Hi all,
Does anyone have a RA for a Spiral Staircase which allows access/egress to/from a mezzanine floor used as offices and it’s a new building (no other access available) don't you just love architects!
And don't ask - no I've not done the fire ra yet.

Many thanks for the info.
This spiral staircase has smooth wooden steps and luckily no females currently work there

I wouldn't RA the staircase alone.
As part of a wider RA it would be included.

There is guidance regarding fire RA here:
http://www.communities.g...ents/fire/pdf/150952.pdf

Hope this helps.

Andy

No other access? Getting furniture, carpets etc. up and down is going to be a challenge.

It was a relief to see from responses by Clairel and Bob Shillabeer that I wasn't alone in wondering why a transferable/generic risk assessment would be needed for a spiral staircase.

Anyhow, if the staircase hasn't been installed yet, are there any particular reasons why a spiral staircase is to be used? Is it to save vital floor space or a mainly an aesthetic whim on the part of the architect/designer? As ron hunter has mentioned, if the staircase is to be the only means of access to the mezzanine floor, its spiral nature may well pose a major problem for those needing to take crapets, furniture and equipment up it.

As a historical aside I understand that medieval castles were usually built with spiral stairways which ascended clockwise so that occupants usually had an advantage when it came to using their swords against ascending invaders. However, such an advantage would be reduced in the event of attack by left-handed sword users!

I don't have an RA for a spiral staircase at one of my clients, but half way down there's a poster on the adjacent wall about holding onto the handrail. It's a very old HSE cartoon-type poster.

The poster was put up after someone slipped when they were carrying some books.......

The problem with an RA for this is that one keeps going round and round in circles

Round and round in circles? Methinks this thread began to, er, spiral out of control with response #9 and that some bloke called Bullough was largely to blame for it! "Boom boom" as that vulpine TV character Basil Brush often liked to say. :-)

You lot are a bit hard on Hall!

She ( I believe that's correct, apologies if not) wasn't sure so asked, that sounds like a competent person to me.

You lot jumped down her throat from your lofty positions of knowing everything.

For the record - heels & stairs certainly don't mix very well, however in this politically correct world that observation will get howled down

The only person who seems to take offence has been you so far. No one was looking down on Hall. Hall didn't take offence to the comments so why should you???

?

I have no problem with generic risk assesments as long as you map them to other areas. WE have over 100 sites in our NHS with building age from new to over 100 years old a generic risk assessment on loading and unloading is useless because of the very nature of the make up of sites is so different.