FAQs
Steps and Stairs
There is nothing in OHS legislation specifically on steps and stairs.
However, there are a number of sources providing guidance and information. Steps and stairs should comply with the Building Code of Australia as well as the Australian Standard AS 1657-1992: Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders - Design, construction and installation.
Stair design
A NSW WorkCover Guidance Note Preventing slips, trips and falls makes the following recommendations:
The dimensions for the 'rise' (R) should be: minimum 115mm, maximum 190 mm. However, it is very important that the 'rise' is in proportion to the width of each step, ie the 'tread' or the 'going'. The dimensions for the 'going' (G) - that is the top part of the step - are minimum 250 mm and maximum 355mm.
According to the Guidance Note, correct stairs should have dimensions as follows: 2R + G = minimum 550, maximum 700.
The Australian Standard has more detailed, and slightly different, advice:
Rises and goings:
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all rises and all goings, in the same flight of stairs, shall be of uniform dimensions within a tolerance of +/-5mm
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for each rise: miinimum 150mm, maximum 215mm
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for each going: minimum 215mm, maximum 305mm
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the product of the going and the rise, measured in millimetres, shall be not less than 45,000 and not more than 48,000
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the tread width shall be not less than the going and there shall be a minimum overlap or 10mm
Guardrails and handrails
The Australian Standard specifies:
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Except where there is a fixed structure at a distance not greater than 100mm from the stairway stile, stairways and stairway landing shall be provided with guardrailing on any exposed side.
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The guardrailing must be constructed to comply with one of the following requirements:
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A top rail, supported by posts, parallel to the floor or sope of a walkway at a vertical height of not less than 900mm nor more than 1100mm above the standing level of such a platform or walkway. There must also be one or more intermediate rails parallel with the top rail and the floor with a maximum distance of 450mm between rails or between the lowest rail and the top of the toe-board where fitted. Where a toe-board is not fitted, the maximum distance between the lowest rail and the floor must not be greater than 560mm. Alternatively, the space between the top rail and the floor may be provided with suitable infill fixed to the top rail and to the floor, toe-board, or a bottom rail not more than 80mm above the floor; OR
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Welded mesh, supported by posts and provided with a reinforced top edge capable of withstanding the prescribed design loads
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NB: "Infill" may be pipe, bar, solid or perforated plate, expanded metal, metal mesh, or any other material. May be pipes or bars arranged vertically, horizontally or any other configuration - as long as gaps not greater than 450mm.
With regard to handrails:
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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. 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 that can be associated with steps and stairs, and 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 then 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.
For more information, including advice to OHS reps, and links, go to the slips, trips and falls hazard information page.