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PART 8Electrical Safety (continued)

Safety Procedures (continued)

 An employee must not work on or near high voltage electrical equipment unless the employee is authorized to do so by the employer.

 A legible sign with the words “DANGER — HIGH VOLTAGE” and “DANGER — HAUTE TENSION” in letters that are not less than 50 mm in height on a contrasting background or a symbol conveying the same meaning must be posted in a conspicuous place at every approach to live high voltage electrical equipment.

Safety Watcher

  •  (1) If an employee is working on or near live electrical equipment and, because of the nature of the work or the condition or location of the workplace, it is necessary for the safety of the employee that the work be observed by a person not engaged in the work, the employer must appoint a safety watcher

    • (a) to warn all employees in the workplace of the hazard; and

    • (b) to ensure that all safety precautions and procedures are complied with.

  • (2) Safety watchers must be

    • (a) informed of their duties as safety watchers and of the hazard involved in the work;

    • (b) trained and instructed in the procedures to follow in the event of an emergency;

    • (c) authorized to stop immediately any part of the work that they consider dangerous; and

    • (d) free of any other duties that might interfere with their duties as safety watchers.

  • (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), employers may appoint themselves as safety watchers.

Coordination of Work

 If an employee or another person, including every safety watcher, is working on or in connection with electrical equipment, the employee or other person must be fully informed by the employer with respect to the safe coordination of their work.

Isolation of Electrical Equipment

  •  (1) Before an employee isolates electrical equipment or changes or terminates the isolation of electrical equipment, the employer must issue written instructions with respect to the procedures to be followed for the safe performance of that work.

  • (2) The instructions referred to in subsection (1) must

    • (a) state the isolation procedures to be followed;

    • (b) identify the electrical equipment to which the instructions apply;

    • (c) describe any tests to be performed;

    • (d) specify particulars of the tags or signs to be used; and

    • (e) specify the protection equipment to be used.

  • (3) A tag or sign referred to in paragraph (2)(d) must

    • (a) contain the words “DO NOT OPERATE — DÉFENSE D’ACTIONNER” or display a symbol conveying the same meaning;

    • (b) show the date and time at which the electrical equipment was isolated;

    • (c) show the name of the employee performing the work or live test;

    • (d) when used in connection with a live test, be distinctively marked as a testing tag or sign;

    • (e) be removed only by the employee performing the work or live test; and

    • (f) be used for no purpose other than to notify persons that the operation or movement of the electrical equipment is prohibited during the performance of the work or live test.

  • (4) A copy of the instructions must be shown and explained to the employee.

  • (5) The instructions must be kept readily available for examination by employees at the workplace in which the electrical equipment is located.

Control Devices, Switches, Cords and Cables

  •  (1) Every control device must be so designed and located as to permit quick and safe operation at all times.

  • (2) The path of access to every electrical switch, control device or meter must be free from obstruction.

  • (3) If an electrical switch or other control device controlling the supply of electrical energy to electrical equipment is operated only by a person authorized to do so by the employer, the switch or other control device must be fitted with a locking device that only such an authorized person can activate.

  • (4) Control switches for all electrically operated machinery must be clearly marked to indicate the switch positions that correspond to the electrical circuits being controlled.

  •  (1) All electrical equipment in a hazardous location, as defined in the Canadian Electrical Code, published by the CSA, must be constructed, certified and marked in accordance with that code.

  • (1.1) However, if the hazardous location is on any ship used for construction, production or diving or for geotechnical or seismic work, the equipment must be constructed, certified and marked in accordance with the standards established by the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, DNV GL or Lloyd’s Register.

  • (2) Each extension cord of the electrical equipment must be equipped with a terminal that provides an interruption of the circuit before a connecting device is withdrawn.

  • SOR/2017-116, s. 14

Defective Electrical Equipment

 Defective electrical equipment that is likely to be hazardous to the health or safety of an employee must be disconnected from its power source by a means other than the control switch and notices must be placed on the equipment and at the control switch to indicate that the equipment is defective.

Electrical Fuses

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

  • (2) An employee must not replace missing or burnt-out fuses unless authorized to so do by a qualified person.

Power Supply Cables

  •  (1) Power supply cables for portable electrical equipment must be placed clear of areas used for vehicles unless the cables are protected by safety devices.

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

Grounded Electrical Equipment

 Grounded electrical equipment and appliances must be used only when connected to a matching electrical outlet receptacle.

PART 9Sanitation

Interpretation

 The following definitions apply in this Part.

ARI

ARI means the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute of the United States. (ARI)

change room

change room means a room that is used by employees to change from their street clothes to their work clothes and from their work clothes to their street clothes, and includes a locker room. (vestiaire)

personal service room

personal service room means a change room, toilet room, shower room, living accommodation or a combination of them. (local réservé aux soins personnels)

General

  •  (1) Every employer must ensure that each personal service room and food preparation area used by employees is maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.

  • (2) Personal service rooms and food preparation areas must be so used by employees that the rooms or areas remain in as clean and sanitary a condition as is reasonably practicable.

 All cleaning and sweeping that may cause dusty or unsanitary conditions must be carried out in a manner that prevents the contamination of the air by dust or other substances injurious to health.

 Each personal service room must be cleaned at least once every day that it is used.

 Every plumbing system that supplies potable water and removes water-borne waste must be installed and maintained by a qualified person.

  •  (1) Each enclosed part of a workplace, each personal service room and each food preparation area must be constructed, equipped and maintained in a manner that prevents the entrance of vermin.

  • (2) If vermin have entered any enclosed part of a workplace, any personal service room or any food preparation area, the employer must immediately take all steps necessary to eliminate the vermin and prevent the re-entry of the vermin.

 A person must not use a personal service room for the purpose of storing equipment unless a closet fitted with a door is provided in that room for that purpose.

 In each personal service room and food preparation area, the temperature, measured 1 m above the floor in the centre of the room or area, must be maintained at a level of not less than 18°C and, when reasonably practicable, not more than 29°C.

  •  (1) In each personal service room and food preparation area, the floors, partitions and walls must be so constructed that they can be easily washed and maintained in a sanitary condition.

  • (2) The floor and lower 150 mm of any walls and partitions in any food preparation area or toilet room must be water-tight and impervious to moisture.

Toilet Rooms

  •  (1) If reasonably practicable, a toilet room must be provided for employees and, when persons of both sexes are employed at the same workplace, a separate toilet room must be provided for employees of each sex.

  • (2) If separate toilet rooms are provided for employees of each sex, each room must be equipped with a door that is clearly marked to indicate the sex of the employees for whom the room is provided.

  • (3) If persons of both sexes use the same toilet room, the door of the toilet room must be fitted on the inside with a locking device.

  •  (1) Every toilet room must be so designed that

    • (a) it is completely enclosed with solid material that is non-transparent from the outside;

    • (b) subject to subsection (2), there is no direct access into the toilet room from a sleeping room, dining area or food preparation area;

    • (c) if reasonably practicable, there is direct access into the toilet room from a hallway; and

    • (d) if it contains more than one toilet, each toilet is enclosed in a separate compartment fitted with a door and an inside locking device.

  • (2) If a toilet room is provided as part of private living accommodation, there may be direct access to it from the sleeping quarters for which the toilet room is provided.

 Toilet paper must be provided at each toilet.

 A covered container for the disposal of sanitary napkins must be provided in each toilet room provided for the use of female employees.

Wash Basins

  •  (1) Every employer must provide wash basins in each toilet room as follows:

    • (a) if the room contains one or two toilets or urinals, one wash basin; and

    • (b) if the room contains more than two toilets or urinals, one wash basin for every additional two toilets or urinals.

  • (2) If an outdoor privy is provided, the employer must provide wash basins required by subsection (1) as close to the outdoor privy as is reasonably practicable.

  • (3) An industrial wash trough or circular wash basin of a capacity equivalent to the aggregate of the minimum capacities of the wash basins referred to in subsection (1) may be provided in place of the wash basins.

  • (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the minimum capacity of a wash basin must be determined by reference to the applicable municipal by-laws or provincial regulations or, if there are no such by-laws or regulations, by reference to the National Plumbing Code of Canada, published by the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes.

  • SOR/2017-116, s. 15

 All wash basins and industrial wash troughs and circular wash basins referred to in section 92 must be supplied with hot and cold water.

 If the health of employees is likely to be endangered by skin contact with a hazardous substance, the employer must provide wash facilities to clean the skin and aid in the removal of the hazardous substance.

 In every personal service room that contains a wash basin or an industrial wash trough or circular wash basin, the employer must provide

  • (a) powdered or liquid soap or other cleaning agent in a dispenser at each wash basin or trough or between adjoining wash basins;

  • (b) sufficient sanitary hand drying facilities to serve the number of employees using the personal service room; and

  • (c) a non-combustible container for the disposal of used towels when disposable towels are provided for drying hands.

Showers and Shower Rooms

  •  (1) A shower room with at least one shower head for every 10 employees or portion of that number must be provided for employees who regularly perform strenuous physical work in a high temperature or high humidity or whose bodies may be contaminated by a hazardous substance.

  • (2) Every shower stall must be constructed and arranged in such a way that water cannot leak through the walls or floors.

  • (3) Every shower must be provided with hot and cold water, soap or other cleaning agents, and a clean towel.

  • (4) If duck boards are used in showers, they must not be made of wood.

Potable Water

 Every employer must provide potable water for drinking, personal washing and food preparation that meets the standards set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, published by Health Canada.

  • SOR/2017-116, s. 16

 If water is transported for drinking, personal washing or food preparation, only sanitary water containers must be used.

 If a storage container for drinking water is used,

  • (a) the container must be securely covered and labelled that it contains potable water;

  • (b) the container must be used only for the purpose of storing potable water; and

  • (c) the water must be drawn from the container by a tap, a ladle used only for the purpose of drawing water from the container, or any other means that precludes the contamination of the water.

 Except when drinking water is supplied by a drinking fountain, sanitary single-use drinking cups must be provided.

 Any ice that is added to drinking water or used for the contact refrigeration of foodstuffs must be made from potable water and must be so stored and handled as to prevent contamination.

 If drinking water is supplied by a drinking fountain, the fountain must meet the standards set out in ARI Standard 1010, Self-Contained, Mechanically-Refrigerated Drinking-Water Coolers.

  • SOR/2017-116, s. 17

Living Accommodation

 All living accommodation must meet the following standards:

  • (a) it must be so constructed that it can easily be cleaned and disinfected;

  • (b) the food preparation area and dining area must be separated from the sleeping quarters;

  • (c) if a water plumbing system is provided, the system must operate under sanitary conditions;

  • (d) garbage disposal facilities must be provided to prevent the accumulation of garbage;

  • (e) toilet rooms and outdoor privies must be maintained in a sanitary condition; and

  • (f) vermin prevention, heating, ventilation and sanitary sewage systems must be provided.

 

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