When it comes to outfitting your modular space with steps or ramps, there’s a whole lot you don’t need to know. That’s because we’re here to know it for you.
Steps and ramps aren’t standard on modular units because terrain, product configuration and other factors such as local and federal regulations dictate what types of entranceways are required. It’s the intended end use that determines both what you need and what makes the most sense for your particular goals.
Obviously, your focus isn’t on having the coolest steps on any construction site or the fanciest ramp entrance to a temporary schoolroom. It’s on serving your employees, customers and other end-users safely and efficiently. Worrying about the type of tread required on your entrance ramp to keep people who use it as safe as possible – not to mention to avoid government fines – shouldn’t be taking up your valuable head space.
WillScot wants you to concentrate on how modular space can empower your productivity rather than being concerned with the modular space itself. You can place one call to us to lease space and everything you need to make that space functional – including compliant steps and ramps and even furnishings – and be free to focus on the construction of that amazing building, or teaching kids, or selling tickets to the summer festival, or caring for patients in a crucial swing space during a hospital renovation.
That said, you do have the option of going it alone, researching which steps and ramps comply with standards, installing them yourself or taking the time to find a reputable vendor. Take the time to thoroughly read through the 326-page ADA regulations in order to understand which apply to your specific use of modular space, what exceptions there are and the penalties associated with failure to comply. Failure to do so can be very costly.
Or simply let us do the work for you. You know you need steps (or ramps) to access your building. WillScot has more than a half-century of knowledge in compliance and completed all the research for you. It is so much easier to add a step or ramp system – specifically designed to work with our buildings – to your order and eliminate any worry of crippling fines for noncompliance.
Interested in learning more about our steps, ramps and everything else you need to be Ready to Work from the moment of delivery? Talk to your local WillScot representative when ordering your modular space and we’ll take it from there.
Here’s a quick overview of what you can let us worry about when it comes to steps and ramps:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
OSHA has comprehensive regulations for stairways, covering requirements for aspects that include height, depth, dimensions and tread. The regulations address step types (such as when spiral steps are acceptable) as well as platforms and hand rails.
If you’re a business that hasn’t dealt with OSHA regulations before, be warned: The U.S. Department of Labor hands down fines that can stretch into six figures for failure to comply.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA’s Standards for Accessible Design set minimum requirements “for newly designed and constructed or altered State and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.”