OSHA Office of Training and Education 1

Walking and Working

Surfaces
Subpart D
OSHA Office of Training and Education 2
General Requirements
Housekeeping
Workplaces must be kept
clean, orderly, and sanitary
Workroom floors must be
maintained as clean and dry
as possible
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General Requirements
Aisles and Passageways
Keep clear and move
obstructions that could
create a hazard
Mark permanent aisles and
passageways
Aisles must be sufficiently
wide where mechanical
handling equipment is used
OSHA Office of Training and Education 4
General Requirements
Covers and Guardrails
Provide covers
and/or guardrails to
protect workers
from the hazards of
open pits, tanks,
vats, ditches, and
the like.
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General Requirements
Floor Loading Protection
Load ratings must be
marked on plates and be
conspicuously posted
Do not exceed the load
rating limit
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Floor Opening
An opening measuring 12 inches or more in
its least dimension in a floor, platform,
pavement, or yard, through which persons
may fall.
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Floor Hole
An opening measuring less than
12 in. but more than 1 in. in its
least dimension, in a floor,
platform, pavement or yard,
through which materials but not
persons may fall
Every floor hole into which
persons can accidentally walk
must be guarded by either:
standard railing with toe-board
cover

OSHA Office of Training and Education 8
Guarding Floor Openings
Definitions
Standard railing. Consists of
top rail, mid rail, and posts.
Height from the upper surface
of top rail to floor level is 42
inches. Mid rail height is 21
inches.
Standard toe-board. 4 inches
high, with not more than -inch
clearance above the floor.
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Stairway Floor Openings
Must be guarded by a standard railing on all
exposed sides (except at entrance).
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Wall Openings
Opening at least 30 in. high
and 18 in. wide, in a wall or
partition, through which
persons may fall
Wall openings from which
there is a drop of more than
4 feet must be guarded
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Defining Openings and Holes:
1910.21
Wall Opening
LESSON 2
Wall hole
An opening less than 30
inches but more than 1 inch
high such as a ventilation
hole.
An opening at least 30 inches
high and 18 inches wide, in any
wall or partition, through which
persons may fall.
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Open-Sided Floors and Platforms
Open-sided floors or platforms 4 feet
or more above adjacent floor or ground
level must be guarded by a standard
railing (or equivalent) on all open
sides, except where there is an
entrance to a ramp, stairway, or fixed
ladder
A toe-board is required when, beneath
the open sides:
persons can pass,
there is moving machinery, or
there is equipment with which
falling materials could create a
hazard
Unguarded Platform
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Open-Sided Floors, Walkways,
Platforms, and Runways
Regardless of height, a standard railing and
toe-board must be used to guard:
- open-sided floors
- walkways
- platforms, or
- runways
above or adjacent to dangerous equipment,
pickling or galvanizing tanks, degreasing
units, and similar hazards.
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Toe Board
4 Feet
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Stairways
Flights of stairs with four
or more risers must have
standard stair railings or
handrails.
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Rails must be able
to withstand a
force of 200
pounds
Handrail and
Top Rail Strength
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Fixed Industrial Stairs
Treads must be slip resistant
with uniform rise height and
tread width
Must be able to carry 5 times
expected load; minimum of
1000 pounds
Minimum width of 22 inches
Violation here several
steps bent and damaged
OSHA Office of Training and Education 18
Handrails
Stairways with four or
more risers, or higher
than 30 inches, must
be equipped with at
least one handrail.
The stairway to this platform has more than 4 risers
and is not guarded. The platform requires guarding.
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Install between 30
and 50 degrees.

Must have uniform
riser height and
tread depth, with
less than a 1/4-inch
variation.
No more than 1/4 inch
variation in any stairway system
Stairs
OSHA Office of Training and Education 20
Stairways landings must
be at least 30 inches deep
and 22 inches wide at
every 12 feet or less of
vertical rise

Unprotected sides of
landings must have
standard 42 inch guardrail
systems
Stairway Landings
Landing
OSHA Office of Training and Education 21
Portable Ladders
Ladders used to gain access to a
roof or other area must extend at
least 3 feet above the point of
support
Withdraw defective ladders from
service and tag or mark "Dangerous,
Do Not Use
Never use ladders in a horizontal
position as scaffolds or work
platforms
Never use metal ladders near
electrical equipment

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Use at angle where the
horizontal distance from the
top support to the foot of the
ladder is the working
length of the ladder (length
along ladder between the
foot and top support).

Ladder Angle
Portable Rung and Cleat Ladders
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Portable Wood Ladders
29 CFR 1910.25
A uniform step spacing shall be employed which
shall be not more than 12 inches.
The minimum width between side rails at the top,
inside to inside, shall be not less than 11.5 inches.
Single ladders longer than 30 feet shall not be
supplied.
Two section ladders longer than 60 feet shall not
be supplied.
OSHA Office of Training and Education 24
Continued
A metal spreader or locking device of sufficient
size and strength to securely hold the front and
back sections in open position shall be
component of each stepladder.
Rungs should be kept free of grease and oil. No
painting is permitted.
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Use of Ladders
Ladders shall be placed with a secure footing.
Ladders used to gain access to a roof or other area
shall extend at least 3 feet above the point of
support.
The top of a regular stepladder shall not be used as
a step.
Use both hands when climbing or descending
ladders.
Metal ladders shall never be used near electrical
equipment.
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When using a portable
ladder for access to an
upper landing surface,
the side rails must
extend at least 3 feet
above the upper
landing surface
Ladder Rail Extension
OSHA Office of Training and Education 27
3 feet
OSHA Office of Training and Education 28
Use of Ladders
The worker shall always face the ladder when
climbing up or down.
Short ladders shall not be spliced together to
make long ladders.
Ladders shall never be used in the horizontal
position as scaffolds or work platforms.

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Dont use
crossbracing on the
rear of a stepladder
for climbing - unless
the ladder is
designed for that
On this ladder the back rungs
are designed for use
Crossbracing
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Portable Metal Ladders
29 CFR 1910.26
The minimum width between side rails of a
straight ladder or any section of an extension
ladder shall be 12 inches.
The length of single ladders shall not exceed 30
feet.
Two section ladders shall not exceed 48 feet and
over two-section ladders shall not exceed 60 feet
in length.
OSHA Office of Training and Education 33
Continued
Each section of a multi - section ladder
shall overlap the adjacent section by at
least the number of feet as follows:
Length up to 36 feet: 3 feet overlap
Length over 36 feet up to 48 feet: 4 feet
overlap
Over 48 feet, up to 60 feet: 5 feet
overlap.
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Portable Ladders
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Fixed Ladders
Permanently attached to a
structure, building or equipment
Cages or wells required if longer
than 20 ft. to a maximum
unbroken length of 30 ft.
Ladder safety devices may be
used on tower, water tank and
chimney ladders over 20 ft. in
unbroken length instead of cage
protection
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Fixed Ladders, cont.
Cages must extend a minimum of 42 inches above
the top of a landing

Cages must extend down the ladder to a point not
less than 7 feet nor more than 8 feet above the base
of the ladder