What is the appropriate number of exits for a given workspace? Well, it may depend on the common path of travel or the exit route for a specific room.
The common path of travel can be defined as the distance occupants must travel before they have a choice of paths to continue toward an exit.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the common path of travel phrase from the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101: Life Safety Code.
Typically, by OSHA’s standards, every workspace must have at least two exit routes; an exit route is a continuous and unobstructed path of exit within a workplace to a place of safety.
What is the difference when looking at the two phrases?
- Common path of travel: depending on the size of the room and the occupancy, the work area may not need two exits as typically required. According to the NFPA, the common path of travel can only be 20 feet in these rooms. So, if a room for 100 people is more than 20 feet in width, then there must be two exit doors. This allows for a second common path of travel for occupants that are inside the work area. The NFPA also noted that if the occupancy of a given space is at least 50 people, the exit doors must open/swing in the direction that occupants travel.
- Exit routes: according to OSHA, an exit route has three parts: exit access, the exit, and exit discharge. The exit access is the actual path that leads to the exit; the exit is part that separates the exit from the workplace area; the exit discharge is the physical exit door that leads to the outside or a safe area. So, if the exit route does not promptly allow occupants to safely leave, then a workspace must have two exit routes.
Knowing and understanding the common path(s) of travel, exit routes, and factoring in the occupancy of your work area provide a guideline for the number of exits needed.
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