Slips trips and falls cost Australian businesses a fortune in compensation claims and lost time. They also cost the sufferer greatly, occasionally ending in life-long or even deadly complications.
There are plenty of compliance regulations attempting to make workplaces and public spaces safer by lessening the occurrence of slips, trips and falls. Let’s take a look at your compliance responsibilities for stairs.
If you think stairs are just a simple way of getting people from one level to the next, think again. There are lots of regulations around the construction and maintenance or stairs.
- Stairs need to be of even height and depth,
- All stairs in a staircase at a public place must be:
- An even, uniform height with a tolerance under 5mm.
- Height can range between 130-225mm
- Stair width can be between 215-355mm but must also be even.
- The elevation of any flight of stairs should be designed between 15° and 55°.
- Stairs need to be well lit and have regular landings.
- A landing should be introduced every 16 steps in a flight of stairs.
- Consideration should be given to whether handrails are required
Stair Treads
- A tread should extend across the full width of the stair,
- Stair treads should be slip resistant, in good condition and have a visual contrast (eg bright or reflective, not blend into the background)
If you identify any risks in stairs at your workplace, we can help. We can demolish existing stairs and help to arrange install of new ones. We also regularly pressure clean stairwells to remove slip hazards, and paint textured, reflective surfaces to your stairs to make them safer.
