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Floor Openings, Floor Holes,
and Open-sided Floors WAC 296-800-260
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Your Responsibility:
To safely guard floor openings, floor holes, and
open-sided floors in your workplace
You must:
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Definition:
-
A floor opening is an opening in any
floor, platform, pavement, or yard that measures at least
twelve inches in its smallest dimension and through which
a person can fall.
Examples of floor openings are:
- Hatchways
- Stair or ladder openings
- Pits
- Large manholes
- Openings occupied by elevators
- Dumbwaiters
- Conveyors
- Machinery
- Containers
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A floor hole is an opening in any floor,
platform, pavement, or yard that measures at least one inch
but less than twelve inches at its smallest dimension and
through which materials and tools (but not people) can fall.
Examples of floor holes are:
- Belt holes
- Pipe openings
- Slot openings
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WAC 296-800-26005
Guard or cover floor openings and floor
holes
You must:
(1) Guard
stairway floor openings, temporary floor openings and floor
holes.
- Protect all stairway floor openings with a railing.
The railing must protect all open sides except the stairway entrance
side.
- Use a hinged cover and a removable railing where traffic
across an infrequently used stairway floor opening prevents the installation
of a fixed railing. This removable railing must protect all open sides
except the stairway entrance side.
- Protect temporary floor openings by either a railing
or by a
person who constantly attends the opening.
- Protect exposed floor holes into which a person can
accidentally walk by either
- - A railing with a
toeboard on all open sides.
- OR
- - A floor hole cover of standard strength and construction
that can be hinged in place. When a floor hole cover is not in place,
the hole must be protected by a removable railing or constantly attended
by someone.
- Provide covers for floor openings. Floor opening covers
may be of any material that has a
safety factor of four, or is strong enough to hold up to four
times the intended load. Covers that do not project more than one inch
above the floor level may be used providing all edges are beveled (slanted)
to prevent tripping. All hinges, handles, bolts, or other parts of a
cover must set flush with the floor or cover surface.
(2) Prevent
tools and materials from falling through a floor hole. The floor hole
must be protected by a cover that leaves an opening no more than one inch
wide and is securely held in place. This applies only to floor holes that
persons cannot accidentally walk into on account of fixed machinery, equipment,
or walls.
WAC 296-800-26010
Protect open-sided floors and platforms
You must:
(1) Guard
open-sided floors and platforms.
- Guard open-sided floors and platforms four feet or
more above adjacent floor or ground level by a railing.
The entrance to a ramp, stairway,
or fixed
ladder does not need a railing.
- Guard open-sided floors, walkways and platforms above
or adjacent to dangerous equipment, pickling or galvanizing tanks, degreasing
units, and other similar hazards,
regardless of height with a railing and toeboard.
(2)
Make sure tools and loose materials are not left on overhead platforms
and scaffolds.
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Note:
- Where the guarding rules above do not apply
because employees exposure to falls is infrequent (not on a
predictable and regular basis), you must comply with
the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) rules (WAC
296-800-160) or other effective fall protection must be
provided.
- You can find the minimum requirements for
standard railings of various types of construction in WAC
296-24-75011.
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