Workplace Emergency Exit Route Requirements: Safety & OSHA

Emergencies escalate quickly, and inadequate exit routes, poor visibility, or non-compliance with OSHA standards can turn a manageable incident into a fatal one. The consequences are severe: loss of life, operational downtime, reputational damage, and OSHA penalties that can reach up to $16,550 per violation. 

Meanwhile, in 2023, workplace homicides in the U.S. totaled 458, indicating that accessible exits and coordinated response plans should not be overlooked. Ensuring that emergency exit routes are compliant, accessible, and well-maintained is a critical component of operational risk management. 

This article provides a compliance-focused framework for meeting OSHA’s emergency exit route requirements. You will learn how to design and maintain effective escape routes, integrate technology for real-time evacuation management, and safeguard both your workforce and your business from avoidable liabilities.

What is an Emergency Exit in a Workplace?

An emergency exit, also called an emergency escape route, is a designated path in a workplace leading to a safe outdoor area. It is often kept unobstructed to enable fast and safe evacuation. An emergency route has three main parts:

• Exit Access: This part of an exit route leads you to an exit.
• Exit: This area is usually separated from other aspects of the workplace and provides a safe pathway to the exit discharge.
• Exit Discharge: This last segment of the escape route leads you straight outside to a public walkway, an open space, street, refuge area, or emergency meeting spot.

How Many Exit Routes Are Required for Workplace Safety?

Typically, a workplace must have at least two exit routes for the quick evacuation of employees and other individuals in the building in an emergency. Emergency exits in the workplace can be more than two, especially if staff members cannot evacuate securely due to the:

• Size of the building
• Number of employees
• Workplace layout/arrangement

These exit paths must be positioned as far apart as possible so that if one is blocked by smoke or fire, the other remains accessible. 

However, one exit route is allowed if the building’s size, structure, occupancy, and number of employees permit everyone to evacuate safely in an emergency.

Does Your Business Need OSHA Training?

The short answer for most businesses is a resounding yes; your business needs OSHA training. Despite OSHA’s exit route standards, proactive planning is sorely lacking: almost 40% of organizations have no workplace violence plan at all. 

This underscores the real-world gap between regulation and implementation. So OSHA training is not just recommended; for employers covered by the OSHA (which includes most private sector businesses and some public sector employers), it is often a legal requirement. 

This is particularly essential for workplace emergencies and evacuation procedures. But why is OSHA training specifically vital for emergency exit requirements?

1. Compliance is Mandatory: OSHA standards (like 1910.36 and 1910.37) detail strict rules for exit routes, including design, construction, maintenance, marking, lighting, and keeping them unobstructed. Training ensures your team understands these regulations and your specific plan.

2. Knowledge Saves Lives: Simply having exit routes is not enough. Employees must know where the exits are located, understand the evacuation plan, recognize alarm signals, and know the procedures for assisting others. Panic during a real emergency (fire, chemical release, etc.) is mitigated by drilled knowledge.

3. Proper Maintenance and Awareness: Training empowers employees to identify hazards blocking exits or impairing routes (like stored equipment or damaged signage) and report them immediately. Regular drills reinforce this critical knowledge, so employees become active participants in maintaining compliance daily.

4. Avoid Costly Penalties: Failure to provide adequate training on evacuation procedures and exit route safety is a common OSHA violation, leading to huge fines. Proper training demonstrates your commitment to compliance.

If you have employees and are covered by OSHA, emergency action plan training, including specific instruction on your facility's emergency exit requirements, is non-negotiable. 

It is a fundamental investment in legal compliance and, more importantly, the safety and survival of everyone in your workplace during a crisis.

Key Components of Emergency Exit

A well-planned exit path can save lives, and these exits are designed, marked, and maintained for maximum effectiveness. Below are the key components that make emergency exit doors effective and reliable.

Accessibility

Every emergency exit should be designed so that anyone, regardless of physical ability, can use it without difficulty. This may involve adding ramps, making doorways wider, and ensuring hallways and pathways are clear. 

Exit routes must also remain free from furniture, equipment, or other items that could obstruct passage, so everyone can move to safety quickly.

Adequate Number of Exits

How many exits a workplace needs depends on the number of occupants and the building’s structure. Most workplaces require more than one exit to allow people to leave swiftly in an emergency. 

But as a best practice, each part of the building should have a minimum of two independent escape routes.

Clear Signage

Bright, well-placed exit signs are essential for guiding people to safety, particularly during smoky conditions or power outages when visibility is poor. Proper signage prevents confusion and ensures people head toward the correct exit. 

Additionally, signs should be placed above doors or along escape routes and kept visible at all times, with no objects blocking the view.

Safe Routes

Exit routes should be spacious enough to handle a steady flow of people during an evacuation. Remove any objects that could cause slipping, tripping, or falling. 

Always keep these pathways clear of debris or obstacles, since even a minor blockage could slow or prevent escape during an emergency.

Properly Designed Doors

Doors along emergency exit routes must open in the direction people are moving to avoid congestion. They should be easy to open without keys, technical expertise, or unnecessary pressure. 

In high-traffic zones, push-bars or panic hardware are especially effective for ensuring fast and smooth evacuations.

Best Practices for Planning Emergency Exit Routes

Effective emergency exit route planning is not a one-time task. It is an ongoing process crucial for OSHA compliance and, more importantly, the safety of everyone in your building. Here is how to implement best practices under three key pillars:

1. Have Clear Evacuation Routes

The foundation of safety lies in easy paths to safety. Emergency exits in the workplace must be readily identifiable and accessible from every work area. So, designate primary and secondary evacuation routes for each area, leading directly to safe exterior assembly points. 

Avoid routes passing through high-hazard areas if possible. Ensure emergency exit doors can accommodate all staff members, including those with disabilities.

2. Regularly Update the Routes

Your workplace facility is not static, and neither should your evacuation plan be. Changes can render existing routes ineffective or non-compliant. So always review all exit routes whenever significant changes occur. 

These reviews can take place after renovations, department relocations, new equipment installation, changes in occupant load, or after any near-miss incident or actual emergency. 

Also, regularly inspect routes for new obstructions, damaged flooring, poor lighting, blocked signs, or malfunctioning hardware on emergency exit doors. Ensure exit discharge areas outside remain safe and clear. 

Revise evacuation maps, posted procedures, and training materials immediately after any route modification. Communicate changes clearly and promptly to all employees and occupants. Remember, outdated information breeds confusion during a crisis.

3. Hold Regular Drills

Knowledge without practice fades. Drills transform theory into lifesaving instinct. While specific drill frequency is not mandated for all workplaces, OSHA requires training on the Emergency Action Plan (EAP):

• Upon initial assignment
• When responsibilities change
• When the plan itself changes

Regular drills are the proven way to fulfill this and ensure competence. Practice ensures employees instinctively know their primary and secondary routes to the nearest emergency exits in the workplace, identify alarm signals, and understand assembly procedures. 

This reduces panic and hesitation. Again, drills reveal flaws in how exits should be marked in a workplace, bottlenecks in routes, malfunctioning doors, insufficient exit capacity, or unclear assembly areas.

After every drill, conduct a thorough debriefing with security personnel. Document what worked, what did not, and implement corrective actions to continuously improve the plan and the safety of your escape routes.

How Coram's Emergency Management System Can Help in Emergencies?

Poor communication, unclear exit routes, or delayed decision-making can quickly turn a manageable situation into something terrible. Coram’s Emergency Management System equips workplaces to respond faster, stay compliant, and protect lives.

Regardless of the type of workplace setting, having a fast, reliable, and smart system in place can mean the difference between confusion and control. Coram’s EMS combines emergency management, live video surveillance, and access control into one powerful, easy-to-use platform. 

Instead of juggling multiple vendors or piecing together separate systems, Coram delivers everything in a single, unified solution that works in real time to keep people safe. Let us say you work in a warehouse, school, or office building, and every staff member has the Coram EMS app on their phone.

If someone spots a threat, such as an intruder or a dangerous equipment malfunction, they can discreetly trigger an alert. That alert instantly notifies everyone in the organization, while security teams can access live camera feeds to assess the situation and decide whether to lock down or evacuate the place.

This level of speed, integration, and adaptability helps ensure that your evacuation routes remain safe, clear, and effectively used in a crisis.

Key Features That Make Coram Stand Out

1. Automated Emergency Triggers
   Coram can integrate with your security cameras to automatically detect incidents like break-ins, smoke, fire, slip hazards, or even firearm threats. When detected, the system can immediately initiate a lockdown or evacuation protocol, helping secure exits and protect occupants before human intervention is even possible.
   
   
2. One Platform for Everything
   Unlike platforms that require separate emergency management and video surveillance systems, Coram combines both into one system. This means fewer delays, fewer errors, and the ability to share live camera feeds with first responders or safety officers instantly.
   
   
3. Live Video Integration
   Coram does not stop at just sending alerts; it provides real-time video visibility so decision-makers can assess threats visually, confirm blocked exits, and choose the safest evacuation route on the spot.
   
   
4. Smart Access Control
   During emergencies, Coram can automatically lock or unlock specific doors to keep evacuation routes safe and secure. Alerts can even be triggered directly from a live camera feed, instantly activating access control actions.
   
   
5. Multi-Device Access and Customization
   From desktop to mobile (iOS and Android), Coram allows administrators to define emergency types, assign trigger permissions, and create custom automated responses for different situations.
   
   
6. Built for Multi-Site Organizations
   Whether you manage a single workplace facility or dozens across different locations, Coram’s scalable architecture ensures every site can follow consistent safety protocols while still allowing location-specific customizations.

Conclusion

Ensuring OSHA-compliant emergency exit routes is a regulatory requirement that safeguards lives, maintains business continuity, and protects your organization’s reputation. 

While proper planning, training, and maintenance are essential, the right technology can make your emergency response proactive. 

Coram’s EMS gives you total oversight when it matters most, so you don’t leave safety to chance. Equip your workplace with Coram’s solution and gain the speed, clarity, and control needed to manage any crisis effectively. Request a free demo today.