BYTNAR - TALKS
EPISODE 026 - APPROVED DOCUMENT K - PROTECTION FROM FALLING, COLLISION AND IMPACT
This episode is for people who want to know more about Approved Document Part K – Protection From Falling, Collision and Impact.
You should like this episode if you ask yourself questions like:
What are the design requirements for stairs and guardings to ensure safety in private, public, and industrial buildings according to Approved Document K?
What are the safety standards for ramps and protective barriers, including gradient and width criteria?
Where are guardrails required, and what are the specific height and strength standards for fall protection?
What safety measures are needed for vehicle barriers and loading bays to prevent accidents and protect workers?
What impact resistance and safety standards apply to glazing in public and residential buildings?
How should non-residential buildings manage the risk of collisions with open windows using barriers or protective measures?
What are the guidelines for glazing manifestation, and how should large glass panels be marked to prevent accidents?
What are the safe operation standards for windows in non-dwelling buildings, and what measures prevent falls through open windows?
How should non-residential buildings be designed to provide safe access for window cleaning and minimize risks associated with ladder use?
This is Bytnar Talks the Engineer Takes on Construction Episode 26 hi I'm Piotr Bytnar each day I help my clients plan and design building projects through Bytnar Limited a Consulting Chartered Structural Engineers practice my biggest passion and the cornerstone on which I've built my business is finding clever solutions for construction projects I am a chartered structural engineer and a bing software developer so you can rest assured that I will strive to talk about the best practices and the use of new technologies in the industry and if you're embarking on a construction project or are involved in planning designing and building the world around us you'll find this podcast useful approved document K protection from falling collision and impact hi and welcome to Bitner talks your favorite podcast on all matters of architecture engineering and construction it is Thursday the 8th of August 2024 and I'm here back with you with the 26th episode and information on approved document K protection from Fallen collision and impact we are in the middle of the summer holidays the weather is m mild and not what you would normally expect from August but hey it is Pleasant great for walking and great for work as however before I go to converting the material covering the material of this episode let's have a look at what was covered last week in the last episode I talked about the approved document J combustion appliances and fuel storage systems there are seven requirements covered in this document contained within six sections and this section are as follows section zero covers scope and standards this section tells us that the document primarily focuses on domestic installations covering solid gas and and oil combustion and fuel storage systems with specific output limits we are sent for additional guidance to cibac guide B BSI and IGM materials in section one we are put forward to find out all about General Provisions for safe installation the section outlines General requirements for proper specification materials workmanship and inspection key elements include adequate Air Supply ventilation flu systems carbon monoxide alarms half sizing heat insulation and proper documentation compliance compliance testing is mandatory in section two section two covers F solid fuel appliances up to 50 kilow of output it details Air Supply flu size height Outlet position and clearances from combustibles of combustible or products of combustion half specifications vary based on Appliance type and building fabric proximity section three deals with gas appliances up to 70 kilow input net requires installation by a gas safety registered professional recommends room sealed appliances for sleeping or bathing areas specifies ventilation flu requirements and Outlet positioning to avoid nuisance section four oil burning appliances up to 45 Kow output follow similar guidelines to Gas Appliances with specific Provisions for oil types and their Blends emphasizes flu gas temperature acidity of combustion gases positioning and half materials in most instances the manufacturer specifications must be followed section five deals with oil and LPG storage it tells us that the storage must be protected from fire and environmental damage requires proper installation secondary containment and emergency procedure labeling fire resistant barriers may be needed based on proximity to buildings and side boundaries it provides guidance on underground and above ground piping in this episode I'll move to the approved document K protection from falling collision and impact so without further Ado let's dive straight into [Music] this in this episode I'll talk about the statutory guidance contained within the approved document K protection from falling collision and impact when you read the building regulation schedule one that deals with these requirements you will find that the document K covers also the provisions of the requirement n therefore there is not an approved document that specifi specifically deals with their requirement and the episode will follow its standard format for the material talking about the approved documents I will first read you the text of the actual regulation and then we'll go Section by section of the document the document contains guidance for the discharge of requirement K1 to k6 in 10 sections 1 to6 so let's get into the nitty-gritty of this approved document started with the text of the legislation part K protection from falling collision and impact stairs ladders and ramps K1 stairs ladders and ramps shall be so designed constructed and installed as to be safe for people moving between different levels in or about the building now requirement K1 applies only to stairs ladders and ramps which form part of the building protection from falling K2 the following shall be provided with barriers where it is necessary to protect people in or about the building from falling a any stairs ramps floors and balconies and any roof to which people have access and B any light well basement area or similar sunken area connected to a building now requirement k2a applies only to stairs and ramps which form part of the building vehicle barriers and loading base that's requirement k31 vehicle ramps and any level in a building to which vehicles have access shall be provided with barriers where it is necessary to protect people in or about the building point two vehicle loading base shall be constructed in such a way or to be provided with such features as may be necessary to protect people in them from collision with vehicles protection against impact with glazing K4 glazing with which people are likely to come into contact while moving in or about the building shall a if broken on impact break in a way which is unlikely to cause injury or B resist impact without breaking or C be shielded or protected from Impact protection from collision with open Windows Etc k51 provision shall be made to prevent people from moving in or about the building from colliding with open Windows skylights or ventilators now requirement K 5.1 does not apply to D LS manifestation of glazing that's requirement K 5.2 transparent glazing with which people are likely to come into contact while while moving in and about the building shall incorporate features which make it apparent now requirement K 5.2 does not apply to dwellings safe opening and closing of Windows Etc K 5.3 requirement Windows skylights and ventilators which can be opened by people in or about the building shall be so constructed or equipped that they may be opened closed or adjusted safely now requirement K 5.3 does not apply to dwellings safe access for cleaning windows Etc K 5.4 requirement provision shall be made for any Windows skylights or translucent walls ceilings or roofs to be safely accessible for cleaning now requirement K5 .4 does not apply to a dwellings or B any transparent or translucent elements whose surface are not intended to be cleaned protection against impact from trapping by doors requirement k6 point1 provision shall be made to prevent any door or gate a which slides or opens upwards from falling onto any person and B which is powered from trapping any person point two provision shall be made for power doors and gates to be opened in the event of a power failure point three provision shall be made to ensure a clear view of the space on either side of the Swing door or gate now requirement k6 does not apply to a dwellings or B any door or gate which is part of a lift okay so these are paragraphs of the legislation requirements contained within its scheduled one the approved document covers all these aspects within its 10 sections the guidance starts with letting us know that for example repair to window by replacement of the glazing only is not considered a building work but replacement or introduction of a new frame is or that the document is concerned with elements of the building or elements or features attached to it and we should seek guidance from other documents for the circumstance es outside of this like approved document M for pedestrian access and circulation routes to the building we are also reminded that other legislation may be more honorous than the building regulation so certain aspects need to be crosschecked with for example for requirement K1 we may like to check workplace health and safety and Welfare regulation 1992 specifically regulation 17 should be checked regulation six of the work and height regulation 2005 when it comes to the requirement K2 of the approved document or similar close checks may also be necessary on other aspects of the regulations now section one deals with guidance on aspects of the geometry of stairs special stairs fixed Lads and handrails for and garden of stairs every day quite a few people get injured or die on domestic stairs so this it's not wonder some regulation pointing Us in the direction of safe geometry has been put in place and is being lobed with it is impossible to have safe stairs as with every change of level gravity will drag us to the lowest place whether we like it or not the strategy here the the Secretary of State strategy here is to control how we change that that level and what is reasonably what is considered reasonably safe for the circumstance so we can expect a different approach for Public Access spaces and private dwellings or access for maintenance only the document is concern with a with the geometry of stairs in and immediately leading to the building limits are being imposed on stiffness aka the pitch of the stairs which is the angle of the Stringer if you like or simply an inverse of a tangent of the product of division of the Riser Riser by the going that's a mouthful the pitch line is measured along the nosings there is no limit on the minimum protrusion of the nose in Clos Riser stairs but it should be no more than 25 mm and at least 60 mm if the risers are open if kids can get stuck in the stairs then the Riser opening should not be larger than 100 mm the maximum pitch for private stairs meaning private dwellings is 42° which is which if you want to measure if the new stairs will fit the stairs if the new stairs will fit the will fit within your house taking in consideration the length it is simply 11% more than the difference in height between the floors ideally however the transition will be as smooth as possible having a rise of 150 mm and going between 220 and 400 MM the guidance typically asks that two times the Riser Dimension plus the going Dimension be somewhere between 550 and 700 mm gangways in assembly buildings are treated a little different and should be of maximum 35° pitch of uniform width provide access to transverse gangways leading to vomit Tre exit prevent Crossing of transverse and Radial gangways with t sitting to prevent crowd congestion step te Rises to be between 100 and 190 mm of equal height maximum 100 steps for gangways over 25° in pitch and with no cross gangways landing at the exit of Step gang way needs to be at least 1.1 M deep or at least as deep as the width of the doors Stepside gangways should have a hand rail in Step T is the level between the seway and the nearest step should be the same gangways need to be at least 900 mm white up to 50 person use and at least 1.1 m above that limit you can well read all these points in the document very straightforward stuff construction of steps should be uniform you do not want to keep on guessing what the next step is going to be all right for buildings outside of the dwellings we are encouraged to make the nosing visible by applying contrasting material on the nosing and threads minimum of 55 mm width and protect people from banging their heads on the sofit of stairs if it is below 2 m height by either guarding or provision of lowlevel cane detection we are also Al discouraged from using open Rises for common access to Flats the expectation of making steps more visible is slightly reduced in width but solid Rises and maximum nosing of 25 mm remain in place if you have ever wondered how to measure a headro over the stairs it is along the pach line and cannot be less than 2 m including Landings if the building is other than dwelling the 2 m headro will also Al apply to Escape Routes the document recognizes that the 2m headro may be sometimes difficult to achieve on lock conversion so it provides a leeway in that the headro can be reduced to 1.9 m in the middle of stairs and 1.8 m to one side for the width of stairs there are no special Provisions for dwellings other than for steps at the entrance story of at least 900 mm width for stairs other than dwelling either the requirement of the fire escape route from the approved document B should be followed or stairs should be minimum of 1 M between the handrails or 1.2 between the walls or constraining features if however stairs are wider than 2 m these should be divided into at least 1 M wide sections the length of the flight of stairs should follow the particular limits of the number of Rises which is 36 Rises after which a landing needs to be provided and a change of direction of at least 30° is required furthermore for buildings other than dwellings and in common access to Flats there should be no single steps and maximum of 16 Rises for U utility test and 12 12 Rises for General access test but possibly up to 16 in small premises where there is no space otherwise Landings should be clear of obstruction and satisfy the minimum sizing of depth and width equaling the width of the stair for dwellings but a minimum of 1.2 M length otherwise doors may swing over the top Landings but only if these are openable from outside providing at least 400 MM of residual space for a person opening the doors Landing may be up to one in 60 gradients sloped if it is due to ground sloping but will need to be of hard surface doors may also swing across bottom Landings in dwellings but the remaining space of minimum 400 MM should be observed taper STS should follow the same consideration as normal stairs and the going width is measured in the middle of the stairs as ascribed by its Circle if tapered stairs mix with straight stairs like in the case of winding staircase the tapered stairs going cannot be less than that of the straight stairs for spiral and helical staircases we are directed to BS 5395 part two code of practice for the design of helico and spiral stairs again a leway is provided for tight spaces of some Loft conversions where altering stairs or fixed ladders may be used for access to one bedroom LOF conversion only for industrial buildings we are directed to BS 5395 by3 code of practice for the design of industrial type stairs permanent ladders and walkways or BS 421 specification for Perman permanently fixed ladders handrail should be positioned between 900 mm and a meter over the pitch line and on both sides on stairways wider than 1 meter for buildings other than dwellings and common access to Flats further consideration of the position and continuity of hundred should be observed and these are nicely shown in the documents diagrams further considerations of no protrusion into the access route visual contrast with the background Buton not relative not reflective easily damage or overheating characteristic of the material use as well as its detailing that should not catch clothing or even a profile of the handil is all covered in the document Garden of stairs should be somewhere between 800 and 1.1 m of the floor depending on the building category and Circumstance generally 900 mm at the stairs 1.1 M at Landings and balconies and 800 mm by the front seating in assembly or at the window if the building may be used by children under 5 years of age think about their Rascal minds and protect them from falling off the railway or getting stuck between the spindles so 100 mm maximum space between the elements and difficult to climb design is encouraged by the Secretary of State guarding to stairs and landings will also be needed in dwellings where the possible drop is more than 600 mm and in no dwellings in non dwelling cases when there are two or more Rises access for maintenance consideration will vary depending on the frequency of use so for stairs and ladders used at least once per month we are directed to the approved document or BS 5385 part 3 for Less frequent access however portable means of access may be considered as long as it as it abides by safety consideration of CDM regulations Section two deals with guidance on ramps and guarding of ramps the guidance on ramps is much more straightforward as there is much less variation but generally the approach is similar with that of the stairs and again we are only concerned here with ramps in or attached to the building ramps should be readily apparent in non dwellings the ramp consideration start at the shallow end of 1 to two 1 to 20 gradient which gives you 500 mm rise over 10 m long ramp at which point we should have a landing the ramp should not be steeper than one in 12 at which point The Landing should be present after 2 met of going ramps should be clear of obstructions minimum 1 and a half M wide and with curbs to open sides for non dwellings head height and protection of the ramp sofit from Skull impact should be addressed as is the case with the stairs Landings and guarding for ramps follow same consideration as for stairs with an addition of wheelchair passing Landing size requirement of minimum 1.8 m in both directions for ramps of three flights or more or when there is no way to tell if a wheelchair is entering the ramp from opposite side section three is about guidance on protection from falling it has been quite well covered when talking about the stairs so just to reinforce IND dwellings we think 600 mm for and otherwise two steps of 380 mm for if not part of the stairs there's no need to provide guarding on ramps use for vehicle access only or in loading base where it would make the normal use more difficult naturally the guarding needs to be strong enough for the building category and the location and further guidance can be sought from British standards 1991 and Bs 6180 in addition areas only accessed from for maintenance should be signed as specified in the health and safety safety signs and signals regulations 1996 and in the case case of rarely frequented areas the use of warning notices or temporary guiding may be sufficient section four gives us guidance on vehicle barriers and loading base this requirement boils down to the provision of either a strong enough barrier to stop or deflect the car or provision of an alternative Escape exit or Refuge to avoid Collision the barrier should be strong enough and a minimum of 375 mm in height generally but at least 610 mm at the ramp a Ed loading base should have barriers where needed but also should have at least one twostep exit point from where the vehicle parks for loading base for three or more Vehicles there should be at least two step exit point or a refuge instead of one of the exit section five gives us guidance on protection against impact with glazing in a gist as long as the glazing will not harm you or is strong enough not to break or is guarded from Impact the secretary of state is happy in addition we are informed why the consideration of the height of 800 M mm generally and 1500 mm is 150 mm is considered and it's due to kids at the lower level and adults at the upper limit we consider Glass safety and s suitability in accordance with the testing to bn1 1260 and B n 6206 resistance against impact if the desintegration is local particles are small and particles are not sharp we are good to go then depending on the size of the glass panel different classifications are allowed Class 2 to bs1 to 600 and class b to BS 6206 glass panels of with exceeding 900 mm is fine for use in doors and side panels otherwise in different locations and the panel size we can designate a class down to either standard and can be so of a class three or Class C and we're good to go with these two lower classes we are informed that the use of analed glasses find that certain thicknesses and panel sizes in front to the shops showroom offices factories and public buildings as long as these are supported on four edges and do not exceed certain Dimension being 8 mm thick at 1.1 M Square panel to unlimited size panels for 50 mm thick glass naturally the size of the glass panel will be limited by manufacturing constraints typically 6X 3 m although that's pushing in the LW small pain glass AR arangement may be used with paints limited to 250 mm maximum width and overly an overal area of half of a m Square the thickness of the glass should be at least 6 mm but maybe four in Leed or copper lights if glazing is protected by a screen the screen should be of certain Dimensions at least 800 mm in height and to prevent a sphere of 75 mm passing through any Gap if the glazing protects people from falling the barrier should discourage climbing over it section six provides guidance on protection from collision with open Windows Etc this consideration does not include dwellings and energist just if you make sure no one will hit the openable stuff you are good as rain and the openable and heatable stuff is the stuff up to 2 m from the ground at least 100 mm away from the face of the wall in which case provide barriers cane detection or change of surface to alert people in and about the building section seven provides guidance on the manifestation of glazing another not dwelling thing if you ever seen hazy labels of different shapes and sizes in offices or public spaces then it this is it we try to avoid people going through the glass by showing them it is there this applies to the critical location of large uninterrupted transparent glazing permanent manifestation of the glazing can be achieved by many methods including labels Framing and large door handles if the glazing has features that clearly Mark the presence we do not need to do anything else but generally we need to Mark such at two different levels with markings that will stick out from the background as look at from both sides the height of those points is either between 850 to 1 M away from the floor or between 1.4 to 1.6 M Section 8 provides guidance on safe opening and closing of Windows Etc this also does not apply to dwellings and is and it is simp it simply means that you should not be harmed operating Windows skylights and ventilators the control of such should be located not further than 600 mm from the window or not higher than 1.9 M or 1.7 m if there is an obstruction in way if the limits cannot be observed there should be a manual description how to operate the thing or or electrical remote control window should be installed with opening limits or barriers if above the ground level and may lead to sumon falling through the opening section nine talks about the the guidance on safe access for cleaning windows it does not apply to dwellings or spaces not intended for cleaning and otherwise as long as the access for cleaning is safe the requirement is satisfied the reaching out of the window for cleaning is limited to 610 mm downwards and 850 mm outwards and to the sides of the window otherwise provide either Windows opening to inside or safely rotating or access using lettuce simple ladder up to 6 M tall at 1 to 4 lean or safely secured one if longer up to 9 M and away from the traffic section 10 provides guidance on protection against impact from and trapping by doors yet again this consideration does not include dwellings and is and it is simp in simple terms in place to allow safe operation of doors for you as a person who grabs the handle but also Al for people on the other side of the door and that it and that is achieved by the provision of vision panels Indo leaves larger than 450 mm of width with two zones of visibility one at half a m to 0.8 M from the ground and the second one between 1.15 M to 1 5 m sliding doors should have mechanisms that prevent the fa and the Der elment upwards opening doors and gates to have control FL and power doors to be fitted with safety features like pressure sensitive Edge switch stop switch and automatic or manual opening in case of power failure if doors swing over the aess route by more than 100 mm the users should be protected by barrier between 0.9 M and 1.1 M tall with cane detection at the bottom [Music] so this is it folks the approved document K protection from falling collision and impact let's sum it up section by section so the document provides comprehensive guidance on various aspects of building safety with specific section dedicated to key areas when it comes to Falling collision and impact section one deals with stairs and gings that document outline safety requirements for the design and construction of stairs including geometry handrails and guarding it specifies maximum Peach Rising Dimensions going dimensions and the need for uniform step construction special considerations are provided for different building types including private dwellings public spaces and industrial buildings section two deals with ramps and garding and it's similar to stairs ramps must meet specific gradient and with requirements with appropriate Landings and gings the guides and shows ramps are safe and accessible particularly in non-residential buildings and where the accessibility of people on the wheelchair is Paramount section three protection from falling Garden is required for areas with potential fall risks such as stairs and balconies specific height and strength requirements are outlined with additional guidance for areas access for maintenance in section four vehicle barriers and loading base we are met with consideration for barriers which must be strong enough to stop vehicles and position to prevent collisions loading base needs sufficient exit points or Refugee for safety section 5 glazing safety puts our attention on standards dealing with the impact and and how the glass behaves after this impact for glazing to prevent injury including impact resistance and specific requirements for different glass types and sizes it also addresses the need for protective barriers in certain applications certain situations collision with open windows that is section six tells us that no residential buildings must prevent people from colliding with open windows and similar features through the provision of barriers or other methods that will differentiate that will let people know that there is a protrusion in the face of the building either inside or outside especially prone to to the impact being people with side impairment section s glazing manifestation deals with large transparent glazing panels in public spaces and there must be marked to prevent accidental collision with clear markings and at specific Heights Section 8 safe operation of Windows tells us that we should have a clear and easy access to operate the window and if such is not possible we should have an automatic remote control to do so as well as that the windows over the ground row level should not allow people to fall through them when they're open section nine access for window cleaning no Residential Building must provide safe access for window cleaning with limits on reach and requirements for safe ladder ladder size and use in alternative circumstances however in most cases the Windows should either be openable to insides rotatable or otherwise otherwise designer specify so to make the cleaning easier and safer section 10 deals with door safety and it tells us that the doors basically should be safe to use particularly in non-residential buildings they should be safe to operate and this includes the use of vision panels in the widths of the doors safety mechanism for sliding doors and barriers to prevent injury from Swinging Doors in the next episode we will move to approv document L conservation of fuel and power part one dwellings [Music] I hope you enjoyed this episode and that the considerations of the approved document K protection from falling collision and impact are clear for you now if you have any questions reach out to me on LinkedIn or send me an email I'm more than happy to help you out in betna we deal with planning designing and managing of your projects and we are always glad to facilitate a free initial consultation to steer you in the right direction visit www. Bitner .co.uk and reach out to us whether your question is if we can help you with your project or what should I do we will be able to give you a piece of non obligatory advice at BNA we help our clients design and execute their dream homes or Investments if your building is falling apart we can also help investigate the reasons behind it and to provide you with an appropriate strategy design and specifications for the repair thank you again for listening in please voice up your opinions I'm waiting for you on LinkedIn and I want to hear from you see you next week Bytnar Designs The Worl Around You, Toodloo!
Piotr Bytnar BEng (Hons) MSc CEng MIStructE
Chartered Structural Engineer who deals with the Architecture of buildings. His Master's Studies led him to an in-depth understanding of risk and contract arrangements in construction as well as specialist knowledge in soil mechanics.
He and his team help homeowners and property developers to design and deliver construction projects reducing waste in time and the cost. He believes that the construction project is an iterative process that can be well managed and it is best managed if all the aspects of the project definition and management are dealt with in-house or coordinated by one organisation. His team works to all stages of RIBA and ISTRUCTE stages of work and enables contractors to deliver projects on-site providing risk evaluations, methodologies for execution of works and temporary works designs.
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