This morning we had some serious weather pass through the Cincinnati area and many areas lost power. Ironically I was conversing with a client in MI about the topic of emergency lighting inspections when the power at the facility I am at this week went out. Of course, this facility’s emergency lighting activated and worked properly so that the employees could make their way to our severe-weather shelter (Tornado Sirens were going off). So this spurred me to write this post, as my friend in MI (a damn fine safety professional) had been told by his “Authority Having Jurisdiction” (AHJ, which was his local Fire Marshal) that he was not meeting code when it came to his monthly and annual inspections of his emergency lighting. Almost every workplace will have a need for “Emergency Lighting”. This lighting is intended SOLELY for illuminating an egress path so that employees, contractors, and visitors can safely find their way out fo the building (or to a Shelter-in-Place safe haven). In a separate article, I will discuss the “EXIT” sign lighting requirements, which are entirely different than this “Emergency [egress] Lighting”. OSHA has covered this requirement in their 1910.37 Maintenance, safeguards, and operational features for exit routes and the International Fire Code, the fire code from which most states adopt their fire code from, has some VERY specific requirements for the lighting, it’s monthly testing, and annual testing. First, let’s look at OSHA’s baseline requirements:
OSHA, the IFC, and your Emergency [egress] Lighting
