Electromagnetic hardware vs. Panic

[Sifu]

I have a tenant with a training room in a large B occupancy with an occupant load greater than 50. The doors (2) from this space into the corridor have panic hardware. From that point I believe that the doors serving this space also require panic hardware. The tenant is asking if an electromagnetic lock can replace that panic hardware. The doors would be push/pull with no latch (the "latch" would be the magnet). If the doors release on occupant approach, power failure or alarm, basically never be able to impede egress, would that be an acceptable condition? I am using the 2012 IBC.

 

[Francis Vineyard]

Panic hardware is not required for Group B with more than 50 occupants but the doors shall latch (Ref. 716.5.9.1),be self-closing and swing in the direction of egress travel.

Electromagnetic lock is permitted in accordance with Section 1008.1.9.9

1008.1.9.9 Electromagnetically locked egress doors.
Doors in the means of egress in buildings with an occupancy in Group A, B, E, M, R-1 or R-2, and doors to tenant spaces in Group A, B, E, M, R-1 or R-2, shall be permitted to be electromagnetically locked if equipped with listed hardware that incorporates a built-in switch and meet the requirements below:

1. The listed hardware that is affixed to the door leaf has an obvious method of operation that is readily operated under all lighting conditions.

2. The listed hardware is capable of being operated with one hand.

3. Operation of the listed hardware directly interrupts the power to the electromagnetic lock and unlocks the door immediately.

4. Loss of power to the listed hardware automatically unlocks the door.

5. Where panic or fire exit hardware is required by Section 1008.1.10, operation of the listed panic or fire exit hardware also releases the electromagnetic lock.

1008.1.10 Panic and fire exit hardware. Doors serving a Group H occupancy and doors serving rooms or spaces with an occupant load of 50 or more in a Group A or E occupancy shall not be provided with a latch or lock unless it is panic hardware or fire exit hardware.

 

[cda]

I have a tenant with a training room in a large B occupancy with an occupant load greater than 50. The doors (2) from this space into the corridor have panic hardware. From that point I believe that the doors serving this space also require panic hardware. The tenant is asking if an electromagnetic lock can replace that panic hardware. The doors would be push/pull with no latch (the "latch" would be the magnet). If the doors release on occupant approach, power failure or alarm, basically never be able to impede egress, would that be an acceptable condition? I am using the 2012 IBC.

If panic hardware is required,

Does not meet the requirements

 

[mtlogcabin]

Training and skill development not within a school or academic program is a "B" occupancy therefore panic hardware is not requiredo

 

[JPohling]

not if the occupant load is greater than 50 in the training room. It is then an A3 and panics would be required.

 

[mtlogcabin]

Disagree, 50 people in a training room does not make it an "A" occupancy under the IBC. Adult training is not an "E" classification but a "B" occupancy. An assembly occupancy is for the gathering of persons for purposes such as civic,social or religious functions; recreation, food or drink consumption or awaiting transportation not training.

1008.1.10 Panic and fire exit hardware.
Doors serving a Group H occupancy and doors serving rooms or spaces with an occupant load of 50 or more in a Group A or E occupancy shall not be provided with a latch or lock unless it is panic hardware or fire exit hardware.

304.1 Business Group B.
Business Group B occupancy includes, among others, the use of a building or structure, or a portion thereof, for office, professional or service-type transactions, including storage of records and accounts. Business occupancies shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Airport traffic control towers
Ambulatory care facilities
Animal hospitals, kennels and pounds
Banks
Barber and beauty shops
Car wash
Civic administration
Clinic, outpatient
Dry cleaning and laundries: pick-up and delivery stations and self-service
Educational occupancies for students above the 12th grade
Electronic data processing
Laboratories: testing and research
Motor vehicle showrooms
Post offices
Print shops
Professional services (architects, attorneys, dentists, physicians, engineers, etc.)
Radio and television stations
Telephone exchanges
Training and skill development not within a school or academic program

 

[cda]

So never an A in a B??

So do they have to label it training?

What if it is a meeting room that holds 99 people?

 

[JPohling]

I am more of a California code guy, but they should be very similar. Look at 303.1.2 small assembly spaces. Assembly purposes less than 50 occupants would still be a B over 50 and you are an A. Rooms used for assembly purposes less than 750 SF still a B, more than 750 SF and you are an A.

 

[mtlogcabin]

The use is not assembly. There is no civic,social or religious functions; recreation, food or drink consumption happening to make it assembly. Think of a classroom OL at 20 net or a Vocational-Tech room at 50 net they will all be rooms larger than 750 sq ft. It is the use that determines the occupancy and the OL used. A vocational training room would be over 2,500 sq ft before you have an OL of over 50 and it would still be a "B" occupancy since it is training for adults.

 

[JPohling]

Lets let others chime in, but a conference room or training room within a "B" occupancy that is in excess of 50 occupants is definitely considered an "A" occupancy. A3 is what we would classify that for exiting purposes and would require panic's on the complete egress route.

 

[cda]

Check page 3-7

Right column


http://diberville.ms.us/home/wp-con...C-Code-And-Commentary-Volume-I_Compressed.pdf

 

[Francis Vineyard]

Lets let others chime in, but a conference room or training room within a "B" occupancy that is in excess of 50 occupants is definitely considered an "A" occupancy. A3 is what we would classify that for exiting purposes and would require panic's on the complete egress route.

A conference room would be classified as Group A-3, except as Group B with an occupant of less than 50 relative to life safety (not plumbing facility occupancy).

I have a tenant with a training room in a large B occupancy with an occupant load greater than 50. . . . .

Training room depends on the intent of occupancy; examples from the 2015 Handbook; "The Group B classification of training and skill development programs outside of a school or academic program includes uses such as tutoring programs and instrumental music training.
Where the occupant load and concentration of occupants is such that an assembly use is created, a classification of Group A is typically required where an occupant load of 50 or more is established.
Although it is specified that there are no occupant age criteria associated with classification as a Group B occupancy, it may be necessary to apply a higher level classification where the hazards anticipated based on the specific use fall outside of those typically encountered within a Group B occupancy. For example, skill development activities conducted for infants or toddlers should more appropriately be considered as a Group E or I-4 occupancy if the potential hazard level is consistent with that of a day-care facility. As with any occupancy designation, the intent of the classification is to be able to correctly apply the appropriate mini¬mum standards of health, safety, and public welfare."

 

[steveray]

Less than 10% of the B = accessory and not "A"

 

[Sifu]

Maybe my question wasn't worded very well. Panic hardware is only required if there is a latch, it doesn't matter how many occupants there are if there is no latch. With push/pull, there is no latch, unless you consider the magnet a latch. That is really the question. If the magnet is automatically released upon approach it is not latched. If power failed, it would release and there would be no latch. If alarms activate, it would release and there would be no latch. I am trying to figure out if there would ever be a time that the door could be latched by the magnet upon approach of an occupant, therefore not allowed.

In this case it is considered an A occupancy-accessory, not a small assembly space B occupancy. There are three training rooms (labeled) that feed a corridor inside of a a large tenant space. That corridor leads through a door into the main tenant space, then ultimately out of the building at an exit discharge. The individual training rooms have panic, since they latch, and the exit discharge has panic since they latch. The question is for the intermediate door at the end of the corridor between the main tenant space and the training rooms. They do not want panic hardware on that door, for whatever reason.

 

[mtlogcabin]

See post #2 for the correct action you need to follow

 

[cda]

Maybe my question wasn't worded very well. Panic hardware is only required if there is a latch, it doesn't matter how many occupants there are if there is no latch. With push/pull, there is no latch, unless you consider the magnet a latch. That is really the question. If the magnet is automatically released upon approach it is not latched. If power failed, it would release and there would be no latch. If alarms activate, it would release and there would be no latch. I am trying to figure out if there would ever be a time that the door could be latched by the magnet upon approach of an occupant, therefore not allowed.

In this case it is considered an A occupancy-accessory, not a small assembly space B occupancy. There are three training rooms (labeled) that feed a corridor inside of a a large tenant space. That corridor leads through a door into the main tenant space, then ultimately out of the building at an exit discharge. The individual training rooms have panic, since they latch, and the exit discharge has panic since they latch. The question is for the intermediate door at the end of the corridor between the main tenant space and the training rooms. They do not want panic hardware on that door, for whatever reason.

If panic harwadware is required :

The above set up does not meet the panic hardware section,,


No matter if latch is present or not present

 

[Sifu]

If panic harwadware is required :

The above set up does not meet the panic hardware section,,


No matter if latch is present or not present

Can you expand on that? Are you saying you believe the magnet is a latch?

 

[Francis Vineyard]

Sifu,

The electromagnetic lock is not a substitute for the required hardware (latch).

See item 5. Where panic or fire exit hardware is required by Section 1008.1.10, operation of the listed panic or fire exit hardware also releases the electromagnetic lock.

 

[Sifu]

See post #2 for the correct action you need to follow

This is not a fire door, post #2 references a section for fire doors. There is no requirement for a latch. If a latch is present it must be panic, I get that. Still trying to flesh out whether the magnet is a latch. 1008.1.9.9 # 5 reads "where" panic hardware is required, not that it "is" required. 1008.1.10 reads that these doors can not have a latch or lock unless it is panic. Since 1008.1.9.9 is titled "electromagnetically locked egress doors" the literal intent would prohibit this configuration. Just wondering if that is the intent, since the electromagnetic lock may never be locked from the egress side.

 

[cda]

Can you expand on that? Are you saying you believe the magnet is a latch?

Ok I retreat as long as


5. Where panic or fire exit hardware is required by Section 1008.1.10, operation of the listed panic or fire exit hardware also releases the electromagnetic lock.

And meets all the other requirements

 

[Francis Vineyard]

cda I'm surprised you haven't posted a link to "I dig hardware electromagnetic lock"

 

[cda]

cda I'm surprised you haven't posted a link to "I dig hardware electromagnetic lock"

Well it is Friday

 

[LGreene]

Sorry to jump into this discussion late. Charles did send me a link on Friday but I was out for part of the day. As far as I can tell, there are 2 questions:

1) Is panic hardware required?

I wrote an article a while back about small assembly spaces (http://idighardware.com/2016/06/decoded-small-assembly-occupancies/). I would consider a training room >749 square feet or >49 occupants to be a small assembly occupancy (note that I am not an AHJ - this is just my interpretation).

The IBC Commentary uses this as one of their examples when discussing small assembly occupancies: Example 1: An office building, classified as a Group B occupancy, has a conference room used for staff meetings with an occupant load of 40 [see Figure 303.1.2(1)]. The occupancy classification of a conference room is generally considered a Group A3. Since the occupant load of the conference room is less than 50 and its function is clearly accessory to the business area, the room is permitted to be classified the same as the main occupancy, Group B.

If the training room in question is a small assembly occupancy, the doors require panic hardware if they lock or latch.

2) If #1=yes, can a mag-lock be used instead of panic hardware?

There is a post on my website about this (http://idighardware.com/2014/09/assembly-doors-with-mag-locks/). When I worked in the Northeast and we used BOCA, panic hardware was required on certain doors with "latching devices." The IBC says "lock or latch," so my interpretation is that a mag-lock can not replace panic hardware in locations where panic hardware is required. A mag-lock can be used in addition to panic hardware, as long as the applicable code requirements are met. Here's some more light reading on that: http://idighardware.com/2017/07/decoded-access-controlled-egress-doors-august-2017/.

 

[Sifu]

Thanks Lori, I looked on your website but didn't find anything to definitively guide me. The spaces feeding the hallway are not small assembly spaces, they are over the thresholds and do have panic hardware. The doors at the ends of the hallways that these rooms feed to are the ones in question. For some reason they do not want panic and asked if an electromagnetic lock with sensor would suffice. I came to the conclusion that since the code section (at least for now) calls them "electromagnetically locked" then 1008.1.10 would require panic hardware since it says latch or lock. They submitted an access control permit today for those doors, with electromagnetic locks in accordance with 1008.1.9.9, but they are calling out levers. I sent it back, we'll see what they come up with.