Section 3.16
Temporary Stairways, Ladders and Portable Ladders
Glossary
Cages: Cages are guards that are fastened to the side rails of the fixed ladder or to the structure to encircle the climbing space of the ladder for the safety of the person who must climb the ladder.
Double-Cleat Ladder: A ladder with a center rail to allow simultaneous
two-way traffic for employees ascending or descending.
Fixed Ladder: A ladder that cannot be readily moved or carried because it is an integral part of a building or structure.
Ladders: A ladder is an appliance usually consisting of two side rails joined at regular intervals by cross-pieces called steps, rungs or cleats, on which a person may step in ascending or descending.
Midrails: A rail approximately midway between the guardrail and platform, used when required, and secured to the uprights erected along the exposed sides and ends of platforms.
Permanent Structure: A permanent structure can be either a building or permanent fixture, such as a smokestack.
Platform: A working surface for persons, elevated above the surrounding floor or ground; such as an extended step or landing breaking a continuous run of stairs.
Point of Access: All areas used by employees for work-related passage from one area or level to another.
Riser Height: The vertical distance from the top of a tread or platform/landing to the top of the next higher tread or platform/landing.
Rungs: Rungs are ladder cross-pieces of circular or oval cross-section, on which a person may step in ascending or descending.
Safety Devices: A device other than a cage or well, designed to eliminate or reduce the possibility of accidental falls and which may incorporate such features as life belts, friction brakes and sliding attachments.
Stairrail: A vertical barrier erected along the unprotected sides and edges of a stairway to prevent employees from falling to lower levels.
Stair Tread: The horizontal member of a step.
Stairways: A series of steps leading from one level or floor to another, or leading to platforms, pits, boiler rooms, crossovers, or around machinery, tanks and other equipment that are used more or less continuously or routinely by employees, or only occasionally by specific individuals. A series of steps and landing having three or more risers constitutes stairs or stairway.
Wells: A well is a permanent complete enclosure around a fixed ladder, which is attached to the walls of the well. Proper clearances for a well will give the person who must climb the ladder the same protection as a cage.