When creating innovative outside spaces, there is a plethora of health and safety laws to comply with. This presentation summarises some of the critical points to keep in mind, providing a succinct refresher of core guidance.
Based on a trawl of the current health and safety legislation and building regulations, this presentation pulls together the most important points to be aware of:
Access – inclusive and safe access to an outdoor space is key in modern design:
Stairs – the simple measures required to ensure they are user-friendly for the majority:
Ramp Access – recommended widths and gradients for ease of use
Kerbs and Railings – guidance on how, where and when these should be used
Slip resistance – regulations and guidance for measuring and testing a surface’s slip resistance:
Height – guidance on where and when to use, and minimum heights required for:
Transcript of Health & Safety Presentation
Health & Safety in Outdoor Design
Live. Life. Outside.
Architects and landscape designers continue to push boundaries to meet the explosion in outdoor design.
These outside spaces present endless creative possibilities but also come with their own set of health and safety laws to be aware of. We’ve trawled the regulations to pull together the most important points to keep in mind.
By acknowledging these safety elements, you’ll maximise the enjoyment potential of your own outdoor projects.
Key Factors to consider
Access
Ensuring that an outdoor space can be enjoyed by everyone is an important part of any modern design. When the Equality Act replaced the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) in 2010, it outlined that public spaces should not present access barriers to disabled people, as much as is reasonably practicable.
Building Regulation documents M and K include clear guidance on how to make designs more user-friendly, and the British Standards Institution (BSI) issued several supporting documents relating to access and safe use. In the next section, we’ll cover their recommendations for stairs and ramps.
Stairs
Stairs require the inclusion of simple measures to make them user friendly for the majority of people. Clearly identifying the beginning of a staircase, ensuring all risers are highlighted, and protecting users from falls are key elements of a safe staircase.
Minimum Staircase Dimensions
The minimum required dimensions for a staircase is dependent upon its location and expected use. In cases where an open riser is to be used, the nosing overlap should be at least 16mm. This applies to all staircase types listed here.
Residential Stairs
To be used for only one dwelling:
Institutional & Assembly Stairs
Serving a place where many people gather:
Utility Stairs
To be used as access to escape or as maintenance entrance:
General Access Stairs
The usual route between levels:
Staircase Visibility
Building Document M stipulates that level changes in public spaces should be clearly emphasised for partially sighted users. This can be achieved by creating a colour contrast between the nose of a step and the rest of the staircase. To ensure that the contrast in colour is sufficient, Light Reflectance Values (LRVs) should be used.
LRVs are universally used to quantify contrast in colour by measuring the proportion of visible light that is reflected by a surface. The LRVs range from 0 (black) to 100 (white). Building Document M details that the nose of a step should have an LRV that is at least 30 points away from the LRV of the rest of the staircase.
Tactile Staircase Identification
It is important to warn both blind and partially sighted users about impending changes to the floor level. An easy way of achieving this is to introduce a tactile change in the surface leading up to the change in level. These surface changes can also be included on the nose of steps to reassure the user that they are treading on the right part of the staircase. For more information, please see the British Standards Institution document: BS8300.
Maximum Staircase Pitch
The maximum pitch for a staircase varies depending on whether it is to be used privately or publicly.
Public Setting
The maximum pitch allowed is 33° to 38° depending on usage.
Domestic Setting
The maximum pitch allowed is 42°.
Basic Ramp Access
When designing a ramp for public use, it is important to always keep the user in mind. Building Regulation Document K outlines the recommended widths and gradients for ease of use.
Ramps
Width
All access ramps should be at least 1500mm wide.
Gradient
The ramp’s slope should ideally not exceed 1:12.
Kerbs & Railings
Ramps may require the inclusion of both kerbs and railings, depending on whether they are to be used in private or public spaces.
Public Spaces
The open side of any ramp will require a kerb of at least 100mm high in addition to any guarding. If hand railings are to be used, they must be positioned between 900mm to 1000mm above the ramp’s surface.
Private Spaces
In private spaces the necessity for a railing is dependent on the width of the ramp.
Ramps that are less than 1000mm require a hand rail on one or both sides. Ramps that are 1000mm or more require a handrail on both sides. Ramps that are less than 600mm do not require handrails.
Maximum Ramp Gradients
Slip
Slip resistance is covered in both Building Regulation Documents K and M, and is specified in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulation of 1992. There are three main ways of measuring a surface for slip resistance:
‘R’ Ratings
R (Ramp) Ratings are measured by tilting a sample of prospective flooring on a ramp as a safely harnessed test subject walks back and forth. The sample is contaminated with oil and the test subject is required to wear regular work boots. The surface’s gradient is increased gradually until the subject slips off the surface.
This test is an expensive option owing to the equipment required to do it. The activity is repeated several times at different tilt levels, to arrive at a rating on a scale that runs from R9 to R13, with R13 being the most slip resistant.
‘ABC’ Slip Ratings
ABC Ratings are obtained in a similar way to R ratings. However, for ABC ratings, water is used rather than oil and the material is tested with bare feet.
This method of measurement produces a rating of either A, B or C, with C being the most slip resistant.
Pendulum Test Slip Ratings
Pendulum Test Ratings are the most common measure of slip resistance, owing to the minimal expense of conducting the tests.
A pendulum test kit is placed on the surface of the flooring and a series of readings are taken to produce a value that ranges between 11 and 80, with higher values representing greater slip resistance.
What is a good rating?
When selecting the right flooring for a given design, it is best to consider which rating is most applicable to the expected hazards in that location.
For example, areas around swimming pools will need an ABC rating whereas for dining areas, an R rating is more applicable.
MainScreen.jpg
Height
Height is an obvious safety consideration in outdoor design and railings and balustrades are therefore key components of current regulatory legislation.
This section will cover when guarding is needed and the minimum heights required. Loading for guarding can be found in British Standard Institution Document BS-EN 1991-1-1.
Decking Height
Although decking isn’t specifically referenced in the regulations, it’s sensible to follow the general fall hazard guidance as set out in Building Document K. To protect your users from falls, be aware of when you’ll need to install guarding:
Private
Provide guarding that protects users from being injured from a fall of more than 600mm.
Public
Provide guarding to protect users from being injured from a fall of more than two risers.
Balustrade Height
The approved Building Regulation document: K requires that balustrades be 900mm in height for internal staircases and 1100mm high in for external settings. This applies to both private and
public installations.
Conclusion
Outdoor designs that have safety and accessibility firmly embedded within them ensure years of happy use for all concerned. We hope this compilation of key legislation affecting outdoor design has been helpful.
