Bleacher Safety Guidelines

A quick survey of the guidelines turns up recommendations for guardrails, openings, maintenance, and much more.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that openings in guardrails should prevent passage of a four-inch sphere, the approximate size of a baby’s head. Nor should guardrails encourage young children to attempt to climb over. Specifically, CPSC recommends a picket fence guardrail design with no more than four inches between the “pickets.” A small child will not be able to slip between the bars or to climb them. If the in-fill guardrail members allow footholds, CPSC says to limit the maximum openings to 1.75 inches. Where visibility would not be significantly impaired, the publication recommends solid members.

The recommendations call for the use of guardrails on the back of bleachers. Guardrails should protect bleachers at heights above 30 inches. The top of the guardrail should be at least 42 inches above the leading edge of the adjacent footboard, seat board or aisle.

These recommendations aim to prevent people from falling off of bleachers. Another set of recommendations prevents people from falling through. In this area, recommendations address the open deck design of older bleachers. CPSC recommends the addition of risers in the spaces below the seat boards and above the footboards. The riser should close off enough of the opening in the deck to prevent the passage of a four-inch sphere.

People also fall and hurt themselves while walking on bleachers. CPSC says such falls are likely to occur when there are missing or inadequate components that assist in access and egress, such as aisles and handrails. Non-skid surfaces also help people to keep their footing.

As a rule, new bleachers comply with these guidelines as well as regulations issued by the International Code Council (ICC), Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA), the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI), the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and applicable local codes.

 To Repair, Renovate or Replace?

How can you perform an elementary evaluation of your bleachers and determine if repair, renovation, or replacement is necessary?

There are six major components of grandstands and bleachers that can be inspected to answer this question.

• Support Structure: Structural components rank among the most critical items to evaluate. In most cases, galvanized steel structures show little deterioration, while painted steel structures may. During the inspection, look for noticeable rust, broken welds, loose bolts, and bent or damaged cross braces. Also check the concrete piers or slab upon which the bleachers sit. Look for heaving or
• Seats, Footboards, and Risers: look for gaps large enough for a four-inch sphere to pass through. If the seats and footboards are made of wood it is recommended to testing the integrity of each “Wood often decomposes from the bottom or inside first.
• Aisles: Are the aisles fully closed? Are the aisles with seating on both sides at least 48 inches wide? Is the vertical dimension from step to step 8 inches or less? Are the handrails located at each aisle?
• Egress — Stairs and Ramp: stairs should be fully closed and asks if there is guard railing on each side, rising 42 inches above the bleachers, with spaces filled in to prevent a four-inch sphere from passing
• Guard Rails: Do your bleachers have guardrails for walking surfaces higher than 30 inches from the ground? Does the infill configuration eliminate openings large enough for a four-inch diameter sphere to past through? You should also check whether guardrails extend at least 42 inches above seat
• ADA Compliance: bleaches today must comply with ADA regulations that require wheel chair seating at the main concourse Lines of sight for wheel chair patrons must be free of obstructions and comparable with lines of sight available to other spectators. Finally, the ramp must present a slope no steeper than 1:12.

“Based on answers to these questions, businesses could be faced with renovating or replacing their grandstands and bleachers. This decision should be based on structural integrity, costs, future maintenance, and public safety.

Ultimately, the answer determines if your grandstands and bleachers are an asset of a liability.”