Thursday, September 17, 2009

stairway access to industrial faciliies

I have a project located in the icefield of Greenland.  We have a module sitting on a structural steel frame that is supported by columns so It is cantilevered above the snow about 15'.  We need to add stairs to access the module and I am wondering if the IBC stairway rise/run of 7/11 applies.  The site is remote so there is no public access.  On other project, I have noticed that steep ship's ladders are used to access mechanical rooms in buildings that otherwise have 7/11 stairways.  is there any way I can justify a steeper rise/run?