Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-248)
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Regulations are current to 2024-11-26 and last amended on 2022-01-01. Previous Versions
PART 5Emergency Response and Preparedness (continued)
Marginal note:Emergency descent control
25 (1) Every employer must provide, on each derrick or other elevated part of a workplace under its control that is a marine installation or structure, if there is only one usual means of escape from that location, a device that would allow a person to descend from the location by another means at a controlled speed in an emergency.
Marginal note:Loss of power
(2) The device must be capable of being operated despite the loss of the main source of power.
Marginal note:Instructions
(3) The employer must ensure that written instructions for operating the device are kept in a conspicuous place near the location where the device is stored.
Marginal note:Fire and explosion
26 (1) Fire and explosion are prescribed risks for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and every employer must ensure that each workplace under its control is designed, constructed, arranged and maintained to minimize those risks.
Marginal note:Hazardous areas
(2) The occupational health and safety program in respect of a workplace that is a marine installation or structure must identify
(a) all areas at the workplace, as classified according to a comprehensive and documented classification system, in which flammable, explosive or combustible substances are or are likely to be present in sufficient quantities and for sufficient periods of time to require special precautions to be taken in the selection, installation or use of machinery and electrical equipment to prevent a fire or explosion; and
(b) the precautions applicable to those areas.
Marginal note:Signage
(3) The employer with control over the workplace must ensure that signs are posted in conspicuous places at each of the areas referred to in subsection (2), identifying them as areas in which there is a risk of fire or explosion.
Marginal note:Prohibition
(4) The employer must ensure that no person uses an open flame or other source of ignition in an area referred to in subsection (2) unless they are carrying out hot work in accordance with Part 26.
Marginal note:Temporary or portable heating equipment
(5) Every employer must ensure that any temporary or portable heating equipment that is used at a workplace under its control is located, protected and used in a manner that prevents the equipment from being overturned or damaged and any combustible materials in the vicinity from igniting.
Marginal note:Firefighting equipment
27 Every employer must equip each workplace under its control with the firefighting equipment that is appropriate for that type of workplace and all classes of fire that may occur there.
Marginal note:Fire team equipment
28 (1) The personal protective equipment that every employer with control over a workplace that is a marine installation or structure must provide to each of its employees, and any other individual at the workplace, who is tasked with fighting fires includes
(a) a self-contained breathing apparatus with two full spare cylinders that
(i) is selected and maintained in accordance with CSA Group standard Z94.4, Selection, use, and care of respirators,
(ii) conforms to the design and performance requirements in National Fire Protection Association Standard NFPA 1981, Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for Emergency Services, and
(iii) is equipped with a personal distress alarm device;
(b) life safety ropes, belts and harnesses that conform to the design and performance requirements in National Fire Protection Association Standard NFPA 1983, Standard on Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services, with the provisions of that standard pertaining to flame resistance being read as mandatory; and
(c) personal protective clothing — including boots, gloves, helmet and visor, coat and trousers — that conforms to the design and performance requirements in National Fire Protection Association Standard NFPA 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting.
Marginal note:Other equipment
(2) The employer must also provide,
(a) to each employee referred to in subsection (1),
(i) a portable electric safety lamp that can be easily attached to the employee’s clothing and will operate safely in anticipated conditions for at least three hours, and
(ii) an axe with an insulated handle and carrying belt; and
(b) to the fire team as a whole, at least two two-way portable radiotelephone apparatus that are designed not to produce any spark or other source of ignition.
Marginal note:Alternative equipment
(3) Despite subsection (1) and paragraph (2)(a), if a workplace is a ship used for construction or diving or for geotechnical or seismic work, the employer may instead provide fire-fighter’s outfits that conform to the International Maritime Organization’s International Code for Fire Safety Systems.
Marginal note:Quantity
(4) The number of sets of equipment referred to in subsections (1) and (2) or fire-fighter’s outfits referred to in subsection (3), as the case may be, that the employer must provide at the workplace — and their sizing, if applicable — is to be determined having regard to the risk assessment carried out by the employer for the purpose of the occupational health and safety program.
Marginal note:Minimums
(5) Despite subsection (4), the number of sets of equipment or outfits, as the case may be, that the employer must provide is at least
(a) four, if the workplace is a ship used for construction or diving or for geotechnical or seismic work; or
(b) ten, in any other case.
Marginal note:Equipment accessibility
(6) The employer must ensure that the equipment provided in accordance with this section is kept ready for use and stored in a place that is easily accessible, with at least two sets of equipment or two outfits, as the case may be, being easily accessible from the helicopter deck, if any, of the marine installation or structure.
Marginal note:Falls into ocean
29 The risk of a person at a workplace falling into the ocean is a prescribed risk for the purpose of paragraph 210.02(2)(a) of the Act and the employer with control over that workplace must
(a) provide appropriate life-saving appliances and ensure they are held in readiness;
(b) ensure that a competent person is readily available at all times to operate the life-saving appliances; and
(c) ensure that a fast rescue boat that meets the requirements of Chapter V of the LSA Code is provided — or available from a standby vessel that is no more than 500 m away — and held in readiness.
Marginal note:Emergency drills and exercises
30 (1) Every employer must establish, for each workplace under its control that is a marine installation or structure and having regard to the risk assessment carried out by it for the purpose of the occupational health and safety program, a plan that describes the emergency drills and exercises that must be conducted at the workplace in relation to various scenarios and sets out the frequency with which they must be conducted.
Marginal note:Minimum frequency
(2) Despite subsection (1), the employer must ensure that
(a) a drill to practise mustering is conducted at least once a week;
(b) a fire drill is conducted at least once a month;
(c) a drill to practise escape to the location of lifeboats or life rafts in preparation for abandonment of the workplace is conducted at least once a month;
(d) if the workplace is equipped with lifeboats,
(i) each employee participates, at least once every six months, in a drill that requires them to board a lifeboat while wearing an immersion suit and to secure themselves on a seat, and
(ii) if feasible, a lifeboat launching drill is conducted annually to test the integrity and operation of the lifeboats and launching equipment; and
(e) all drills and exercises are repeated as soon as practicable after any significant change to the emergency plan or to the work or activities carried out at the workplace with respect to which an authorization has been issued.
Marginal note:Alternative to launching drill
(3) If compliance with subparagraph (2)(d)(ii) is not feasible, the employer must ensure that additional inspections and testing of all components that would otherwise be tested by the launching drill are carried out in consultation with the lifeboat manufacturer and with the prior approval of the Chief Safety Officer.
Marginal note:Equitable scheduling
(4) The employer must schedule drills and exercises to ensure the equitable participation of all employees, regardless of their shift or rotation.
Marginal note:Visitors
(5) The employer must ensure that any person visiting the workplace who has not participated in the emergency drills or exercises is accompanied throughout the visit by someone who has done so.
Marginal note:Records
(6) The employer must keep a record of all emergency drills and exercises conducted that contains
(a) the date on which and the time at which the drill or exercise was conducted;
(b) a description of the drill or exercise scenario;
(c) a list of all persons who participated in the drill or exercise;
(d) the length of time taken to complete the drill or exercise, including the length of time to achieve a full muster; and
(e) observations regarding the execution of the drill or exercise and opportunities for improvement.
Marginal note:Record retention
(7) The employer must retain the records referred to in subsection (6) for at least three years after the day on which the drill or exercise is carried out.
PART 6First Aid and Medical Care
Marginal note:Operator’s obligations
31 Every operator must ensure that
(a) a physician who has specialized knowledge in the treatment of illnesses and injuries that may arise at the workplace is readily available at all times to provide medical advice, remotely from a location in Nova Scotia, to any medic or first aider at the workplace and to be transported to the workplace, if necessary, to provide medical care, unless the workplace has a medic who is a physician with that knowledge;
(b) an emergency medical evacuation service is available at all times for transporting an injured or ill person from the workplace to a hospital onshore using a means of transportation that
(i) is equipped with appropriate first aid and medical supplies,
(ii) is capable of accommodating and securing an occupied stretcher, and
(iii) has one or more competent persons available on board to provide first aid or medical care to the injured or ill person during transportation; and
(c) persons at the workplace have a means of quickly summoning the emergency medical evacuation service.
Marginal note:Employer obligations
32 (1) Every employer with control over a workplace must
(a) when assessing the risk of illness or injury at the workplace for the purpose of the occupational health and safety program, consult with a medic, if one is required at the workplace, and take into account
(i) the location of the workplace and the expected delay in obtaining emergency medical services,
(ii) the layout of the workplace, and
(iii) environmental factors, including thermal considerations;
(b) develop, in consultation with a medic, if one is required at the workplace — and with a specialized dive physician, if a dive project is to be carried out from the workplace — a written medical emergency response plan that addresses all reasonably foreseeable emergencies at the workplace and takes into account the location of the workplace, the time of year at which the work is to be carried out, the expected number of persons at the workplace during normal operations and the workplace’s maximum capacity;
(c) determine, in consultation with a medic, if one is required at the workplace — and with a specialized dive physician, if a dive project is to be carried out from the workplace — the type and quantity of first aid and medical supplies and equipment, medication and facilities needed to respond to all reasonably foreseeable injuries and illnesses at the workplace and ensure that those supplies, that equipment, those medications and those facilities are provided, maintained, replenished and replaced as necessary;
(d) establish and make readily available to all persons at the workplace written procedures for promptly obtaining first aid or medical care for any injury or illness, including procedures to follow while awaiting that care;
(e) keep a diagram indicating the location of all first aid kits and medical rooms conspicuously posted at the workplace;
(f) keep an up-to-date list of telephone numbers for use in emergencies conspicuously posted near every fixed telephone at the workplace;
(g) keep a list of all medics and first aiders who are present at the workplace, as well as information on how and when they may be contacted and where they may be located, conspicuously posted in every medical room at the workplace;
(h) keep a list of all medics who are present at the workplace — or, if no medic is required, of the first aiders who hold the highest level of first aid certificate held by any first aider at the workplace — as well as information on how and when they may be contacted and where they may be located conspicuously posted
(i) on the bridge, if the workplace is a vessel, or
(ii) at the location where the installation manager referred to in section 198.2 of the Act is expected to be during an emergency, if the workplace is not a vessel; and
(i) ensure that the number of first aiders and medics set out in columns 2 to 4 of the following table that correspond to the number of persons at the workplace set out in column 1 are present at the workplace and readily available to provide prompt and appropriate first aid or medical care to persons at the workplace:
TABLE
Item Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Number of persons at the workplace Number of first aiders with standard first aid certificate or higher Number of additional first aiders with advanced first aid certificate or qualifications equivalent to those of a medic Number of medics 1 6–10 1 plus 1 for every 2 persons in excess of 6 0 0 2 11–30 3 plus 1 for every 2 persons in excess of 10 1 0 3 31–40 13 plus 1 for every 2 persons in excess of 30 1 0 4 More than 40 17 plus 1 for every 2 persons in excess of 40 2 plus 1 for every 10 persons in excess of 40 1
Marginal note:First aid kits
(2) The first aid supplies referred to in paragraph (1)(c) must include first aid kits that
(a) conform to CSA Group standard Z1220, First aid kits for the workplace;
(b) contain only the supplies necessary for rendering first aid, which are maintained in a clean, dry and serviceable condition;
(c) are inspected at least monthly; and
(d) are clearly identified by conspicuous signs and readily accessible at various locations throughout the workplace.
Marginal note:Automated external defibrillators
(3) If the workplace is a marine installation or structure, the first aid equipment referred to in paragraph (1)(c) must include
(a) at least one automated external defibrillator in a common area accessible to all persons at the workplace; and
(b) additional automated external defibrillators in the quantities and locations that are necessary, having regard to the risk assessment carried out by the employer for the purpose of the occupational health and safety program.
Marginal note:Medical rooms
(4) If the workplace is a marine installation or structure, the facilities referred to in paragraph (1)(c) must include a medical room
(a) whose location is clearly identified by conspicuous signs;
(b) that is supervised by a medic or, if no medic is required at the workplace, a first aider who holds the highest level of first aid certificate held by any first aider at the workplace;
(c) whose location and design allow patients on stretchers to be easily transported to it from other locations at the workplace and from it to any deck from which patients may be transported from the workplace;
(d) that allows for optimum ease of access to persons carrying a patient on a stretcher;
(e) that is maintained in an orderly and sanitary condition and in which all surfaces are easily cleaned and disinfected;
(f) that contains or is located adjacent to a washroom;
(g) that contains
(i) a rectangular treatment table that is accessible from both long sides and at least one short side,
(ii) a medical lamp with an adjustable arm,
(iii) a means of securing a stretcher in place when it is occupied by a patient,
(iv) a handwashing facility supplied with running hot and cold water,
(v) a hand-held shower head that can easily reach the patient,
(vi) a storage cupboard and counter,
(vii) a separate cubicle or curtained-off area with a cot or bed equipped with a moisture-protected mattress and two moisture-protected pillows,
(viii) a table and at least two chairs,
(ix) a lockable medical chest or cabinet,
(x) a waste receptacle and a means of safely disposing of biohazards and sharp objects,
(xi) sufficient electrical outlets of the appropriate voltage for the equipment to be used in the room, and
(xii) all other medical supplies and equipment that are determined to be necessary under paragraph (1)(c);
(h) in which information is accessible regarding
(i) first aid procedures in respect of any reasonably foreseeable injury or illness at the workplace,
(ii) all hazardous substances at the workplace, including the procedures for treating exposure to them and, in the case of hazardous products, their safety data sheets, if any, or other documents containing hazard information in respect of them, and
(iii) procedures for transporting injured or ill persons within and from the workplace; and
(i) that contains an effective means of hands-free electronic communication with the physician referred to in paragraph 31(a) and other emergency contacts, as well as an up-to-date list of the names and contact information of those persons for use in emergencies.
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