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Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-248)

Regulations are current to 2024-03-06 and last amended on 2022-01-01. Previous Versions

PART 22Fall Protection and Rope Access (continued)

Marginal note:Means of protection

  •  (1) Every employer must ensure that whichever of the following means of fall protection is most appropriate in the circumstances is provided whenever a person at a workplace under its control is in a location referred to in section 108:

    • (a) a guard-rail;

    • (b) temporary flooring;

    • (c) a travel restraint system that conforms to and has been selected in accordance with — and every component of which conforms to and has been selected in accordance with — all applicable CSA Group standards in the Z259 series;

    • (d) a fall-arrest system that conforms to and has been selected in accordance with — and every component of which conforms to and has been selected in accordance with — all applicable CSA Group standards in the Z259 series; or

    • (e) a safety net that, unless it is to be used in or around the helicopter landing deck area of a marine installation or structure, conforms to ANSI/American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) standard A10.11, Safety Requirements for Personnel Nets and has been installed, inspected and tested in accordance with that standard.

  • Marginal note:Occupational health and safety program

    (2) Every occupational health and safety program must

    • (a) set out factors, including efficacy and feasibility, to be considered by the employer in determining the most appropriate means of fall protection for the purpose of subsection (1);

    • (b) address the assembly, maintenance, inspection, use and disassembly, as the case may be, of all means of fall protection provided and their components, including by establishing a schedule for their inspection; and

    • (c) if fall-arrest systems are to be provided at the workplace, address the risks associated with the potential for swing as a result of anchorage placement when a fall-arrest system is being used.

  • Marginal note:Fall-arrest system required

    (3) Despite subsection (1) and paragraph (2)(a), the employer must ensure that a fall-arrest system described in paragraph (1)(d) is provided to every person

    • (a) who is on a fixed ladder more than 6 m in length;

    • (b) who is on an elevating work platform, as defined in section 103; or

    • (c) who uses a work-positioning system.

  • Marginal note:Use

    (4) The employer must ensure that any means of protection referred to in paragraphs (1)(c) to (e) that it provides is used in accordance with the standards referred to in those paragraphs and, in the case of a fall-arrest system provided to a person referred to in paragraph (3)(b), is secured to an anchorage point that is approved by the platform’s manufacturer or a professional engineer.

  • Marginal note:Safety net

    (5) The employer must ensure that any safety net provided

    • (a) is positioned as close as feasible to, and in any case no further than 4.6 m below, the area from which there is a risk of a fall;

    • (b) extends at least 2.4 m beyond that area on all sides or, if the area is a gangway, at least 1.8 m beyond both sides;

    • (c) is positioned and maintained so that its maximum deflection does not permit any portion of a person who falls into it to come into contact with any other surface;

    • (d) is kept free of debris, obstructions or intervening objects that could be struck by a person falling into it; and

    • (e) is, if connected to another safety net, connected using splice joints that are at least as strong as the weakest of the nets.

  • Marginal note:Components

    (6) The employer must ensure that

    • (a) all anchorages used in a means of fall protection are capable of withstanding the following forces in any direction in which the force may be applied:

      • (i) 22 kN, in the case of non-engineered anchorages, and

      • (ii) twice the maximum arresting force anticipated, in the case of engineered anchorages;

    • (b) any self-retracting device used in a means of fall protection is

      • (i) anchored above the user’s head, unless the manufacturer’s instructions allow for a different anchorage location, and

      • (ii) used in a manner that

        • (A) minimizes the hazards of swinging, and

        • (B) limits the distance that a user who fell would drop to less than 1.2 m; and

    • (c) any lanyard used in a fall-arrest system is equipped with an energy absorber, unless

      • (i) the lifeline used is self-retracting, or

      • (ii) the fall-arrest system is designed by a competent person to

        • (A) limit the free fall to less than 1.2 m and the arresting force to less than 4 kN, and

        • (B) prevent the user from coming into contact with any unsafe surface.

Marginal note:Rope access

  •  (1) Despite subsections 109(1), (3) and (4), every employer must ensure that any rope access carried out at a workplace under its control, or by any of its employees at a workplace not under its control, conforms, subject to subsection (3), to the IRATA International code of practice for industrial rope access, published by the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association.

  • Marginal note:Interpretation of code

    (2) For the purpose of subsection (1), all recommendations in the code are mandatory, unless compliance with the measure is not feasible, in which case the employer must demonstrate to the Chief Safety Officer, before any non-conforming rope access is carried out, that other controls are in place to mitigate or eliminate the risk that the measure is intended to address.

  • Marginal note:Alternative standards

    (3) A requirement in the code to conform to a standard in respect of equipment is satisfied by instead conforming, as applicable, to

    • (a) CSA Group standard Z259.1, Body belts and saddles for work positioning and travel restraint;

    • (b) CSA Group standard Z259.10, Full body harnesses;

    • (c) CSA Group standard Z259.11, Personal energy absorbers and lanyards;

    • (d) CSA Group standard Z259.12, Connecting components for personal fall-arrest systems (PFAS);

    • (e) European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard EN 567, Mountaineering equipment – Rope clamps – Safety requirements and test methods; or

    • (f) European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard EN 353-2, Personal protective equipment against falls from a height – Part 2: Guided type fall arresters including a flexible anchor line.

  • Marginal note:Headwear

    (4) The personal protective equipment that every employer is required to provide to any of its employees, and to any other individual at a workplace under its control, who is engaged in rope access includes headwear that conforms to

    • (a) CSA Group standard Z94.1, Industrial protective headwear – Performance, selection, care, and use;

    • (b) ANSI/International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) standard Z89.1, American National Standard for Industrial Head Protection; or

    • (c) European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard EN 12492, Mountaineering equipment – Helmets for mountaineers – Safety requirements and test methods.

  • Marginal note:Definition of rope access

    (5) In this section, rope access means the use of ropes, in combination with other devices, to get to or from a work area or to maintain one’s position in a work area.

Marginal note:Work permit

 A work permit is required for any activity at a workplace that requires the use of a fall-arrest system or travel restraint system.

Marginal note:Instruction and training

  •  (1) The instruction and training that every employer must provide to its employees and other individuals at a workplace under its control who are involved in activities requiring the use of a fall-arrest system or travel restraint system includes

    • (a) an overview of the provisions of all applicable health and safety legislation and standards that relate to fall protection, including those relating to the roles and responsibilities of workplace parties;

    • (b) training on the identification of fall hazards;

    • (c) an overview of the hierarchy of controls that may be used to minimize the risk of falling and of injury from a fall;

    • (d) training on the different means of fall protection and the most suitable application of each;

    • (e) instruction on selecting all relevant components of the fall-arrest system or travel restraint system, including connecting hardware;

    • (f) instruction on assessing and selecting specific anchors for use with the fall-arrest system or travel restraint system;

    • (g) training on the effects on the human body of a fall — including free fall and swing fall — and fall-arrest, which must address maximum arresting force and the purpose of energy absorbers;

    • (h) instruction and training on the use, storage, maintenance and inspection — including pre-use inspection — of fall-arrest systems, travel restraint systems and their components, including practice in inspecting, fitting, adjusting and connecting the systems and components; and

    • (i) instruction and training on emergency response procedures to be used if a fall occurs, including practice in carrying them out.

  • Marginal note:Timing

    (2) The instruction and training must be provided

    • (a) before the work that requires the use of the fall-arrest system or travel restraint system begins; and

    • (b) at least once every three years.

PART 23Falling Objects

Marginal note:Risk of injury

  •  (1) The risk of injury from falling objects and material at the workplace, whether they are falling over or from a height, is a prescribed risk for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act.

  • Marginal note:Toe board or panel

    (2) Subject to subsection (3), every employer must ensure, at each workplace under its control, that wherever there is a risk of objects or material falling from a raised work area onto a person below, a toe board or other solid or mesh panel that extends from the floor of the raised area to a sufficient height to prevent the objects or material from falling from the raised area is installed.

  • Marginal note:Alternative measures

    (3) If the installation of a toe board or panel is not feasible, the employer must ensure that

    • (a) the objects or material are fastened to something in a manner that would, if they were to fall, prevent them from reaching a person below;

    • (b) a safety net is positioned below the raised area to catch the objects or material; or

    • (c) the area below and adjacent to the raised area is barricaded so that no person may enter it while work is underway.

PART 24Materials Handling

Marginal note:Definitions

 The following definitions apply in this Part.

personnel transfer

personnel transfer means the transfer by crane of persons between a vessel and marine installation or structure, between vessels or between marine installations or structures. (transfert du personnel)

signaller

signaller means a person who directs, by means of visual or auditory signals, the safe movement and operation of materials handling equipment. (signaleur)

Marginal note:Lifting risks

  •  (1) The risks associated with the use of materials handling equipment, including to lift persons or things, are prescribed risks for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and the occupational health and safety program in respect of a workplace at which materials handling equipment is to be used for lifting must

    • (a) identify the types of lifts that are expected to be performed at the workplace;

    • (b) set out criteria for classifying lifts by risk level, including criteria relating to the type of lift, its complexity, its physical elements, the expertise of those involved in carrying it out and the environmental conditions in which it is carried out;

    • (c) set out procedures for the preparation and performance of lifts by type and risk level, including

      • (i) communication requirements among all persons involved in the lifts,

      • (ii) in the case of lifts of persons, the required use of personal protective equipment by the person being lifted, and

      • (iii) in the case of lifts of persons over the water, the availability of fast rescue boats;

    • (d) identify any operational limits on lifting operations and any environmental conditions, such as wind, sea state and temperature, that may affect those operations, including by reducing the load that the materials handling equipment is able to safely handle or support;

    • (e) set out procedures for the maintenance, inspection, testing, repair and replacement of lifting equipment, fixed pad eyes and loose lifting gear; and

    • (f) set out procedures for communicating the provisions of the program that relate to lifting operations to all persons who are involved in carrying them out and all other persons in the vicinity who may be affected by them.

  • Marginal note:Personnel transfer risk

    (2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(b), a personnel transfer must not be classified as a low risk lift.

Marginal note:Work permit

 A work permit is required for all lifts carried out at a workplace using materials handling equipment, except those classified under the occupational health and safety program as low risk.

Marginal note:Prohibitions

 It is prohibited for

  • (a) any employee to use or attempt to use materials handling equipment at a workplace if they have reason to doubt they can do so safely; or

  • (b) any signaller to direct any movement of materials handling equipment that would pose a risk to the health or safety of any person.

Marginal note:Hazardous conditions

 The employer must ensure that no person uses materials handling equipment at a workplace under its control in conditions in which that use presents a risk to the health or safety of any person unless necessary to prevent a greater risk to the health or safety of any person.

Marginal note:Manual handling

 Every employer must ensure that, if the manual handling of any thing may be hazardous to the health or safety of an employee, including because of its weight, size, shape or toxicity, that thing is, to the extent feasible, handled only using materials handling equipment.

Marginal note:Rated capacity

  •  (1) Every employer must ensure that a competent person who is independent of the operator and employer inspects and proof tests all materials handling equipment that is to be used at a workplace under the employer’s control if

    • (a) the equipment is to be used at the workplace for the first time;

    • (b) repairs or modifications have been made to the equipment’s load-carrying components;

    • (c) the equipment has been in contact with an electric arc or current; or

    • (d) there is any other reason to doubt that the rated capacity of the equipment that was most recently certified under subsection (2) or the limitations that were most recently indicated under that subsection continue to be accurate, including as a result of damage sustained by the equipment or modifications made to it.

  • Marginal note:Certification

    (2) The employer must ensure that the competent person, on the basis of the inspection and proof test, certifies in writing the rated capacity of the equipment and indicates in writing any limitations that must be imposed on its use having regard to environmental conditions.

 

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