Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-248)

Marginal note:Materials handling equipment

• 121 (1) Every employer must ensure, with respect to all materials handling equipment used at a workplace under its control, that

  • (a) the equipment is, to the extent feasible,

    • (i) designed and constructed to prevent the failure of any of its parts, and

    • (ii) equipped with safety devices that will ensure that any such failure does not result in a loss of control of the equipment or its load or in any other hazardous situation;

  • (b) the equipment is marked in a manner that identifies its manufacturer and model;

  • (c) the equipment’s rated capacity — or, in the case of equipment that can be operated in a range of positions or configurations, the greatest of its rated capacities — is clearly marked on a permanent part of it, in a position where the mark can be easily read;

  • (d) if the equipment can be operated in a range of positions or configurations, a chart indicating the rated capacities across that range is posted within view of the person operating it;

  • (e) the equipment’s use in existing environmental conditions, including wind, sea state and temperature, is continually assessed by the person operating it, having regard to the limitations indicated under subsection 120(2), to determine whether those conditions have reduced the load that the equipment is able to safely handle or support to below its rated capacity and, if so, the extent to which the load has been reduced;

  • (f) the equipment is operated in accordance with its rated capacity or, if applicable, its reduced capacity as determined under paragraph (e);

  • (g) any braking, steering and other control systems with which the equipment is equipped can safely control and stop the load’s movement;

  • (h) if the equipment is used for lifting, moving or positioning persons, it is equipped with at least two independent braking systems and a fail-safe control system;

  • (i) if the equipment is used for lifting, moving or positioning persons, it has — before its first use and after any repair or modification — been certified by a competent person who is independent of the operator and employer as being safe for that use, including in conjunction with any other equipment or device with which it is used;

  • (j) if the equipment is powered, it is equipped with

    • (i) an audible signalling device within easy reach of the person operating the equipment, and

    • (ii) an emergency stopping device that, when engaged, will immediately shut down and isolate the equipment and that is within easy reach of the person operating it as well as at any other location from which it is reasonably foreseeable that a person may need to stop the equipment;

  • (k) if operation of the equipment could result in a fire, it is equipped, in a location that is readily accessible to the person operating it, with firefighting equipment that is appropriate to all fire hazards that may arise;

  • (l) the equipment is designed and constructed, to the extent feasible, so that any vibration, jolting or other uneven movement of it will not cause injury to any person or impair the ability of the person operating the equipment to control it;

  • (m) any glass in the equipment’s doors, windows and other parts is of a type that will not shatter into dangerous pieces on impact;

  • (n) if the equipment is regularly used outdoors and has an operator’s compartment or position that would expose the person operating it to an environmental condition that could be hazardous to their health or safety, the compartment or position is fitted with a roof or other structure that will protect the person from the environmental condition and is constructed from non-combustible or fire-resistant material;

  • (o) any hook with which the equipment is used or equipped has

    • (i) if it is used for lifting persons, a spring-loaded latch that is locked and pinned in the closed position before use to prevent the connecting shackle from dislodging from the hook, or

    • (ii) in any other case, a spring-loaded latch or other equally effective means of preventing the load from falling off the hook;

  • (p) any self-locking eye hooks with triggers with which the equipment is used or equipped are designed to prevent the trigger from being accidentally activated;

  • (q) if there is a risk that the person operating the equipment or a person being lifted, moved or positioned by it could be struck by an intruding, falling or flying object or a shifting load, it is equipped, if feasible, with a structure that is constructed from non-combustible or fire-resistant material and that will, under all foreseeable conditions, protect the person from that risk;

  • (r) any place on the equipment to which an employee requires regular access, including any operator’s compartment or position, is equipped with a safe means of access and egress that

    • (i) does not require the employee to jump,

    • (ii) would permit the emergency evacuation and rescue of the employee, and

    • (iii) can accommodate the employee’s body dimensions while they are wearing personal protective equipment;

  • (s) any item used in any operator’s compartment or at any operator’s position on the equipment provides an adequate range of adjustability to accommodate the person using it;

  • (t) the placement and design of any displays and controls on the equipment do not hinder or prevent the person operating the equipment from doing so safely;

  • (u) any pendant control with which the equipment is equipped is not hung or supported solely by its electrical wiring;

  • (v) any wire rope drum or sheave with which the equipment is equipped has a spooling device or other device to maintain the wire rope in the groove;

  • (w) all loads handled by the equipment are secured as necessary to prevent them from sliding or falling in a manner that would present a risk to the health or safety of any person;

  • (x) if the equipment is operated remotely, it is operated at a safe distance from the load being lifted;

  • (y) all tools, tool boxes, spare parts or other items carried on the equipment are securely stored;

  • (z) the equipment is not left unattended unless adequate measures have been taken to prevent it from moving;

  • (z.1) if the person operating the equipment does not have a clear and unobstructed view of the load and the area in which it is being operated, including the area through which the load is being moved, that person is directed by a competent person designated by the employer as a signaller who

    • (i) is clearly recognizable as a signaller,

    • (ii) has a continuous view of the person operating the equipment and remains in that person’s line of sight,

    • (iii) has a clear and unobstructed view of the load and the area in which the equipment is being operated, including the area through which the load is being moved, or, if that is not feasible, a continuous view of another signaller who has a clear and unobstructed view of, as the case may be, the load or the portions of the area that are not within the first signaller’s view, and

    • (iv) has no duties other than signalling while the equipment under their direction is in motion;

  • (z.2) any fuel tank, compressed gas cylinder or similar container containing a hazardous substance mounted on the equipment is

    • (i) located or protected so that it is not hazardous to the health or safety of any employee who operates or rides on the equipment,

    • (ii) connected to fuel overflow and vent pipes that are located to ensure that fuel spills and vapours

      • (A) cannot be ignited by hot exhaust pipes or other hot or sparking parts, and

      • (B) are not hazardous to the health or safety of any employee who operates or rides on the equipment, and

    • (iii) marked on its caps or covers as to its contents; and

  • (z.3) the equipment is not used in an area in which it may come into contact with an electrical cable, pipe or other supply line, structure or other thing that could, if struck, constitute a hazard to the health or safety of persons unless the person operating the equipment and, if applicable, the signaller have been informed of

    • (i) the hazard and its location, and

    • (ii) the distance that must be maintained to avoid accidental contact with the thing that constitutes the hazard.

• Marginal note:Exception to rated or reduced capacity

  (2) Despite paragraph (1)(f), the materials handling equipment may be used to handle a load in excess of its rated capacity or reduced capacity for the purposes of testing and inspection.

• Marginal note:Protection against contact

  (3) If the employer is unable to determine with reasonable certainty the location of the hazard referred to in paragraph (1)(z.3) or the distance referred to in subparagraph (1)(z.3)(ii), or if it is necessary for the materials handling equipment to be used in closer proximity than that distance, the materials handling equipment may be used in the area only if

  • (a) every electrical cable with which there is a risk of coming into contact is de-energized;

  • (b) every pipe or other supply line containing a hazardous substance with which there is a risk of coming into contact has been shut down and drained; and

  • (c) every other thing that could, if struck, pose a hazard is protected against impact from the equipment.