Book Review:
Guidelines for Stair Safety (1979)
by John Archea
Belinda Collins
Fred I. Stahl
Another title for this book is: NBS Building Science Series 120, published by the United States Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards. The book is out of print, but may be found at some U.S. Government Printing Office outlets.
"This report summarizes information and research in the area of stair use and provides design guidelines for improving stair safety. These guidelines are directed toward seven major categories of stairway design and construction:
1. Structural Integrity and Quality of Stairs
2. Physical Attributes of Stair Surfaces
3. Appearance of Stair Surfaces
4. Handrails
5. Physical Attributes of the Surrounding Stairway Environment
6. Appearance of the Surrounding Stairway Environment
7. Signs and Symbols.
In general, the recommendations offered in this report derive from the premise that stairway accidents are caused by human perceptual errors, which are frequently triggered by some flaw in design or construction of stairways themselves. Evidence describing severity and frequency of residential stairway hazards, and supporting premises underlying design guidelines were obtained from epidemiological, experimental, exploratory and survey research sources. General directions for future investigation are suggested." (from the Abstract submitted to the Library of Congress, May 1979)
This is one of the early research papers that applied scientific method and evaluation to stairway accidents. The bibliography contains references to most of the foundational research that has been the basis of building code development regarding stairways.
While the piece is not well written and the format is somewhat difficult to use, the information contained in this report is a valuable reference to the safety and design professional as well as the attorney.