OSHA 1910.36(f) Compliance Checklist: Exit Route Capacity for Trucking and Transportation Facilities

Trucking terminals, warehouses, and dispatch centers pack in drivers, loaders, mechanics, and office staff. Ensuring exit routes handle the maximum occupant load without narrowing toward the discharge? That's OSHA 1910.36(f) in action. This checklist breaks it down for transportation ops, drawing from real-world audits I've led at facilities humming with 18-wheelers and forklifts.

Understand the Regs: 1910.36(f)(1) – Support Maximum Occupant Load Per Floor

Exit routes must shoulder the full weight of your permitted crowd size on each floor served. No skimping. In trucking hubs, this means accounting for peak shifts when drivers crowd break rooms or dispatch queues swell.

1. Calculate occupant load. Use Table 1 in 1910.35 for floor space factors—e.g., 100 gross sq ft per person for warehouses, tighter for offices. Tally fixed seats in break areas too. Pro tip: During rush hour at a terminal I audited, we uncovered 20% more bodies than payroll suggested—hidden in trailers under repair.
2. Map exit route capacity. Doors need 0.2 inches clear width per occupant (1910.36(g)); stairways, 0.3 inches for up to 50, 0.2 beyond. Verify every exit stair, corridor, and door meets or exceeds this for the floor's load.
3. Document and post. Post occupant load signs at entrances. Update annually or post-renovation. We've seen citations drop when trucking firms laminate these in Spanish and English for diverse crews.

1910.36(f)(2): No Capacity Decrease Toward Exit Discharge

Routes can't bottleneck as they funnel to safety. Think loading dock doors feeding narrower halls—common in trucking expansions. Capacity must hold steady or widen outbound.

• Measure widths sequentially. Walk the route: entrance door to corridor, corridor to stair, stair to discharge. Calculate occupant capacity at each segment using the narrowest clear dimension. If it drops—even by a vending machine—flag it.
• Inspect obstructions. Pallets, tool carts, or parked forklifts in trucking bays? They slash effective width. I've rerouted mechanic shops to reclaim inches, boosting compliance without pricey demos.
• Test flow direction. Simulate egress: time 10 people through each segment. Capacity holds if no choke points emerge toward discharge.

Trucking-Specific Audits: Actionable Steps

Multi-level dispatch towers and shop mezzanines amplify risks. Start with a floor plan overlay of loads and routes.

1. Inventory all floors: Offices (150 net sq ft/person), shops (50 gross), docks (300 gross).
2. Cross-check with NFPA 101 for supplemental guidance—OSHA nods to it.
3. Train supervisors: Monthly drills spotting bottlenecks. One fleet I worked with cut evacuation time 40% by widening a single chokepoint hall.
4. Remediate: Widen doors, remove partitions, or add exits. Budget $5K–$20K per fix, ROI in avoided fines ($15K+ per serious violation).
5. Reassess post-change: Annual pro audits ensure staying sharp amid turnover and fleet growth.

Compliance isn't a one-off—it's baked into ops. Tackle this checklist quarterly, and your terminal exits flow like traffic on I-5 at dawn: smooth, safe, unstoppable. Reference OSHA's full 1910.36 at osha.gov for tables; pair with site-specific engineering if over 500 occupants.