Yesterday we looked at some of the design and construction requirements of OSHA’s exit route rules. Today we move on to the rules covering exit route maintenance, safeguards, markings, and operational features, and we’ll introduce you to a tool that can give you peace of mind about the safety—and compliance—of your exit routes and evacuation procedures.
The following information is excerpted from our sister website Safety.BLR.com.
Exit route maintenance
Exit routes must be kept unobstructed and free of explosive or highly flammable furnishings or other decorations. No materials or equipment should ever be placed within the exit route. Exit routes must be maintained during construction, repairs, or alterations.
Safeguards
Safeguards designed to protect employees during an emergency, such as sprinkler systems, alarm systems, fire doors, and exit lighting, must be functional at all times.
Safety management couldn’t be easier, or worries about OSHA inspections less threatening, than with BLR’s Safety Audit Checklists. Find out more.
Alarm system
Employers must install and maintain an operable employee alarm system that has a distinctive signal to warn employees of fire or other emergencies, unless employees can promptly see or smell a fire or other hazard in time to provide adequate warning to them. The employee alarm system must comply with OSHA’s alarm system rule (29 CFR 1910.165).
Signage, markings, and lighting
Each exit route must be adequately lighted so that an employee with normal vision can see along the exit route. Signs must be posted along all exit routes that indicate the direction of travel to the nearest exit. These signs will typically read "EXIT" and include an arrow indicating the direction to the exit. Each exit, or doorway leading outside, must be marked with a clearly visible and distinctive sign that reads "EXIT." The exit sign must have distinctive colors that do not blend into the background. The exit signs cannot be obstructed or concealed in any way. Any nonexit doorway or passage that might be mistaken for an exit must be marked with a sign that reads "NOT AN EXIT" or a sign that indicates the door’s actual use, such as "Basement," or "Closet."
Operational features
Exit routes must be arranged so that employees will not have to travel toward a high-hazard area, unless the route is effectively shielded from the high-hazard area by suitable partitions or other physical barriers.
The exit access must not go through a room that can be locked or leads into a dead-end corridor. Stairs or a ramp must be provided where the exit route is not substantially level.
Fire-retardant paints or solutions at exits must be renewed as often as necessary to maintain their fire-retardant properties.
Management Issues
BLR’s Safety Audit Checklists reminds us that there are several aspects of exit routes that management needs to review. These include:
- Checking the routes themselves to ensure that exit routes from any spot within the facility meet the design and construction requirements specified in the standards
- Ensuring that the routes are clean and unobstructed at all times
- Establishing frequent inspection schedules of all exit routes
- Posting diagrams of the facility that indicate the proper exit routes from a particular location
Examine the best-selling Safety Audit Checklists program for 30 days at no cost … not even for return shipping. Get the details.
Training Issues
Your employees must be prepared to act quickly in case of emergency. Safety Audit Checklists says that workers should be trained to:
- Know the sound of the emergency alarm system.
- Know at least two exit routes from their workstations.
- Expect that in case of a fire, it may be smoky and hard to see or breathe.
- Remember to move quickly—but not to run or panic.
- Know any emergency duties they should perform.
- Know where to meet outside.
- Go to the assigned meeting area immediately.
- Avoid interfering with emergency operations.
Ready-Made Checklists
This is only a sampling of the material Safety Audit Checklists provides in its section on Exit Routes and Evacuations. You also get a 14-point checklist geared to OSHA’s exit route standards and a second checklist to be posted with key information for employees. All told, this best-selling program provides you with more than 300 separate safety checklists, keyed to three main criteria:
- OSHA compliance checklists, built right from the government standards in such key areas as HazCom, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, and many more.
- "Plaintiff attorney" checklists, built around those non-OSHA issues that often attract lawsuits.
- Safety management checklists that monitor the administrative procedures you need to have for topics such as OSHA 300 Log maintenance, training program schedulingand recordkeeping, and OSHA-required employee notifications.
Make as many copies as you need for all your supervisors and managers, and distribute. What’s more, the entire program is updated annually. And the cost averages only about $1 per checklist.
If this method of ensuring a safer, more OSHA-compliant workplace interests you, we’ll be happy to make Safety Audit Checklists available for a no-cost, no-obligation, 30-day evaluation in your office. Just let us know, and we’ll be pleased to arrange it.
Many organizations are finding that new-hire safety orientation provides a prime opportunity to put their best foot forward while conveying to workers the commitment to safety. In those first days or hours on the job, it’s important to let them know you