Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2010-120)

Use and Operation

• 132 (1) A persons transfer apparatus on a vessel must not be used or operated in the following circumstances:

  • (a) with a load in excess of the load that it was designed and installed to move safely; or

  • (b) when the roll of the vessel is more than the maximum roll for the safe operation of the persons transfer apparatus recommended by the manufacturer.

• (2) A persons transfer apparatus must not be used or operated while any safety device attached to it is inoperative.

• (3) A safety device attached to a persons transfer apparatus must not be altered, interfered with or rendered inoperative.

• (4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply in respect of a persons transfer apparatus or a safety device that is being inspected, tested, repaired or maintained by a qualified person.

• 133 (1) A persons transfer apparatus must not be used to transfer freight unless the apparatus is specifically designed for freight and people or if there is an emergency.

• (2) Every transfer of a person by means of a persons transfer apparatus must be made only when visibility and environmental conditions are such that the transfer can be made safely.

• (3) If a person is transferred by means of a persons transfer apparatus from one place to another on the vessel or from the vessel to another place off a vessel or vice versa,

  • (a) the person in charge of the transfer operation must be in direct radio contact with the operator of the apparatus; and

  • (b) the person to be transferred must

    • (i) be instructed in the safety procedures to be followed by them,

    • (ii) wear a flotation suit if the conditions warrant, and

    • (iii) must use a life jacket or a personal flotation device unless, if for medical or emergency reasons, it is not feasible to wear one.

• (4) If a person is transferred by a basket to or from a drilling unit or an offshore production facility, the drilling unit or production facility must be equipped with at least two buoyant baskets.

• (5) For the purposes of subsection (4), basket, drilling unit, offshore and production facility have the same meaning as in section 1.1 of the Oil and Gas Occupational Safety and Health Regulations.

Boatswain’s Chair

• 134 (1) A boatswain’s chair must provide stable and adequate support for the user.

• (2) A boatswain’s chair must be suspended from a parapet clamp, cornice hook, thrust-out beam or other solid anchorage having a working load limit that is at least equivalent to that of the suspension system for the boatswain’s chair.

135 A boatswain’s chair must only be used when visibility and weather conditions permit its safe use.

Inspection and Testing

• 136 (1) Every persons transfer apparatus must be inspected and found to be in serviceable condition before each use and all ropes, wires or other vital parts that show signs of significant wear must be replaced before the apparatus is used.

• (2) Every persons transfer apparatus and every safety device attached to it must be inspected and tested by a qualified person to ascertain that the requirements referred to in section 131 are met

  • (a) before the persons transfer apparatus and any safety device attached to it are operated;

  • (b) after an alteration to the persons transfer apparatus or any safety device attached to it; and

  • (c) once every 12 months.

• (3) A record of each inspection and test made in accordance with subsection (2) must

  • (a) be made and signed by the qualified person who made the inspection and performed the test;

  • (b) include the date of the inspection and test and the identification and location of the persons transfer apparatus and any safety devices that were inspected and tested;

  • (c) set out the observations of the qualified person on the safety of the apparatus and any safety device;

  • (d) be kept by the employer on the vessel on which the persons transfer apparatus is located for a period of two years after the day on which the inspection is signed; and

  • (e) be made readily available for examination by the operator of the apparatus.

Repair and Maintenance

137 Repair and maintenance of a persons transfer apparatus or a safety device attached to it must be performed by a qualified person appointed by the employer.

PART 10Protection Equipment

General

• 138 (1) The employer must ensure that every person granted access to a work place who is exposed to a health or safety hazard uses the protection equipment prescribed by this Part

  • (a) if it is not feasible to eliminate a health or safety hazard in a work place or to control it within safe limits; and

  • (b) if the use of the protection equipment may prevent or reduce injury from that hazard.

• (2) All protection equipment must

  • (a) be designed to protect the person from the hazard for which it is provided;

  • (b) not in itself create a hazard;

  • (c) be maintained, inspected and tested by a qualified person; and

  • (d) if necessary to prevent a health hazard, be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition by a qualified person.

Protective Headwear

139 If there is a hazard of head injury in a work place, the employer must provide protective headwear that meets the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z94.1-05, Industrial Protective Headwear - Performance, Selection, Care, and Use.

Protective Footwear

• 140 (1) If there is a hazard of a foot injury or electric shock through footwear in a work place, the employer must ensure that every person granted access to that work place uses protective footwear that meets the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z195-02 (R2008), Protective Footwear.

• (2) If there is a hazard of slipping in a work place, non-slip footwear must be used.

Eye and Face Protection

141 If there is a hazard of injury in a work place to the eyes, face, ears or front of the neck, the employer must provide eye or face protectors that meet the standards set out in CSA Standard Z94.3-07, Eye and Face Protectors.

Respiratory Protection

• 142 (1) If there is a risk of injury or disease due to exposure to an oxygen deficient atmosphere in a work place, the employer must provide every person who is granted access to the work place with respiratory protective equipment or a breathing apparatus by means of which air will be supplied and that meets the following requirements:

  • (a) it is listed in the NIOSH publication entitled Certified Equipment List, as amended from time to time; and

  • (b) it protects the respiratory tract against the oxygen deficiency.

• (2) If there is a risk of injury or disease due to exposure to an airborne hazardous substance in a work place, the employer shall provide every person who is granted access to the work place with respiratory protective equipment or a breathing apparatus that meets the following requirements:

  • (a) if air is supplied by means of the respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus, it is listed in the NIOSH publication entitled Certified Equipment List, as amended from time to time;

  • (b) if air is not supplied by means of the respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus, it is listed

    • (i) in the NIOSH publication entitled Certified Equipment List, as amended from time to time, or

    • (ii) in the CSA Group publication entitled CSA Group Product Listing, as amended from time to time;

  • (c) for respiratory protective equipment or a breathing apparatus referred to in subparagraph (b)(ii), it meets the requirements set out in CSA Standard Z94.4.1, Performance of filtering respirators; and

  • (d) it protects the respiratory tract against the hazardous substance.

• (3) The respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus referred to in subsection (1) or (2) must be selected, fitted, cared for, used and maintained in accordance with CSA Standard Z94.4, Selection, use, and care of respirators.

• (4) The employer must ensure that the air that is supplied by means of respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (2)(a) and the system that supplies the air, including its cylinders, meet the requirements set out in CSA Standard Z180.1, Compressed breathing air and systems.

142.1 If a steel or aluminum self-contained breathing apparatus cylinder has a dent deeper than 1.5 mm and less than 50 mm in major diameter or shows evidence of deep isolated pitting, cracks or splits, the cylinder must be removed from service until it has been shown to be safe for use by means of a hydrostatic test at a pressure equal to one and one-half times the maximum allowable working pressure.

Skin Protection

143 If there is a hazard of injury or disease to or through the skin of a person in a work place, the employer must provide any person granted access to the work place with

• (a) a shield or a screen;

• (b) a cream or a barrier lotion to protect the skin; or

• (c) an appropriate body covering.

Fall-protection Systems

• 144 (1) The employer must provide a fall-protection system to every person, other than an employee who is installing or removing a fall-protection system, who is granted access to

  • (a) an unguarded work area that is

    • (i) more than 2.4 m above the nearest permanent safe level,

    • (ii) above any moving parts of machinery or any other surface or thing that could cause injury to a person on contact, or

    • (iii) above an open hold;

  • (b) a structure referred to in Part 2 that is more than 3 m above a permanent safe level; or

  • (c) a ladder at a height of more than 2.4 m above the nearest permanent safe level and because of the nature of the work, that person can use only one hand to hold onto the ladder.

• (2) The components of a fall-protection system must meet the following standards:

  • (a) CSA Standard Z259.1-05, Body Belts and Saddles for Work Positioning and Travel Restraint;

  • (b) CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z259.2.1-98 (R2008), Fall Arresters, Vertical Lifelines and Rails;

  • (c) CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z259.2.2-98 (R2009), Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall-Arrest Systems;

  • (d) CSA Standard Z259.2.3-99 (R2004), Descent Control Devices;

  • (e) CSA Standard Z259.10-06, Full Body Harnesses;

  • (f) CSA Standard Z259.11-05, Energy Absorbers and Lanyards;

  • (g) CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z259.12-01 (R2006), Connecting Components for Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS);

  • (h) CSA Standard Z259.13-04 (R2009), Flexible Horizontal Lifeline Systems; and

  • (i) CSA Standard Z259.16-04 (R2009), Design of Active Fall-Protection Systems.

• (3) The anchor of a fall-protection system must be capable of withstanding a force of 17.8 kN.

• (4) A fall-protection system that is used to arrest the fall of a person must prevent that person

  • (a) from being subjected to a peak fall arrest force of more than 8 kN; and

  • (b) from falling freely for more than 1.2 m.

• (5) An employer must train and instruct every employee required to install or remove a fall-protection system in a work place in the procedures to be followed for the installation or removal of the system.

Loose Clothing

145 Loose clothing, long hair, dangling accessories, jewellery or other similar items that may be hazardous to the health or safety of an employee in a work place must not be worn unless they are tied, covered or otherwise secured as to prevent the hazard.

Protection Against Moving Vehicles

146 If persons granted access to a work place are regularly exposed to the risk of coming into contact with moving vehicles during their work, the employer must ensure that they wear a high-visibility vest or other similar clothing that is readily visible under all conditions of use or that they are protected by a barricade that is readily visible under all conditions of use.

Protection Against Drowning

• 147 (1) If, in a work place, there is a hazard of drowning, as a result of work activities, other than vessel abandonment drills, the employer must provide every person granted access to the work place with

  • (a) a life jacket or other flotation device that meets the buoyancy standards set out in

    • (i) the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Standard CAN/CGSB-65.7-2007, Life Jackets; or

    • (ii) Regulation 2 of Part 1 to IMO Resolution MSC.81(70), adopted on December 11, 1998 and entitled Revised Recommendation on Testing of Life-Saving Appliances; or

  • (b) a safety net or a fall-protection system.

• (2) If, in a work place, there is a hazard of drowning,

  • (a) emergency equipment must be provided and held in readiness;

  • (b) a qualified person to operate all the emergency equipment provided must be present and ready to intervene;

  • (c) if appropriate, a vessel must be provided and held in readiness; and

  • (d) written emergency procedures must be prepared by the employer.

Records

• 148 (1) A record of all self-contained breathing apparatus provided by the employer must be kept by the employer on the vessel on which the breathing apparatus is located for the duration of its use and must remain on the vessel on which the breathing apparatus was located for a period of two years after the day on which the apparatus ceases to be used.

• (2) The record must contain

  • (a) a description of the breathing apparatus and the date of its acquisition by the employer;

  • (b) the date and result of each inspection and test of the breathing apparatus;

  • (c) the date and nature of any maintenance work performed on the breathing apparatus since its acquisition by the employer; and

  • (d) the name of the person who performed the inspection, test or maintenance of the breathing apparatus.