Safe Working Practices Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1467)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Safe Working Practices Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Canada Shipping Act; (Loi)

Board

Board means the Board of Steamship Inspection established pursuant to section 369 of the Act; (Bureau)

hot work

hot work means welding, burning, rivetting, drilling, grinding, chipping or any other work where flame is used or sparks are produced; (travail à chaud)

inspector

inspector means

• (a) a steamship inspector appointed under the Act, or

• (b) a person designated as an inspector pursuant to section 91; (inspecteur)

marine chemist

marine chemist means a person who

• (a) has graduated from an educational institution approved by the Board and has completed

  • (i) courses in chemical engineering, or

  • (ii) a general course with a major in chemistry, or

• (b) has obtained a fellowship in the Chemical Institute of Canada,

and thereafter has had at least three years experience in chemical or engineering work, of which a minimum of 150 working hours has been gained under proper supervision in ship board work involving the testing and inspection of tank vessels and other vessels in the application of gas hazard control standards prescribed by the Board; (chimiste de la marine)

owner

owner includes, in respect of any working area, structure, machinery or equipment, the person who has the general management and control thereof; (propriétaire)

qualified person

qualified person means,

• (a) in respect of work that is required by law to be performed by the holder of a licence, certificate or other authority, a person who is the holder of such licence, certificate or other authority, and

• (b) in respect of work that is not required by law to be performed by the holder of a licence, certificate or other authority, a person who, in the opinion of his employer, possesses the knowledge and experience necessary to perform the work safely and competently; (personne compétente)

scaffold

scaffold means a working platform supported from below; (échafaud)

scaffolding

scaffolding means the structure that supports a scaffold; (échafaudage)

stage

stage means a working platform supported from above; (plate-forme volante)

working area

working area means

• (a) any area in which work is being performed on board a ship,

• (b) with respect to persons employed in the maintenance or repair of a ship, any area immediately adjacent to the ship, and

• (c) with respect to persons employed in the loading or unloading of a ship, any area on shore that is within the reach of any derrick, crane or other hoisting equipment employed in loading or unloading the ship and the immediate approaches to such an area, but does not include any sheds, warehouses or any part of a wharf forward or aft of the ship’s mooring lines. (lieu de travail)

Application

3 These Regulations apply to and in respect of the employment of persons in any working area associated with any ship in Canada or on any Canadian ship outside Canada.

General

4 Every employer shall

• (a) arrange that work in a working area is carried out in a manner that does not endanger the safety or health of any person employed in the work or in connection therewith;

• (b) adopt and carry out reasonable procedures and techniques designed or intended to prevent or reduce the risk of employment injury in the operation or carrying out of the work; and

• (c) without limiting the generality of paragraphs (a) and (b), arrange that the safe working practices set out in these Regulations will be complied with.

5 Every owner of any working area, structure, machinery or equipment used in the operation, maintenance or repair of a ship, or in the loading or unloading of a ship, shall ensure that the working area, structure, machinery or equipment is maintained in a safe condition and complies with these Regulations.

6 Every employer or owner shall ensure that a qualified person

• (a) is in charge in every working area; and

• (b) makes periodic inspections of every working area or structure and every item of machinery or equipment to ascertain that safe working conditions are maintained.

• 7 (1) Every person engaged in any employment to which these Regulations apply shall, in the course of his employment,

  • (a) take all reasonable and necessary precautions to ensure his own safety and the safety of his fellow employees; and

  • (b) at all appropriate times use such devices and wear such articles of clothing or equipment as are intended for his protection and furnished to him by his employer, or required pursuant to these Regulations to be used or worn by him.

• (2) Nothing in subsection (1) relieves an employer from any duty imposed upon him by section 4.

• 8 (1) No person shall use any working area, structure, machinery or equipment for any purpose other than the purpose for which it is intended to be used.

• (2) No person shall use any structure, machinery or equipment that has been re-assembled after being dismantled, in whole or in part, until it has been examined by a qualified person and found to be in a safe condition.

9 No person shall tamper with, or make ineffective, any safeguard or safety device that is intended to maintain the safe condition of any working area, structure, machinery or equipment.

10 No person shall cause an emergency exit to be obstructed or otherwise made ineffective.

• 11 (1) Any person who observes in a working area an unsafe condition or situation shall immediately report that condition or situation to the person in charge of the working area.

• (2) The correction of an unsafe condition or situation referred to in subsection (1) shall be made only by a qualified person.

• (3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), in an emergency any person may take whatever measures are necessary to prevent loss of human life or injury to persons.

12 Where a person is employed in an isolated working area, the employer of that person shall make arrangements to verify at reasonable intervals that the person has not been involved in an accident in that working area.

13 Any person who becomes aware of an accident or an injury to a person in a working area shall immediately report the accident or injury to the person in charge of the working area.

14 No person shall be permitted in any working area whose ability to work is, in the opinion of the person in charge of the area, impaired by alcohol or a drug.

15 No person with a disability shall be assigned to any work of any kind when, owing to the nature or location of the work, the disability is likely to endanger that person or any other person.

Lifting Appliances and other Equipment

16 Any person operating any lifting appliance or powered mobile equipment in a working area shall

• (a) be a qualified person;

• (b) comply with the traffic laws applicable in the working area; and

• (c) comply with every notice and sign applicable to the operation of the appliance or equipment placed in the working area by the owner of the working area or by the employer of the operator of the appliance or equipment.

17 The owner of a lifting appliance shall ensure that a notice is permanently affixed to the appliance showing its safe working load.

18 No person shall be permitted on any part of any lifting appliance or power operated equipment while it is in operation except

• (a) where safe accommodation is available thereon for that person; or

• (b) where essential for the maintenance or repair of the appliance or equipment and safe access is provided for that person to perform such maintenance or repair.

• 19 (1) Mobile equipment shall be fitted with guards to protect the operator of the equipment from falling objects or shifting loads, unless the nature of the operation of the equipment makes the fitting of such guards impracticable.

• (2) No person shall leave mobile equipment unattended unless the equipment has been properly secured to prevent its movement.

20 The moving parts of the machinery of power operated equipment shall be fitted with guards where such parts constitute a hazard.

21 Every deck of a ship, every wharf and every other elevated working area on which mobile equipment is used shall be fitted with guards that will prevent the equipment from falling over the sides of the working area.

• 22 (1) Every enclosed working area in which equipment powered by an internal combustion engine is used shall be ventilated to ensure that the carbon monoxide concentration in the atmosphere of the working area does not exceed 50 parts per million.

• (2) No person shall operate equipment powered by an internal combustion engine in an enclosed working area unless there is at least one other person in attendance at the entrance to that working area.

• 23 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall refuel equipment

  • (a) in the hold of a ship;

  • (b) when its engine is running; or

  • (c) when there is any source of ignition in the vicinity of the equipment.

• (2) Equipment in a hold or an enclosed space of a ship may be refuelled if

  • (a) only those persons engaged in the refuelling are in the hold or space;

  • (b) one person in attendance has a suitable fire extinguisher ready for use;

  • (c) only the minimum quantity of fuel needed to operate each unit is taken into the hold or space at one time;

  • (d) in the case of liquefied gas, refuelling of the equipment is to be achieved only by the replacement of spent cylinders; and

  • (e) fuel is not transferred into containers other than the fuel tank.

24 Powered mobile equipment shall be fitted with

• (a) an effective audible warning device; and

• (b) sufficient lights to maintain safe working conditions when operated in darkness or a dimly lighted working area.

Holds, Tanks and other Compartments

• 25 (1) When not in use, every hatch or other opening that leads to a hold, tank or other compartment exceeding 1.5 m in depth shall be securely covered or fenced to a height of 900 mm unless the opening is fitted with a coaming of not less than 760 mm in height.

• (2) Every opening in a deck or tank top that leads to a hold, tank or other compartment not exceeding 1.5 m in depth shall be covered, fenced or marked in such manner as necessary to prevent loss of life or injury to persons.

• 26 (1) Hatch beams, covers and plugs shall be permanently marked to indicate the deck, hatch and hatch section to which they belong, unless the interchangeability of the beams, covers or plugs makes the application of such markings unnecessary.

• (2) Where a hatch beam, cover or plug is marked as required by subsection (1), it shall only be fitted in the deck, hatch and hatch section as indicated by the markings thereon.