When a stairway or ladder is required
29 CFR 1926.1051(a) requires a stairway or ladder at every personnel point of access where there is a break in elevation of 19 in (48 cm) or more, unless a ramp, runway, sloped embankment or personnel hoist is provided.
Keep the neighboring triggers apart:
- 30 in is the stairway rise that triggers rails, not the access trigger.
- 6 ft is the fall protection trigger for unprotected edges.
- 4 ft is the trench depth that requires a means of egress under Subpart P.
- 19 in is also the maximum guardrail opening under 1926.502(b), a different rule with the same number.
Stair angle
1926.1052(a)(2) requires stairs to be installed between 30° and 50° from horizontal. Trap: 75.5° is the angle at which non-self-supporting ladders are load-tested, a ladder figure, not a stair angle.
When rails are required
1926.1052(c)(1) requires at least one handrail and a stairrail system along each unprotected side or edge on a stairway with 4 or more risers or rising more than 30 in, whichever is less. Either trigger alone is enough.
Worked case: Stair A has 3 risers and a 24 in total rise; Stair B has 4 risers and a 28 in total rise. Stair B needs rails because it reaches 4 risers, even though its rise is under 30 in. Stair A is under both triggers and does not. Trap: checking only the 30 in rise and concluding neither stair needs rails.
Stairrail and handrail heights
1926.1052(c)(3)(i): stairrails installed after March 15, 1991 must be not less than 36 in high, measured from the upper surface of the stairrail to the tread surface in line with the riser face. Older rails may be 30 in.
Trap: "exactly 36 in" turns a minimum into a fixed height. Don't borrow the other figures either:
- Handrails are 30 to 37 in (1926.1052(c)(6)).
- 42 in ± 3 in is the Subpart M guardrail top rail.