Exit sign requirements

There should be an egress drawing on the original plans designating the egress paths. This is the requirements from IBC
SECTION EXIT SIGNS
.1 Where required.
Exits and exit access doors shall be marked by an approved exit sign readily visible from any direction of egress travel. The path of egress travel to exits and within exits shall be marked by readily visible exit signs to clearly indicate the direction of egress travel in cases where the exit or the path of egress travel is not immediately visible to the occupants. Intervening means of egress doors within exits shall be marked by exit signs. Exit sign placement shall be such that no point in an exit access corridor or exit passageway is more than 100 feet (30 480 mm) or the listed viewing distance for the sign, whichever is less, from the nearest visible exit sign.

Exceptions:

1. Exit signs are not required in rooms or areas that require only one exit or exit access.2. Main exterior exit doors or gates that are obviously and clearly identifiable as exits need not have exit signs where approved by the building official.3. Exit signs are not required in occupancies in Group U and individual sleeping units or dwelling units in Group R-1, R-2 or R-3.4. Exit signs are not required in dayrooms, sleeping rooms or dormitories in occupancies in Group I-3.5. In occupancies in Groups A-4 and A-5, exit signs are not required on the seating side of vomitories or openings into seating areas where exit signs are provided in the concourse that are readily apparent from the vomitories. Egress lighting is provided to identify each vomitory or opening within the seating area in an emergency..2 Floor-level exit signs in Group R-1.
Where exit signs are required in Group R-1 occupancies by Section .1, additional low-level exit signs shall be provided in all areas serving guestrooms in Group R-1 occupancies and shall comply with Section .5.

The bottom of the sign shall be not less than 10 inches (254 mm) nor more than 12 inches (305 mm) above the floor level. The sign shall be flush mounted to the door or wall. Where mounted on the wall, the edge of the sign shall be within 4 inches (102 mm) of the door frame on the latch side.

.3 Illumination.
Exit signs shall be internally or externally illuminated.

Exception: Tactile signs required by Section .4 need not be provided with illumination.

.4 Raised character and Braille exit signs.
A sign stating EXIT in raised characters and Braille and complying with ICC A117.1 shall be provided adjacent to each door to an area of refuge, an exterior area for assisted rescue, an exit stairway, an exit ramp, an exit passageway and the exit discharge.

.5 Internally illuminated exit signs.
Electrically powered, self-luminous and photoluminescent exit signs shall be listed and labeled in accordance with UL 924 and shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer?s instructions and Chapter 27. Exit signs shall be illuminated at all times.

.6 Externally illuminated exit signs.
Externally illuminated exit signs shall comply with Sections .6.1 through .6.3. .6.1 Graphics.
Every exit sign and directional exit sign shall have plainly legible letters not less than 6 inches (152 mm) high with the principal strokes of the letters not less than 3/4 inch (19.1 mm) wide. The word "EXIT? shall have letters having a width not less than 2 inches (51 mm) wide, except the letter "I,? and the minimum spacing between letters shall not be less than 3/8inch (9.5 mm). Signs larger than the minimum established in this section shall have letter widths, strokes and spacing in proportion to their height.

The word "EXIT? shall be in high contrast with the background and shall be clearly discernible when the means of exit sign illumination is or is not energized. If a chevron directional indicator is provided as part of the exit sign, the construction shall be such that the direction of the chevron directional indicator cannot be readily changed..6.2 Exit sign illumination.
The face of an exit sign illuminated from an external source shall have an intensity of not less than 5 footcandles (54 lux)..6.3 Power source.
Exit signs shall be illuminated at all times. To ensure continued illumination for a duration of not less than 90 minutes in case of primary power loss, the sign illumination means shall be connected to an emergency power system provided from storage batteries, unit equipment or an on-site generator. The installation of the emergency power system shall be in accordance with Chapter 27.

Exception: Approved exit sign illumination means that provide continuous illumination independent of external power sources for a duration of not less than 90 minutes, in case of primary power loss, are not required to be connected to an emergency electrical system.

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Fire exits are a fixture many of us are so familiar with that we hardly pay them any attention. And yet many public places face fines for blocked fire exits every day. So, in this piece we take a look at the specifics around OSHA exit door requirements and steps businesses can ensure they are compliant.

The startling fact is that retail as a whole has seen fines of over $5.5 million between October and September  for failures of compliance with maintenance, safeguards, operational features, design and construction requirements for exit routes.

What is the law regarding fire exits?

OSHA standard .36 defines an exit route as a continuous and unobstructed path of exit travel from any point within a workplace to a place of safety. The law around fire exits places several regulations around each part of the exit route. In order to comply with fire safety regulations each part of the exit route needs to meet a minimum standard.

OSHA defines the parts of an exit route to be the following:

• The exit access &#; the part of an exit route leading to an exit
• The exit &#; the part of the exit route which provides a protected way to travel to the exit discharge
• The exit discharge &#; the part of the exit route which leads outside the building to a street, walkway or other open space with access to the outside.

For the exit discharge, which includes the fire door, there are a number of regulations for workplace fire safety including:

• Exits must be clearly marked and free from decorations
• Fire doors must open directly outside, or to an open space with access to the outside
• Exits must be separated by fire resistant materials
• Exits must have a self-closing fire door
• Exit doors must be unlocked

What action should you take if access to a fire exit is blocked?

A blocked fire exit should be cleared as a matter of urgency &#; valuable time and human lives can be cost should an exit be blocked in an emergency.

Employees should receive documented training in fire safety, including ensuring they understand the Evacuation Action Plan (EAP) and what is expected of them in an emergency. However this can be easy to overlook in the day-to-day working life and busy employees may need reminders of the safety requirements.

A fire exit door obstructed by a trolley and large boxes. Hazard Detection enables businesses to take control of their health and safety, offering continuous monitoring of protected zones and real-time alerts for non-compliance. For businesses looking to take pro-active action to ensure compliance with safety regulations, our Hazard Detection solution monitors protected zones, including all parts of the exit route, recognising obstructions and notifying through in store communication channels that action must be taken to ensure the safety of working conditions.

OSHA is clear that employees have a right to working conditions that do not pose risk of serious harm to them, this includes fire safety and should be taken seriously by businesses.

Are you interested in learning more about the surface outside an exit door must be? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

Employees are able to report their employers, and request OSHA inspect their workplace for hazards should they feel their workplace is unsafe or poses serious hazards in the face of emergencies. Additionally employees have protection from the OSHA Whistleblower Protection Program to ensure that they can report unsafe environments without retaliation from their employer.

Can fire exit doors be locked?

OSHA standard .36(d)(1) is clear that an exit door must be unlocked. Employees must always be able to open the exit route door from the inside, without the need for keys, tools or special knowledge. The ability to open exit doors at any point includes the restriction of use of any device or alarm which can prevent the door opening in an emergency should the device or alarm fail.

There are exceptional circumstances relating to secure facilities. However even in these circumstances it is clear that exit doors can only be locked should there be supervisory personnel on continuous duty, with a clear evacuation plan to safely remove occupants during an emergency.

In short, fire exit doors must not be locked. Locking them can cost time and lives during an emergency and in an OSHA inspection, they can cost businesses thousands of dollars in fines. Serious OSHA violations can cost up to $156,259 per violation.

The role of computer vision in fire safety compliance

Whilst businesses can write detailed Evacuation Action Plans (EAP), perform thorough fire safety risk assessments and train employees on both of these things, what they cannot do is be present all day every day.

The difficulty for head office then, should an OSHA inspection take place or an emergency happen, is ensuring that they are compliant with regulations without dedicated employees in every store during working hours to ensure compliance. Even with a dedicated person to ensure compliance, they cannot always be present. Lunch breaks, bathroom breaks, sickness absence, annual leave &#; there are a myriad of reasons why it would still be difficult to maintain compliance with a dedicated employee in every store to focus solely on health and safety. That is without considering the cost and challenge of recruiting qualified health and safety professionals to undertake the roles in the first place.

Lady standing beside an evacuation plan and fire alarm completing paperwork. The only way businesses can ensure their fire exits are not locked or blocked is to check them frequently, or deploy technology such as Hazard Detection to alert on an exit being locked or blocked enabling real-time ability to address non-complianceYet the only way to prevent blocked or locked fire exits is to monitor to see if they are blocked or locked in the first place. Recruiting new employees is already a challenge for retailers. Expecting existing employees to take on additional duties of constant monitoring of fire exits is not feasible.

Combining human intelligence and computer vision

SeeChange views AI as a tool that should be utilised alongside human intelligence, combining the benefits of human understanding with computer vision to undertake the tasks it would be unfeasible, unreliable and unfair to expect employees to take on in addition to their existing roles.

Businesses can define their specific challenges, their protected zones can be mapped and the task of monitoring these areas continuously is offloading onto the AI solution. Should an obstruction be detected, the solution notifies via the existing in store communication channels to require employees to remove the obstruction and store it correctly.

The process provides a full audit trail for businesses, and can be used to demonstrate the implementation of a health and safety system with reporting and insights available for every location.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of emergency power lights. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.