Can I determine a room capacity for a classroom or lab by just walking in and measuring the room's square footage and using a load factor?

Some of our classrooms have so many desks it looks like a cattle car going to slaughter. I'd like to be able to go room to room and say, "This is the maximum allowable seats...". Appreciate any simple tips for a simple guy. Thanks. 

Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this | Submit a Question | Subscribe

​So the calculation for occupant load for classrooms, etc., uses an occupant load factor that is a net factor.

How do we calculate for additional students occupying corridors outside classrooms while classes are in session?

Posted anonymously by a member for discussion. Discuss this  | Subscribe

​An elementary school must perform a fire drill at least:
     a. Once per month
     b. Once every other month
     c. Once per semester (twice each year)
     d. Once per year

Solution | Posted 10/17/18

A new community college building contains 26,000 sqft of small instructional classrooms, an entry lobby, restrooms, offices, and a 15,000 sqft auditorium is considered what type of occupancy?
a. Group A, Assembly
b. Group B, Business
c. Group E, Education
d. Mixed Use

Solution | Posted 09/10/18

Which of the following occupancies have no difference in maximum permitted travel distance for sprinklered versus unsprinklered buildings?
a. Existing Day Care
b. Residential Lodging
c. Existing Mercantile
d. New Business

Solution | Posted 08/28/18

If Element A is a 45-minute interior door, B is a corridor, C is a 2-hour rated stair, and D is a non-rated exterior door, which element identified would be considered an exit?

a. 45-minute Interior Door A
b. Corridor B
c. 2-hour Rated Stair
d. Non-Rated Exterior Door

Solution | Posted 08/13/18

Determine the visibility (in meters) for a light reflecting exit sign with smoke that is produced by pyrolysis of plastic. Assume the smoke has a mass concentration of 0.09 grams per cubic meter.
a. 4.4 m
b. 7.6 m
c. 11.7 m
d. 20.2 m

Solution | Posted 07/27/18

A stair is 59 inches wide, with a handrail on one side with a centerline of 1.5 inches from the edge of the stair. The other side of the stair is a wall. For the purposes of calculating a specific flow, what is the effective width of the stair?
a. 47 in.
b. 48 in.
c. 53 in.
d. 59 in.

Solution | Posted 06/28/18

Solution | Posted 06/05/18

Is there any scenario where egress is allowed through a back-of-house (storage and warehouse) space? This project has retail up front and is governed by NFPA 101.

​Note: This is a Daily Discussion question submitted anonymously to us. Submit a Question or Discuss This Here.

When conducting means of egress calculations, is there a standard way to round? For instance, if the square footage of a room suggests 48.1 people, is the occupant load always rounded (conservatively) to 49 people? Or does rounding follow standard convention, where 0.50 and up rounds up, and everything below rounds down?

Note: This is a question submitted anonymously to us (you can submit any question here) as part of our new Daily Discussion series. Discuss your take on this question here.