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AISLES
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DOORS
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EXITS
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FLOORS
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LADDERS
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STAIRS
Passageways must be sufficiently wide and kept clear of obstructions at all times. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 5.1)
Doors must not open directly on stairways but must open onto floors having a width in excess of the swing of the doors. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 15.1)
Emergency lighting must be provided for the workplace and the exit route if a lighting failure causes danger to workers. The emergency lighting must turn on automatically when the regular lighting fails, must be independent of the regular lighting source, and must provide adequate lighting for the evacuation of the area. The emergency lighting must be tested at least once every three months. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 5.1)
Emergency exits must be marked and designed to provide easy exit. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 15.1)
Floor opening that are accessible to workers that are not protected by guardrails must be covered. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 17.1)
Stairway floor openings must be guarded on all exposed sides except at the entrance to the stairway by permanent railings and toeboards. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 17.1)
Floors must be even and free from anything that may create a stumbling hazard. Floors must be kept dry and in a non-slippery condition. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 5.1)
The parts of floors over which employees walk must be sufficiently even for safe walking and trucking of materials. Places where slipping may be especially hazardous must be provided with non-slip walking surfaces. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 17.4)
Guardrails must be provided around any uncovered opening in a floor and at the perimeter or any open side of a floor or balcony.
A guardrail must have a top rail between 39 and 42 inches above the surface, a toeboard extending from the floor to a height of 4 inches, and an intermediate rail midway between the top railing and the toeboard. Posted must be spaced no further than 95 inches apart. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 17.2 – 17.3)
A handrail must be provided on enclosed stairways less than 44 inches wide, preferably on the right descending. Stairways wider than 44 inches must have at least one handrail, preferably on the right descending. Stairways wider than 88 inches must have an intermediate handrail down the centre.
Stair railings must be between 30 and 34 inches high. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 22.6)
The floor space of any work area must not be crowded with machinery, products or materials so as to create a hazard to workers. Sufficient space must be provided around machines or process units to allow for normal operation, adjustments and repairs.
Floors must be kept dry and in a non-slippery condition. Every precaution must be taken to prevent oil or grease being spilled on floors. If oil or grease is spilled on floors and constitutes a slipping hazard, it must be cleaned up immediately.
Combustible materials such as waste, oil rags etc must not be allowed to accumulate on floors, benches or in places where they would constitute a fire hazard.
Suitable receptacles that will not leak must be provided for the disposal of garbage. Waste material must be removed daily, or more often if necessary, to prevent a hazardous condition. Work areas must be cleaned as often as necessary considering the nature of the work. Scrap materials must be properly disposed of once a job is completed.
Small tools and gear must be collected and stored in a suitable place at the end of each work shift. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 5.1)
The employer must ensure that all areas in which employees are working, and access to those areas, is adequately lighted. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 36.43)
The employer must provide a ladder where employees must work in an elevated or sub-level not provided with other safe means of access.
The employer must ensure that a ladder is removed from service when it has loose, broken or missing rungs, split side rails or other hazardous defects.
Portable ladders must be equipped with non-slip feet. Portable metal ladders must not be used in the vicinity of live electrical circuits. Benches, tables, or boxes must not be used as ladders.
The base of an inclined portable ladder must not be inclined at a gradient greater than 25 percent unless the top is securely fastened. The ladder must have a secure footing and the top rest be rigid and able to support the load. The side rails must extend at least 3 feet above the top surface.
Employees must inspect a ladder before use, report any unsafe condition to the employer, not work from the top three rungs, not splice ladders together, not place a ladder in front of a door unless the door is locked or guarded, use both hands and face the ladder when ascending or descending, and keep the centre of his body between the side rails.
The employer must ensure that a wooden ladder is made of good quality, straight grained lumber, is not painted except with a transparent coating, and has rungs that are free of knots, designed to carry a load of 200 kg on the centre of the rung, and has rungs that are spaced uniformly.
Step ladders must not be longer than 20 feet and be constructed with metal braces to hold the legs securely in position. Step ladders 10 feet in height and less must have a bottom cross rail and diagonal braces. Step ladders taller than 10 feet must have a bottom and intermediate cross rails and two sets of diagonal braces. Cross rails and braces must be not less than ½ inch thick. Cross rails must be not less than 4 inches wide and diagonal braces must be not less than 2 inches wide.
The employer must ensure that fixed ladders have parallel sides and are permanently and securely fastened so that the ladder is held securely in place at the top and bottom and such intermediate points as necessary to prevent sway. There must be a clearance of at least 6 ½ inches behind the rungs. Rungs must be omitted above the landing and the ladder have rails or other secure hand holds that extend at least 42 inches above the landing.
A fixed ladder longer than 20 feet must be provided with a safety rail, cage guards with offset platforms every 30 feet, or adequate fall arresting equipment. Employees working on fixed ladders longer than 20 feet must wear fall arrest equipment. When a safety rail is used, the employer must provide an approved safety belt designed to be attached to the rail, and the employee must wear the belt and attach it to the rail.
Extension ladders must have no more than 3 sections and not exceed 60 feet in length when extended. Extension ladders must have locks that securely hold the sections together.
A single section ladder must not exceed 30 feet in length. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 23)
The lunchroom must not contain an exit to a washroom, must be separate from any source of contamination, and must be adequate for the number of workers. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 4.1)
Stairs and platforms made of perforated metal must not have openings larger than 7/16 inches.
Stairs, except service stairs, should be at least 44 inches wide and in no case less than 36 inches wide. Treads must be at least 9 inches wide and risers between 7 ¾ and 5 inches high. The width of treads and the height of the risers must be constant in any stairway.
The pitch of stairways, except service stairs, should be between 30 and 35 degrees from horizontal and in no case less than 20 degrees or more than 50 degrees. Where the pitch would be less than 20 degrees, a ramp must be used and where the pitch is greater than 50 degrees a fixed ladder must be used.
Stairways having 4 or more steps must be equipped with a stair railing on any open side. Enclosed stairways less than 88 inches wide must be equipped with at least one handrail, preferably on the right descending. Stairways wider than 88 inches must also have an intermediate handrail down the centre.
The height of stair railings must be between 30 and 34 inches and be capable of withstanding a load of 100kg applied in any direction at any point on the rail.
Service stairs must be at least 3 feet wide. The pitch of service stairs must not be greater than 50 degrees and the width of the treads not less than 6 inches. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 22.6)
There must be a safe way for a worker to access the work area. (Occupational Health and Safety Act General Regulations EC180/87, 15.1)
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