Where doors or gates open directly on a stairway,
  a platform shall be provided, and the swing of
  the door shall not reduce the effective width of
  the platform to less than 20 inches.

8
General Requirements

• Stairs shall be installed between 30 deg. And 50
  deg. from horizontal.
• Riser height and tread depth shall be uniform
  within each flight of stairs.
• All parts of stairways shall be free of hazardous
  projections.

9
Handrails and Stairrails

• Stairways having four or more risers or rising
  more than 30, whichever is less, shall be
  equipped with
• At least one handrail
• One stairrail system along each unprotected side
  or edge.

10
Midrails

• Midrails, when used, shall be located at a height
  midway between the top edge of the stairrail
  system and the stairway steps.
• When intermediate vertical members, such as
  balusters, are used between posts, they shall not
  be more than 19 apart.

11
Stairrails

• They shall not be less than 30 nor more than 34
  from the upper surface of the stairrail system to
  the surface of the tread, in line with the face
  of the riser at the forward edge of the tread.

12
Handrails

• Handrails at the top rails of stairrail systems
  shall be capable of withstanding, without
  failure, a force of at least 200 pounds applied
  within 2 of the top edge, in any downward or
  outward direction, at any point along the top
  edge.
• The height should not be more than 37 nor less
  than 30 from the upper surface.

13
Safety Precautions

• Make sure the stairs are well lit.
• Handrail should be strong and easy to hold.
• When carrying things up or down the stairs make
  sure to have one hand on the rail.
• Check that the carpets or runners are securely
  fastened
• Keep stairway clean and free of objects

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Closing

• Stairways are a very important part of the
  construction project and everyone must do their
  part to help keep them safe.
• There are many opportunities for injuries on
  stairways, therefore all the OSHA requirements
  must be followed.
• Questions?

15
References

• http//aix1.uottawa.ca/nedwards/chru/english/pdf/
  SafeStairsOct5.pdf
• http//www.centerforhealthyhousing.org/stair_safet
  y.pdf
• OSHA 29 CFR 1926, Construction Industry
  Regulations