Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2010-120)

Repair and Maintenance

137 Repair and maintenance of a persons transfer apparatus or a safety device attached to it must be performed by a qualified person appointed by the employer.

PART 10Protection Equipment

General

• 138 (1) The employer must ensure that every person granted access to a work place who is exposed to a health or safety hazard uses the protection equipment prescribed by this Part

  • (a) if it is not feasible to eliminate a health or safety hazard in a work place or to control it within safe limits; and

  • (b) if the use of the protection equipment may prevent or reduce injury from that hazard.

• (2) All protection equipment must

  • (a) be designed to protect the person from the hazard for which it is provided;

  • (b) not in itself create a hazard;

  • (c) be maintained, inspected and tested by a qualified person; and

  • (d) if necessary to prevent a health hazard, be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition by a qualified person.

Protective Headwear

139 If there is a hazard of head injury in a work place, the employer must provide protective headwear that meets the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z94.1-05, Industrial Protective Headwear - Performance, Selection, Care, and Use.

Protective Footwear

• 140 (1) If there is a hazard of a foot injury or electric shock through footwear in a work place, the employer must ensure that every person granted access to that work place uses protective footwear that meets the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z195-02 (R2008), Protective Footwear.

• (2) If there is a hazard of slipping in a work place, non-slip footwear must be used.

Eye and Face Protection

141 If there is a hazard of injury in a work place to the eyes, face, ears or front of the neck, the employer must provide eye or face protectors that meet the standards set out in CSA Standard Z94.3-07, Eye and Face Protectors.

Respiratory Protection

• 142 (1) If there is a risk of injury or disease due to exposure to an oxygen deficient atmosphere in a work place, the employer must provide every person who is granted access to the work place with respiratory protective equipment or a breathing apparatus by means of which air will be supplied and that meets the following requirements:

  • (a) it is listed in the NIOSH publication entitled Certified Equipment List, as amended from time to time; and

  • (b) it protects the respiratory tract against the oxygen deficiency.

• (2) If there is a risk of injury or disease due to exposure to an airborne hazardous substance in a work place, the employer shall provide every person who is granted access to the work place with respiratory protective equipment or a breathing apparatus that meets the following requirements:

  • (a) if air is supplied by means of the respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus, it is listed in the NIOSH publication entitled Certified Equipment List, as amended from time to time;

  • (b) if air is not supplied by means of the respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus, it is listed

    • (i) in the NIOSH publication entitled Certified Equipment List, as amended from time to time, or

    • (ii) in the CSA Group publication entitled CSA Group Product Listing, as amended from time to time;

  • (c) for respiratory protective equipment or a breathing apparatus referred to in subparagraph (b)(ii), it meets the requirements set out in CSA Standard Z94.4.1, Performance of filtering respirators; and

  • (d) it protects the respiratory tract against the hazardous substance.

• (3) The respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus referred to in subsection (1) or (2) must be selected, fitted, cared for, used and maintained in accordance with CSA Standard Z94.4, Selection, use, and care of respirators.

• (4) The employer must ensure that the air that is supplied by means of respiratory protective equipment or breathing apparatus referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (2)(a) and the system that supplies the air, including its cylinders, meet the requirements set out in CSA Standard Z180.1, Compressed breathing air and systems.

142.1 If a steel or aluminum self-contained breathing apparatus cylinder has a dent deeper than 1.5 mm and less than 50 mm in major diameter or shows evidence of deep isolated pitting, cracks or splits, the cylinder must be removed from service until it has been shown to be safe for use by means of a hydrostatic test at a pressure equal to one and one-half times the maximum allowable working pressure.

Skin Protection

143 If there is a hazard of injury or disease to or through the skin of a person in a work place, the employer must provide any person granted access to the work place with

• (a) a shield or a screen;

• (b) a cream or a barrier lotion to protect the skin; or

• (c) an appropriate body covering.

Fall-protection Systems

• 144 (1) The employer must provide a fall-protection system to every person, other than an employee who is installing or removing a fall-protection system, who is granted access to

  • (a) an unguarded work area that is

    • (i) more than 2.4 m above the nearest permanent safe level,

    • (ii) above any moving parts of machinery or any other surface or thing that could cause injury to a person on contact, or

    • (iii) above an open hold;

  • (b) a structure referred to in Part 2 that is more than 3 m above a permanent safe level; or

  • (c) a ladder at a height of more than 2.4 m above the nearest permanent safe level and because of the nature of the work, that person can use only one hand to hold onto the ladder.

• (2) The components of a fall-protection system must meet the following standards:

  • (a) CSA Standard Z259.1-05, Body Belts and Saddles for Work Positioning and Travel Restraint;

  • (b) CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z259.2.1-98 (R2008), Fall Arresters, Vertical Lifelines and Rails;

  • (c) CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z259.2.2-98 (R2009), Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall-Arrest Systems;

  • (d) CSA Standard Z259.2.3-99 (R2004), Descent Control Devices;

  • (e) CSA Standard Z259.10-06, Full Body Harnesses;

  • (f) CSA Standard Z259.11-05, Energy Absorbers and Lanyards;

  • (g) CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z259.12-01 (R2006), Connecting Components for Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS);

  • (h) CSA Standard Z259.13-04 (R2009), Flexible Horizontal Lifeline Systems; and

  • (i) CSA Standard Z259.16-04 (R2009), Design of Active Fall-Protection Systems.

• (3) The anchor of a fall-protection system must be capable of withstanding a force of 17.8 kN.

• (4) A fall-protection system that is used to arrest the fall of a person must prevent that person

  • (a) from being subjected to a peak fall arrest force of more than 8 kN; and

  • (b) from falling freely for more than 1.2 m.

• (5) An employer must train and instruct every employee required to install or remove a fall-protection system in a work place in the procedures to be followed for the installation or removal of the system.

Loose Clothing

145 Loose clothing, long hair, dangling accessories, jewellery or other similar items that may be hazardous to the health or safety of an employee in a work place must not be worn unless they are tied, covered or otherwise secured as to prevent the hazard.

Protection Against Moving Vehicles

146 If persons granted access to a work place are regularly exposed to the risk of coming into contact with moving vehicles during their work, the employer must ensure that they wear a high-visibility vest or other similar clothing that is readily visible under all conditions of use or that they are protected by a barricade that is readily visible under all conditions of use.

Protection Against Drowning

• 147 (1) If, in a work place, there is a hazard of drowning, as a result of work activities, other than vessel abandonment drills, the employer must provide every person granted access to the work place with

  • (a) a life jacket or other flotation device that meets the buoyancy standards set out in

    • (i) the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Standard CAN/CGSB-65.7-2007, Life Jackets; or

    • (ii) Regulation 2 of Part 1 to IMO Resolution MSC.81(70), adopted on December 11, 1998 and entitled Revised Recommendation on Testing of Life-Saving Appliances; or

  • (b) a safety net or a fall-protection system.

• (2) If, in a work place, there is a hazard of drowning,

  • (a) emergency equipment must be provided and held in readiness;

  • (b) a qualified person to operate all the emergency equipment provided must be present and ready to intervene;

  • (c) if appropriate, a vessel must be provided and held in readiness; and

  • (d) written emergency procedures must be prepared by the employer.

Records

• 148 (1) A record of all self-contained breathing apparatus provided by the employer must be kept by the employer on the vessel on which the breathing apparatus is located for the duration of its use and must remain on the vessel on which the breathing apparatus was located for a period of two years after the day on which the apparatus ceases to be used.

• (2) The record must contain

  • (a) a description of the breathing apparatus and the date of its acquisition by the employer;

  • (b) the date and result of each inspection and test of the breathing apparatus;

  • (c) the date and nature of any maintenance work performed on the breathing apparatus since its acquisition by the employer; and

  • (d) the name of the person who performed the inspection, test or maintenance of the breathing apparatus.

Training and Instruction

• 149 (1) An employer must instruct every person granted access to a work place who is to use protection equipment in the use of the equipment.

• (2) An employer must train and instruct every employee who uses protection equipment in the use, operation and maintenance of the equipment.

• (3) The instruction referred to in subsections (1) and (2) must be

  • (a) set out in writing; and

  • (b) kept by the employer and made readily available for examination by every person granted access to the work place.

Defective Protection Equipment

• 150 (1) If an employee finds any defect in protection equipment that may render it unsafe for use, they must report the defect to their employer as soon as feasible.

• (2) An employer must mark or tag as unsafe and remove from service any protection equipment used by employees that has a defect that may render it unsafe for use.

PART 11Lighting

Interpretation

151 In this Part, VDT means a visual display terminal.

Application

• 152 (1) This Part does not apply in respect of

  • (a) a vessel of less than 500 gross tonnage;

  • (b) the bridge of a vessel; and

  • (c) the exterior deck of a vessel where lighting levels may create a hazard to navigation.

• (2) Subject to any special arrangements that may be permitted in passenger vessels by the Marine Technical Review Board established under subsection 26(1) of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, sleeping quarters and mess rooms must be illuminated by natural light and provided with adequate artificial light.

• (3) Emergency lighting must, in the event of the failure of the main electric lighting, provide sufficient illumination to allow the crew to safely exit from confined spaces and proceed through passageways and stairways to the open deck.

• (4) The lighting levels must meet one of the following standards:

  • (a) ANSI/IES RP-7-01, Lighting Industrial Facilities; or

  • (b) the standard entitled The IESNA Lighting Handbook: Reference and Application, 9th Edition published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA).

Measurements of Average Levels of Lighting

• 153 (1) For the purposes of this Part, the average level of lighting in an area must be determined by taking four or more measurements at different places in the area at the levels set out below and by dividing the total of the results of the measurements by the number of measurements:

  • (a) if work is performed at a level higher than the deck, at the level at which the work is performed; and

  • (b) in any other case, 1 m above the deck.

• (2) If the average level of lighting is measured in a dry provision storage room, it must be measured when the room is empty.

• (3) The lighting level measurements must be carried out by a qualified person.

Emergency Lighting System

• 154 (1) Every vessel must be equipped with an emergency lighting system that

  • (a) operates automatically in the event of a failure of the lighting system or if the regular power supply is interrupted;

  • (b) provides a level of lighting of 50 lx; and

  • (c) is inspected, tested and maintained to the prescribed requirements set out in one of the following regulations:

    • (i) [Repealed, SOR/2021-135, s. 24]

    • (ii) Hull Construction Regulations,

    • (iii) Small Vessel Regulations, or

    • (iv) Towboat Crew Accommodation Regulations.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of the deck or cargo space of a vessel.