BianchiDave

Oh Mr. Navy it’s been awhile. You see most places of business have personnel hired to walk around and find potential safety hazards that could cause an injury to customers or workers; they are usually called “Safety.” There job assigned by the Directors, Commanders, CEO’s and so on are primarily to pass all OSHA, JACO and local Fire Marshal inspections.
Security guards are not these people. A security guards job is only to report incidences and deter criminal activity by physical presence.
Businesses use guards to enforce policies though out their complex because of availability (they walk around and can observe things.) unfortunately some guards like to pretend their law enforcement officers rather than staying in their pay grade and simply talking to the area supervisor.

Security guards are also not protected from civil lawsuits like us police officers are. So they dawn a uniform and people assume they are there for physical protection but that couldn’t be more wrong.

So back to your original question “Please provide the reg - 29CFR_____.”

bmclaughlin807

Says nothing at all about what you may bring into the building, only that it can't block or restrict an exit....

how about the one that says you can't bring a bike in the building? Where's that one? I'm sure EVERYONE would be interested since OSHA rules apply to all workplaces and I'm sure all the places that DO allow bikes in would like to know what rule they are in violation of before they get fined for it!

CB HI

I have seen many violations of 29CFR1910.36(g)(2) and 29CFR1910.36(g)(4), none of which involved a bicycle.

BianchiDave

Your right nowhere does it say bikes but I never said it did. Where I work “Safety personnel” had made a policy “no bicycles” allowed in any buildings, stating it could cause a potential trip hazard during an emergency such as a fire evacuation. Again that is my local policy.
“ Objects that project into the exit route must not reduce the width of the exit route to less than the minimum width requirements for exit routes”
Objects, I don’t know maybe such as a bicycle???

For an actually citation if someone would violate this would not fall on the owner of the Bike but would go to the owner of the building for not insuring the minimum width requirements were being followed. Of course there would be a process here before something like that would happen. A warning would be first with a re-inspection date set and so on.

Now would I ever enforce such a policy, no because it’s not my job, it is an administrative issue not criminal issue.

When I made the joke about being the policy enforcer it was just that, a joke. Could I get in trouble for choosing to park my bike in my office, yes I could but it would be with my supervisors not with the law.
When I park my personal bike in the morning I park it where my police bike goes

CB HI

Objects, I don’t know maybe such as a chair???

So I assume your facility also bans chairs?

BianchiDave

PaulRivers

What you originally said was -
The guy may have been rather nitpicking what you were saying, I think his point was that although the people creating policy claiming "it's because of a safety issue set by OSHA", the reality seems to be that OSHA doesn't say anything about bicycles, and that "stating it could cause a potential trip hazard during an emergency such as a fire evacuation" makes as much sense as banning chairs, which also might provide a trip hazard during an emergency.

Bicycles aren't banned because of OSHA, they're arbitrarily banned because they aren't seen as being important for transportation, or for you to do your, like a car or a chair is, and since they're seen as unimportant they're arbitrarily added to the ban list.

elihu23

All this has me quite grateful that I have it so good. I live in NYC and the City Council recently passed a "Bikes In Buildings" law. A cyclist may file a formal request thru NYC DOT and the building mgmt must then either comply or request an exemption and provide alternate parking or prove a special security danger exists. The law does not apply to residential buildings or commercial buildings without a freight elevator. I am able to bring my bike into the building via the freight entrance/elevator. Security enforces the policy by sending bike commuters through the freight entrance.

I am not a security guard, though my work is security related. I work for government, the public. Security guards work for private interests--they protect property. In buildings they attempt to create a secure perimeter, which protects the owner from liability. Nothing is perfect.

akohekohe

I went through this at my campus. We were told, in a memo from facilities administration, that having bicycles in the building was a hazard and against the fire code. So I wrote the fire department and they said that bicycles were not a hazard as long as they weren't parked blocking an exit and got the fire inspector to say, in writing, that my bicycle parked in my office was not a fire hazard. So they had to retract their claim that it was a fire hazard and then they invented the "tripping hazard" line, and so it goes. I'm giving them real grief because sustainability is part of the strategic plan including encouraging bicycling. I'm now on a University committee that is looking at the facilities budget for ways to cut costs. I'm pushing for cutting some positions in facilities administration.

Azreal911

When did parking a bicycle in YOUR office become a tripping hazard to anyone?? heh unless you have a high traffic office and students like walking all around it.

sggoodri

I suspect that facilities managers assume that most people who bicycle for transportation do not have their own private office. After all, if the employee had a job nice enough to provide a spacious private office, they could afford a car, right? They didn't count on affluent professionals bicycling to work on bikes more valuable than their office computers.

But let's consider those employees who don't have an office with space to spare. Is it fair that they can't bring their bikes inside? No, it's not, but businesses aren't expected to give everybody the same perks. A thoughtful and compassionate manager could set aside alternative safe locations for such employees to park inside. If there were enough such employees, however, there should be adequate demand for improved outdoor parking, ideally with space protected from the rain. If my own building's bike rack were located against the building under a roof or balcony overhang, I would park there. But since the rack is across the parking lot with full exposure to rain and sun, I do the elitist thing and park in my office. My bike deserves to be spoiled.

Kimmitt 

Right, but it's a sign of how enormous of assclowns they are that they don't simply take the affluent professional's word for it and relax. It's part of the slow corruption of authority in this country; it's no longer the case that people view grants of authority as a set of responsibilities associated with those served. You're just supposed to shut up or get harassed and (if possible) tased.

It's pushing people around for the sake of pushing people around. A bad sickness in the head.

fredgarvin7

"We have a lady lawyer, who to put it nicely is more than a small pain in the behind, because she has a major OCD issue. She's been complaining that someone's been moving the couch in her office. Not across the room, but just like an inch or so, almost daily."

My Dad shared an office with a guy who got upset every time he picked up his phone and it was in the cradle the "wrong way". My Dad found this so entertaining that he arrived 5 minutes before Mr OCD evey morning JUST so he could turn the receiver around. He only did this for 10 years. I love it when people carry around their own built-in torture chamber. EVERY perfectionist DOES!

chandltp

That's why I've learned to stop complaining about things that bother me. If people don't know, they don't intentionally repeat them. As you illustrated, people can be jerks because they think it's funny or they don't know any better. Kind of reminds me of how people behave in a car towards bicycles.

Aussie_Al

Good to know - thanks for the heads up!