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Policy decisions finalized at the September 2004 WCB Board of Directors meetings

The following resolutions were finalized by the WCB Board of Directors in September 2004. For information about the function and mandate of the Board of Directors, please see Governing Structure.

Occupational environment requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

Part 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation contains requirements relating to washroom facilities, eating areas and change areas. The current requirements are outdated. They are based on previous legislation dating back about 30 years, and only apply to factories, offices and shops.

During its meeting on September 14, 2004, the Board of Directors approved amendments to Part 4 to expand the scope of the requirements' application from factories, offices and shops to all workplaces. The amendments also cover worker health issues in other workplace settings such as outdoor worksites and situations where workers are constantly traveling from one site to another (e.g., transit workers).

A new requirement has also been approved to ensure that workplace water sources that are not suitable for human consumption are identified. This situation may occur where the water supply of an industrial establishment is located away from municipal water supplies. The requirement is for an employer to identify and post a notice at those non-potable water sources that "a person might reasonably believe he or she can safely drink".

In addition, in response to submissions received during the March 2004 public hearing and further review of the proposal, the proposed requirement for workers to abide by an employer restriction on the storage or consumption of food was deleted because it did not address an occupational health and safety concern. This requirement was originally proposed to address the consumption of food or beverages in work areas where they may pose a risk to workplace products or processes (e.g., spilling coffee on a computer keyboard). It is important to note that the new requirement for employers to provide a place for workers to store and consume food in such circumstances is maintained because workers must be able to store and consume food at the workplace in order to maintain their health and safety.

The amendments come into effect on January 1, 2005.

You may examine the complete resolution. For your convenience, you may also view a strikethrough version of the regulatory amendments.

For more information about this package of regulatory amendments, please contact Melinda Kulbaba at (604) 276-5160. It is anticipated that the Program Design Division will publish practice guidelines to help workplace parties understand and comply with the amendments. For information about these guidelines, please contact Rex Eaton at (604) 279-7426.

Fall protection requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

Part 11 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation contains requirements to reduce the risk of injury or death to workers from falls from elevation.

During its meeting on September 14, 2004, the Board of Directors approved amendments to Part 11. These amendments recognize technological advancements in fall protection equipment, and allow flexibility for adopting alternative and appropriate control measures for fall protection while maintaining a reasonable standard of protection for worker health and safety. They also streamline existing requirements and consolidate them in Part 11 as much as possible.

The cornerstone of Part 11, that employers provide fall protection in accordance with a determined hierarchy, remains substantially unchanged. Detailed requirements are maintained where necessary for worker health and safety.

The amendments to Part 11 include the following:

  • Adding a specific obligation for workers to use fall protection equipment provided by the employer.
  • Amending the current requirement for fall protection equipment to meet specific Canada Standards Association ("CSA") or American National Standards Institute ("ANSI") standards to require this equipment to meet applicable CSA or ANSI standards in effect when the equipment was manufactured.
  • Allowing for two alternative formulas for calculating the appropriate load capacity of an anchor used in either a fall arrest or fall restraint system.
  • Removing the requirement that provides an exemption for rescue nets used by firefighters to meet specific standards and engineering certification because it is understood that handheld nets are no longer used by firefighters.

In addition, in response to public hearing submissions and further review of the amendments, the following changes to the proposal that went to public hearing were approved:

  • Retaining the existing wording that requires work procedures used as a means of fall protection to be "acceptable to the Board". In addition, the phrase "and minimize the risk of injury to a worker from a fall" has been added to accommodate situations where a planned fall is to occur (i.e., stunt sequences), and measures are taken to minimize the risk of injury to the worker.
  • Keeping the existing requirement relating to temporary guardrail removal. This requirement has been moved to Part 4 (General Conditions) where it is consolidated with existing guardrail requirements.
  • Maintaining the existing requirement that describes the need for guardrail and fall protection requirements in certain situations where a worker is elevated above floor level (i.e., working on stilts or a work platform).
  • Retaining the existing requirement for a safety belt, a full body harness or other harness to be "acceptable to the Board" when used for fall restraint.

The amendments come into effect on January 1, 2005.

You may examine the complete resolution. For your convenience, you may also view a strikethrough version of the regulatory amendments.

For more information about this package of regulatory amendments, please contact Freda Jung at (604) 276-5160. It is anticipated that the Program Design Division will publish practice guidelines to help workplace parties understand and comply with the amendments. For information about these guidelines, please contact Rex Eaton at (604) 279-7426.

Ladders, scaffolds and temporary work platforms requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation

Part 13 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation contains requirements about ladders, scaffolds and temporary work platforms.

During its meeting on September 14, 2004, the Board of Directors approved amendments to Part 13. These amendments recognize changes in equipment and workplace practices and rationalize existing requirements. The amendments place greater reliance on standards, such as Canadian Standards Association standards, to allow flexibility to update applicable standards as the need arises.

The following amendments are new requirements that are intended to improve worker health and safety:

  • Requiring an employer to keep records of inspection for swing stages.
  • Requiring an additional structural inspection of vehicle-mounted elevating work platforms and self-propelled boom-supported elevating work platforms in the tenth year after the date of manufacture and every fifth year after that.
  • Prohibiting the use of a secondary hoisting line on a crane where workers are on a work platform suspended from the crane.

Amendments to existing requirements have also been made to ensure an appropriate level of safety in the workplace:

  • Raising the percentage of the rated capacity of a crane such that the weight of a suspended work platform cannot exceed 50%, instead of 25%, in recognition of current applicable standards.
  • Removing the existing requirement to use a permanent powered platform if routine maintenance work is to be performed from a powered platform where the suspension height will be greater than 30 m.

In addition, the following changes to the proposal that went to public hearing were approved, in response to public hearing submissions and further review of the amendments:

  • The new requirement for a structural inspection of vehicle-mounted elevating work platforms and self-propelled boom-supported elevating work platforms in the tenth year after the date of manufacture and every fifth year after that has been clarified to specify that the structural inspection should be conducted to ensure the platform still meets the standard to which the platform was manufactured.
  • The requirement to restrict a movable work platform with a worker on it from being transported along the ground except when "minor adjustments" are made has been clarified to provide that the exception applies when only minor repositions are made to the platform. The change clarifies the intent of the requirement that only minor horizontal movement of the carrier vehicle is allowed.
  • The requirement relating to lower limit travel devices on a hoist has been clarified. It provides that the devices must be used if a work platform is suspended over a structure that cannot safely support its weight or if other hazards exist below the platform (i.e., platform being lowered over water).
  • The requirement pertaining to the use of a swing stage, boatswain's chair or portable powered platform in certain situations where there is a high risk of injury to the worker has been amended to require prior permission from the WCB. This change maintains the existing requirement. This revision takes into consideration other factors, such as wind, that play a significant role in affecting worker safety in these situations.

The proposal taken to public hearing included a new requirement for an employer to provide a personnel hoist capable of transporting an injured worker on a stretcher where a building under construction exceeds five floors. This proposal was not approved. The personnel hoist requirement will be brought forward for consideration as part of the priority setting process for the next phase of regulation review, with further discussion of its benefits in reducing musculoskeletal injuries.

The amendments come into effect on January 1, 2005.

You may examine the complete resolution. For your convenience, you may also view a strikethrough version of the regulatory amendments.

For more information about this package of regulatory amendments, please contact Freda Jung at (604) 276-5160. It is anticipated that the Program Design Division will publish practice guidelines to help workplace parties understand and comply with the amendments. For information about these guidelines, please contact Rex Eaton at (604) 279-7426.