Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

8.15 Where a written guarantee of isolation or a written record of an oral guarantee of isolation is given to a person in charge and the person in charge is replaced at the work place by another person in charge before the guarantee has terminated, the other person in charge shall sign the written guarantee of isolation or written record of the oral guarantee of isolation.

8.16 Before an employee gives a guarantee of isolation for electrical equipment that obtains all or any portion of its electrical energy from a source that is not under his direct control, the employee shall obtain a guarantee of isolation in respect of the source from the person who is in direct control thereof and is authorized to give the guarantee in respect thereof.

Live Test

• 8.17 (1) No employee shall give a guarantee of isolation for the performance of a live test on isolated electrical equipment unless

  • (a) any other guarantee of isolation given in respect of the electrical equipment for any part of the period for which the guarantee of isolation is given is terminated;

  • (b) every person to whom the other guarantee of isolation referred to in paragraph (a) was given has been informed of its termination; and

  • (c) any live test to be performed on the electrical equipment will not be hazardous to the health or safety of the person performing the live test.

• (2) Every person performing a live test shall warn all persons who, during or as a result of the test, are likely to be exposed to a hazard.

Termination of Guarantee of Isolation

• 8.18 (1) The guarantee of isolation ends when work on, or a live test of, isolated electrical equipment is completed and the following conditions are met:

  • (a) every person in charge,

    • (i) has informed the guarantor that the work or live test is completed, and

    • (ii) has made and signed a record containing the date and hour when they informed the guarantor and the name of the guarantor; and

  • (b) on receipt of the information referred to in paragraph (a), the guarantor made and signed a record containing

    • (i) the date and hour when the work or live test was completed, and

    • (ii) the name of the person in charge.

• (2) The records referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) and paragraph (1)(b) shall be kept by the employer at the employer’s place of business nearest to the work place in which the electrical equipment was located when it was isolated, for a period of one year after the day on which they are signed.

Safety Grounding

• 8.19 (1) No employee shall attach a safety ground to electrical equipment unless he has tested the electrical equipment and has established that it is isolated.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of electrical equipment that is grounded by means of a grounding switch that is an integral part of the equipment.

• 8.20 (1) Work must not be performed on any electrical equipment in an area if the following devices are found unless the device is connected to a common grounding network:

  • (a) a grounding bus,

  • (b) a station grounding network,

  • (c) a neutral conductor,

  • (d) temporary phase grounding, or

  • (e) a metal structure.

• (2) If, after the connections are made, a safety ground is required to ensure the safety of an employee working on the electrical equipment, the safety ground shall be connected to the common grounding network.

8.21 Every conducting part of a safety ground on isolated electrical equipment shall have sufficient current carrying capacity to conduct the maximum current that is likely to be carried on any part of the equipment for such time as is necessary to permit operation of any device that is installed on the electrical equipment so that, in the event of a short circuit or other electrical current overload, the electrical equipment is automatically disconnected from its source of electrical energy.

• 8.22 (1) For the purposes of subsection (2), a

  point of safety grounding

  point of safety grounding means

  • (a) a grounding bus, a station grounding network, a neutral conductor, a metal structure or an aerial ground, or

  • (b) one or more metal rods that are not less than 16 mm in diameter and are driven not less than l m into undisturbed compact earth at a minimum distance of 4.5 m from the base of the pole, structure, apparatus or other thing to which the electrical equipment is attached or from the area where persons on the ground work and in a direction away from the main work area. (point de mise à la terre)

• (2) No safety ground shall be attached to or disconnected from isolated electrical equipment except in accordance with the following requirements:

  • (a) the safety ground shall, if feasible, be attached to the pole, structure, apparatus or other thing to which the electrical equipment is attached;

  • (b) all isolated conductors, neutral conductors and all non-insulated surfaces of the electrical equipment shall be short-circuited, electrically bonded together and attached by a safety ground to a point of safety grounding in a manner that establishes equal voltage on all surfaces that can be touched by persons who work on the electrical equipment;

  • (c) the safety ground shall be attached by means of mechanical clamps that are tightened securely and are in direct contact with bare metal;

  • (d) the safety ground shall be so secured that none of its parts can make contact accidentally with any live electrical equipment;

  • (e) the safety ground shall be attached and disconnected using insulated protection equipment and tools;

  • (f) the safety ground shall, before it is attached to isolated electrical equipment, be attached to a point of safety grounding; and

  • (g) the safety ground shall, before being disconnected from the point of safety grounding, be removed from the isolated electrical equipment in such a manner that the employee avoids contact with all live conductors.

Switches and Control Devices

• 8.23 (1) Every control device shall 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 shall be free from obstruction.

• (3) Where an electrical switch or other 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 device shall be fitted with a locking device that only an authorized person can activate.