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

32 Before a hold, tank or other compartment is sealed, the person in charge of the working area shall ascertain that no person is inside the compartment.

Fire Prevention and Protection

• 33 (1) In any working area where flammable gas, vapour or dust is present in the atmosphere, no person shall use

  • (a) any electrical equipment or fittings that are not gas-tight; or

  • (b) any equipment or materials that are spark-producing.

• (2) No person shall take spark-producing materials into a hold, tank or other compartment that contains flammable gas, vapour or dust.

34 Whenever hot work is to be performed in a working area

• (a) a qualified person shall be assigned to patrol the working area and adjoining areas and maintain therein a fire protection watch for the duration of the work and for a period of 30 minutes thereafter; and

• (b) sufficient fire extinguishers shall be provided in the working area and adjoining areas.

35 Oxygen shall not be used

• (a) for ventilation purposes;

• (b) as a pressure testing medium;

• (c) to blow out pipelines;

• (d) to operate pneumatic equipment;

• (e) to start internal combustion engines; or

• (f) to clean working areas, equipment or other articles.

36 Every galley range and the exhaust hood and duct thereof shall be kept free from accumulated grease and other waste deposits.

• 37 (1) Space heaters shall not be fitted on board a ship without the permission of the owner of the ship.

• (2) When space heaters are fitted on board a ship, they shall be safely located and securely fastened in place.

38 When a ship’s fire pumps are inoperative and the ship is in dry dock or moored alongside a wharf,

• (a) sufficient fire hydrants and hoses shall be available, adjacent to the ship, for use in extinguishing a fire on board the ship; or

• (b) a water supply, sufficient to fight a fire on board the ship, shall be connected to the ship’s fire main.

• 39 (1) Fire alarms, fire hydrants, sprinkler and smothering system control valves, fire extinguishers and other fire extinguishing equipment shall be accessible at all times.

• (2) Tools and fittings for use with fire hydrants and hoses or with sprinkler and smothering systems shall be located alongside the fire extinguishing equipment and secured by means of light chains or suitable fixtures.

• 40 (1) Whenever a fire extinguisher is discharged or emptied, it shall be recharged as soon as possible and returned to its proper location.

• (2) When a fire extinguisher is removed from a ship for service or overhaul, an equivalent means of fire protection shall be provided for the area from which the extinguisher was taken.

• (3) This section does not apply in respect of a ship that is laid up when fire extinguishers have been emptied or removed and alternative arrangements have been made for fire protection.

41 No person shall overhaul or repair a smothering gas system unless the gas bottles thereof have been disconnected or otherwise rendered inoperative.

Hot Work Operations

• 42 (1) Hot work shall not be performed in a working area

  • (a) where inflammable gas, vapour or dust may be present in the atmosphere, unless the area has been freed of gas, tested by a marine chemist and found to be safe for that work to be performed therein;

  • (b) where an explosive or inflammable substance may be present in the working area, unless a qualified person has ensured that adequate protection exists to permit that work to be safely performed therein; and

  • (c) where the area is a tank that has previously contained petroleum or petroleum products, until the tank is found to be safe for the work to be performed therein by a qualified person who has had at least three years experience of which a minimum of 150 working hours has been gained under proper supervision in the testing and inspection of such tanks.

• (2) Where a marine chemist finds the atmosphere in a working area to be safe as described in paragraph (1)(a) or where a qualified person has ensured that adequate protection exists in a working area as described in paragraph (1)(b), he shall complete and sign a certificate or statement to that effect.

• (3) The certificate or statement referred to in subsection (2) shall

  • (a) be available for the information of any person entering the working area; and

  • (b) indicate

    • (i) the location of the working area,

    • (ii) any special precaution that is to be observed, and

    • (iii) any subsequent tests that are, in the opinion of the marine chemist or qualified person, required to maintain the safe condition.

43 When harmful fumes, gas or vapour are liable to be produced by hot work and to affect an enclosed working area,

• (a) the working area shall be well ventilated; or

• (b) any person in the working area shall wear a breathing apparatus.

44 Cables of electric welding equipment, and cylinders and pipes of gas welding or burning equipment, shall be placed clear of areas used for vehicles unless adequate protection for the cables, cylinders and pipes is provided.

45 Gas cylinders of welding and burning equipment shall be placed securely in an upright position when in use.

46 When equipment used for hot work is left unattended, the person in charge of the working area shall ensure that the equipment is in a safe condition.

Scaffolding, Scaffolds and Stages

47 Scaffolding, scaffolds and stages shall be constructed by qualified persons.

48 Scaffolding shall be placed on firm footings and where it is built on an uneven surface, substantial base plates shall be fitted to the scaffolding to maintain its stability.

• 49 (1) Subject to subsection (3), every scaffold shall

  • (a) be made with planks that

    • (i) are not less than 50 mm thick by 250 mm wide,

    • (ii) are supported not less than 150 mm and not more than 300 mm from each end by plank supports spaced not more than 3 m apart, and

    • (iii) are of the same thickness;

  • (b) have no significant openings between adjoining planks;

  • (c) have a width of not less than 500 mm;

  • (d) have a flat and horizontal working surface; and

  • (e) be fitted with guard rails at a height of 900 mm above the scaffold except on the side thereof where the work to be performed would be hindered by the guard rails.

• (2) A safe means of access, secured to prevent its accidental movement, shall be provided to and from the working level of every scaffold.

• (3) A scaffold may be constructed of materials other than wood if the strength and safety features of the scaffold when so constructed are not less than those of a wooden scaffold.

50 Subject to section 51, every stage shall be made with planks that are, in the opinion of a qualified person having regard to the distance between the plank supports, of sufficient strength to carry the load the stage is intended to support.

• 51 (1) Every stage shall

  • (a) be made with planks that are not less than 50 mm thick by 250 mm wide;

  • (b) be not more than 3.6 m in length where the stage is made of planks not more than 50 mm thick;

  • (c) have a flat and horizontal working surface;

  • (d) be fitted with guard lines, where the stage is to be used at a height greater than 3 m; and

  • (e) be fitted with effective means for holding the stage away from the working area.

• (2) Where a stage is more than one plank in width,

  • (a) the planks shall be of the same thickness;

  • (b) there shall be no significant openings between adjoining planks; and

  • (c) the planks shall be secured together on the underside with cleats not less than 25 mm thick and 150 mm wide that are securely nailed to the planks and spaced at intervals of not more than 1.2 m.

• (3) Stage supports shall be placed not less than 150 mm and not more than 300 mm from the plank ends.

52 The supports and ropes or tackle carrying a stage shall have a factor of safety of not less than six.

53 Every person who is required to work on a stage at a height greater than 3 m shall wear a safety belt fitted with a safety line that is rigged to a life line so as to limit the free fall of a person from the stage to not more than 1.2 m.

Ladders and Gangways

• 54 (1) Every access ladder or gangway between a ship and the shore or between one ship and another ship shall provide a safe means of access between the ship and shore or between the ships, as the case may be.

• (2) Every ship that is in dry dock or moored alongside a wharf or other ship shall be fitted with at least one access ladder or gangway that, in the opinion of a qualified person, complies with subsection (1).

• (3) Where an access ladder or gangway leads to a location on board a ship at a height of more than 1 m above the deck, safe access to the deck shall be provided by means of a series of steps or some similar structure.

• (4) Where a bulwark ladder is used to provide the safe access to the deck of a ship required by subsection (3), it shall be firmly secured to the bulwark so as to prevent its shifting, slipping or pivoting and shall be equipped with two handhold stanchions

  • (a) each not less than 40 mm in diameter;

  • (b) each extending not less than 1.2 m above the top of the bulwark;

  • (c) fitted at the point of boarding or leaving the ship not less than 0.7 m and not more than 0.8 m apart; and

  • (d) firmly secured to the ship’s structure at or near the base of the ladder and at a higher point.

• 55 (1) Every access ladder and gangway shall

  • (a) be maintained in a safe condition;

  • (b) be secured to prevent its shifting and slipping;

  • (c) be suitably rigged and maintained to compensate for the movement of the ship;

  • (d) be adequately lighted; and

  • (e) have a lifebuoy with line, strategically placed and ready for immediate use.

• (2) When an access ladder is being used by a person to board or disembark from a ship, at least one end of the ladder shall be fastened securely and, if necessary to ensure safety, a person, other than a person engaged in manoeuvring the ship, shall be stationed at the ladder to assist the person using it.

• 56 (1) Safety nets shall be fitted under every part of an access ladder and gangway except where, in the opinion of a qualified person,

  • (a) the ladder or gangway and the approaches thereto are constructed in a manner that makes the fitting of a safety net unnecessary; or

  • (b) the fitting of a safety net is impracticable.

• (2) Safety nets shall

  • (a) extend on both sides of an access ladder or a gangway for a distance of 1.8 m; and

  • (b) be kept taut at all times.

57 Where a platform is provided at the bottom of an access ladder or gangway, the platform shall be flat and horizontal.

58 Every Jacob’s ladder shall be of sufficient length to reach the intended landing point and the means of attachment thereof to the ship shall be effective and maintained in a safe and good condition.

59 Every portable ladder shall be maintained in a safe and good condition and shall be secured to prevent its shifting and slipping when in use.

60 Every ladder, whether portable or permanently secured, shall be positioned in such a manner that it is not necessary for a person to use the underside of the ladder.

Electrical

61 No person other than a qualified person shall work on the installation, maintenance and repair of electrical equipment.

62 The person in charge of a working area in which work is being performed on electrical equipment that is isolated from its power supply shall, where the power supply could be accidentally reconnected to the electrical equipment, ensure that

• (a) locking devices are fitted to the circuit breakers or control switches for the isolated electrical equipment;

• (b) a person is in attendance at the position where the electrical equipment is isolated;

• (c) effective warning notices are placed at the position where the electrical equipment is isolated; or

• (d) when fuses are removed to isolate electrical equipment, the fuses are kept in the possession of a qualified person.

63 No person shall work on an electrical circuit that has not been isolated from the power supply unless he is protected by a rubber mat, rubber boots, rubber gloves or insulated tools or any combination thereof.

64 Defective electrical equipment shall be disconnected from its power supply by a means other than the control switch, and notices shall be placed on the equipment and at the control switch to indicate that the equipment is defective.

• 65 (1) Electrical fuses shall be of the correct ampere rating and fault capacity rating for the circuit in which they are installed.

• (2) No person shall replace missing or burnt-out fuses without the permission of a qualified person.

66 Control switches for all electrically operated machinery shall clearly indicate the “ON” and “OFF” switch positions.

67 Where necessary, electrical equipment shall be grounded and all electrical connections shall be properly insulated or covered to protect persons from electrical shock.

• 68 (1) Grounded electrical equipment and appliances shall be used only when connected into a matching grounded electrical outlet fitting.

• (2) A three wire power supply cable on electrical equipment or appliances shall not be altered or changed for the purpose of using the equipment or appliances on a two wire power supply.