WorkSafeBC defines construction as any activity that includes erection, alteration, repair, dismantling, demolition, structural or routine maintenance, painting, land clearing, earth moving, grading, excavating, trenching, digging, boring, drilling, blasting, concreting or the installation of any machinery. You will need to submit an NOP–Construction (NOP–C) if your project involves these activities and is either of the following:

• Estimated to cost more than $100,000 (including labour and materials)
• Designed, in whole or part, by a professional engineer (excluding pre-engineered or pre-manufactured components)

You will also need to submit an NOP–C for the following types of construction projects or work procedures:

• The new erection, major alteration, structural repair, or demolition of any of the following:
  • A building more than 2 storeys or 6 m (20 ft.) high
  • A bridge
  • An earth or water retaining structure more than 3 m (10 ft.) high
  • A silo, chimney or other similar structure more than 6 m (20 ft.) high
• Work that requires workers to enter any of the following:
  • A cofferdam
  • A compressed air environment
  • A trench over 30 m (100 ft.) long
  • An excavation, other than a trench, over 1.2 m (4 ft.) deep
• Blasting operations expected to last three days or more and done in close proximity to buildings or other occupied structures

For more information, see OHS Regulation section 20.2 and section 21.88.

You must submit a written Notice of Project–Tower Crane (NOP–TC) at least two weeks before erecting, climbing, repositioning, or dismantling a tower crane.

Once the NOP–TC is submitted, if any of the information in it changes significantly, you must submit the new information to WorkSafeBC as soon as possible. The new information can be submitted through the online NOP form.

For more information, see OHS Regulation section 14.73.3 and OHS Guideline G14.73.3.

If your construction project involves work with or in proximity to hazardous substances, including asbestos, lead, mould, radiation, or other biological or chemical agents that may expose workers to a significant risk of occupational disease, you need to file a Notice of Project–Hazardous substances (NOP–H).

For more information, see OHS Regulation section 20.2.1 (1), Guideline G20.2.1(2)(c), and Guideline G20.2.2.1(2)(d).

If your project is expected to last more than five working days and involves silviculture, cutting down trees that measure greater than 15 cm (6 in.) diameter at 30 cm (12 in.), or constructing access routes to forestry sites, you need to file a Notice of Project–Forestry (NOP–F).

For more information, see OHS Regulation section 26.4 and Guideline G26.1-1.

You also need to submit a Notice of Project–Forestry at least two weeks before any forestry operation that involves aerial transport of logs. See OHS Regulation section 29.16 for more information.

You need to file a Notice of Project–Diving (NOP–D) if your project requires workers to do any of the following:

• Dive for the purpose of performing construction or inspection activities
• Dive into a contaminated environment, under ice, between nets, or into other areas of potential entrapment
• Dive to a depth that exceeds the no-decompression limit
• Use mixed gas other than nitrox to breathe

For more information, see OHS Regulation section 24.9(1)(a) to (f).

If your project requires workers to enter a tunnel or other underground structure that is under construction or otherwise not in its final structural condition as certified by a professional engineer, you need to file a Notice of Project–Underground Workings (NOP–U).

An NOP–U is not generally required for the following:

• Mines within the meaning of the Mines Act, or the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia
• Horizontal underground workings less than 5 m (16 ft.) in length
• Permanent underground facilities in their final structural condition as certified by a professional engineer
• Open excavations (these may require NOP–Construction; see above)

To learn more about underground workings and the requirements for an NOP–U, see OHS Regulation section 22.6 and Guideline G22.2(2).