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

DIVISION IIIHVAC Systems

Application

2.20 Sections 2.21 to 2.24 apply to every work place that is equipped with an HVAC system and that is under the employer’s control.

Standards

2.21 Subject to section 2.22, every HVAC system installed on or after the day of the coming into force of this section shall meet the design requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62-1989, entitled Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, as amended from time to time.

2.22 If feasible, the relevant portion of an HVAC system shall be modified to meet the design requirements referred to in section 2.21 if

• (a) the level of occupancy in a building or portion of a building exceeds the level for which the HVAC system was designed; or

• (b) the use of a building or portion of a building differs from the use for which the HVAC system was designed.

Records

• 2.23 (1) For HVAC systems installed on or after the day of the coming into force of this section, the employer shall keep a record of the information required by section A-2.3.5.2 of Appendix A of the National Building Code and make the record readily available.

• (2) In addition to the record required by subsection (1), the employer shall keep and make readily available a record of the normal hours of occupancy and the types of activities of the occupants of the building.

• (3) In the case of HVAC systems to which subsection (1) does not apply, the employer shall, if feasible, keep and make readily available all records required by subsections (1) and (2).

Operation, Inspection, Testing, Cleaning and Maintenance

• 2.24 (1) Every employer shall appoint a qualified person to set out, in writing, instructions for the operation, inspection, testing, cleaning and maintenance of an HVAC system and the calibration of probes or sensors on which the system relies. In writing the instructions, the qualified person shall take into account CSA Guideline Z204-94, entitled Guideline for Managing Air Quality in Office Buildings, dated June 1994.

• (2) The instructions shall

  • (a) [Repealed, SOR/2011-206, s. 3]

  • (b) be readily available;

  • (c) and (d) [Repealed, SOR/2009-147, s. 3]

  • (e) specify the manner of operation of the HVAC system;

  • (f) specify the nature and frequency of inspections, testing, cleaning and maintenance; and

  • (g) be reviewed by a qualified person and, if necessary, amended

    • (i) when modifications to the HVAC system are carried out in accordance with section 2.22,

    • (ii) when the standard referred to in section 2.21 is amended,

    • (iii) when the an investigation carried out in accordance with section 2.27 has identified that a health or safety hazard exists, or

    • (iv) at least every five years.

• (3) Despite paragraph (2)(c), if an investigation referred to in section 2.27 identifies that a health or safety hazard exists, the instructions shall be developed and made readily available without delay.

• (4) The employer shall appoint a qualified person or persons to implement the instructions and make a report, in writing, of each inspection, testing, cleaning and maintenance operation.

• (5) The report shall be kept readily available by the employer for a period of at least five years and shall

  • (a) specify the date and type of work performed, and the identity of the person who performed it;

  • (b) identify the components of the HVAC system or portion of an HVAC system involved; and

  • (c) record test results, any deficiencies observed and the actions taken to correct them.

2.25 An employer shall ensure that the qualified person or persons referred to in subsection 2.24(4) are instructed and trained in the procedures to be followed in the operation, inspection, testing, cleaning and maintenance of the HVAC system and the calibration of probes or sensors on which the system relies.

2.26 An employer shall post, in a place readily accessible to every employee, the telephone number of a contact person to whom health or safety concerns regarding the indoor air quality in the work place can be directed.

Investigations

• 2.27 (1) Every employer shall develop, or appoint a qualified person to develop, a procedure for investigating situations in which the health or safety of an employee in the work place is or may be endangered by the air quality.

• (2) The procedure shall include the following steps:

  • (a) a review of the nature and number of health or safety complaints;

  • (b) a visual inspection of the work place;

  • (c) the inspection of the HVAC system for cleanliness, operation and performance;

  • (d) a review of the maintenance schedule for the HVAC system;

  • (e) the assessment of building use as compared to the use for which it was designed;

  • (f) the assessment of actual level of occupancy as compared to the level for which the building was designed;

  • (g) the determination of potential sources of contaminants;

  • (h) the determination of levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, temperature, humidity and air motion, where necessary;

  • (i) the specification, where necessary, of tests to be conducted to determine levels of formaldehyde, particulates, airborne fungi and volatile organic compounds; and

  • (j) the identification of the standards or guidelines to be used in evaluating test results.

• (3) In developing the procedure, the employer or the qualified person appointed by the employer shall take into account the Department of Health publication 93-EHD-166, entitled Indoor Air Quality in Office Buildings: A Technical Guide.

• (4) Where the health or safety of an employee in a work place is or may be endangered by the air quality, the employer shall, without delay, appoint a qualified person to carry out an investigation in accordance with the procedure developed pursuant to subsection (1).

• (5) The investigation shall be carried out in consultation with the work place committee or the health and safety representative.

• (6) If feasible, the employer shall, in consultation with the work place committee or the health and safety representative, remove or control any health or safety hazard that is identified in the course of the investigation.

• (7) Every employer shall keep the records of every indoor air quality complaint and investigation for at least five years.

PART IIITemporary Structures and Excavations

Application

3.1 This Part applies to portable ladders, temporary ramps and stairs, temporary elevated work bases used by employees and temporary elevated platforms used for materials.

General

3.2 No employee shall use a temporary structure if it is feasible to use a permanent structure.

3.3 No employee shall work on a temporary structure in rain, snow, hail or an electrical or wind storm that is likely to be hazardous to the health or safety of the employee, except if the work is required to remove a hazard or to rescue an employee.

3.4 Tools, equipment and materials used on a temporary structure shall be arranged or secured in such a manner that they cannot be knocked off the structure accidentally.

3.5 No employee shall use a temporary structure unless

• (a) he has authority from his employer to use it; and

• (b) he has been trained and instructed in its safe and proper use.

• 3.6 (1) Prior to a work shift, a qualified person shall make a visual safety inspection of every temporary structure to be used during that shift.

• (2) Where an inspection made in accordance with subsection (1) reveals a defect or condition that adversely affects the structural integrity of a temporary structure, no employee shall use the temporary structure until the defect or condition is remedied.

Barricades

3.7 Where a person or a vehicle may come into contact with a temporary structure, a person shall be positioned at the base of the temporary structure or a highly visible barricade shall be installed around it to prevent any such contact.

Guardrails and Toe Boards

• 3.8 (1) Guardrails and toe boards shall be installed at every open edge of a platform of a temporary structure.

• (2) The guardrails and toe boards referred to in subsection (1) shall meet the standards set out in sections 2.12 and 2.13.

Temporary Stairs, Ramps and Platforms

• 3.9 (1) Subject to subsection 3.10(3), temporary stairs, ramps and platforms shall be designed, constructed and maintained to support any load that is likely to be imposed on them and to allow safe passage of persons and equipment on them.

• (2) Temporary stairs shall have

  • (a) uniform steps in the same flight;

  • (b) a slope not exceeding 1.2 in 1; and

  • (c) a hand-rail that is not less than 900 mm and not more than 1 100 mm above the stair level on open sides including landings.

• (3) Temporary ramps and platforms shall be

  • (a) securely fastened in place;

  • (b) braced if necessary to ensure their stability; and

  • (c) provided with cleats or surfaced in a manner that provides a safe footing for employees.

• (4) A temporary ramp shall be so constructed that its slope does not exceed

  • (a) where the temporary ramp is installed in the stairwell of a building not exceeding two storeys in height, 1 in 1, if cross cleats are provided at regular intervals not exceeding 300 mm; and

  • (b) in any other case, 1 in 3.

Scaffolds

• 3.10 (1) The erection, use, dismantling or removal of a scaffold shall be carried out by or under the supervision of a qualified person.

• (2) The footings and supports of every scaffold shall be capable of carrying, without dangerous settling, all loads that are likely to be imposed on them.

• (3) Every scaffold shall be capable of supporting at least four times the load that is likely to be imposed on it.

• (4) The platform of every scaffold shall be at least 480 mm wide and securely fastened in place.

Portable Ladders

• 3.11 (1) Commercially manufactured portable ladders shall meet the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN3-Z11-M81, Portable Ladders, the English version of which is dated September, 1981, as amended to March, 1983 and the French version of which is dated August, 1982, as amended to June, 1983.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), every portable ladder shall, while being used,

  • (a) be placed on a firm footing; and

  • (b) be secured in such a manner that it cannot be dislodged accidentally from its position.

• (3) Where, because of the nature of the location or of the work being done, a portable ladder cannot be securely fastened in place, it shall, while being used, be sloped so that the base of the ladder is not less than one-quarter and not more than one-third of the length of the ladder from a point directly below the top of the ladder and at the same level as the base.

• (4) Every portable ladder that provides access from one level to another shall extend at least three rungs above the higher level.

• (5) Metal or wire-bound portable ladders shall not be used if there is a risk that they could come into contact with any live electrical circuit or equipment.

• (6) No employee shall work from any of the three top rungs of any single or extension portable ladder or from either of the two top steps of any portable step ladder.

Excavation

• 3.12 (1) Before the commencement of work on a tunnel, excavation or trench, the employer shall mark the location of all underground pipes, cables and conduits in the area where the work is to be done.

• (2) Where an excavation or trench constitutes a hazard to employees, a highly visible barricade shall be installed around it.

• (3) In a tunnel or in an excavation or trench that is more than 1.4 m deep and whose sides are sloped at an angle of 45° or more to the horizontal

  • (a) the walls of the tunnel, excavation or trench, and

  • (b) the roof of the tunnel

  shall be supported by shoring and bracing that is installed as the tunnel, excavation or trench is being excavated.

• (4) Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of a trench where the employer provides a system of shoring composed of steel plates and bracing, welded or bolted together, that can support the walls of the trench from the ground level to the trench bottom and can be moved along as work progresses.

• (5) The installation and removal of the shoring and bracing referred to in subsection (3) shall be performed or supervised by a qualified person.

• (6) Tools, machinery, timber, excavated materials or other objects shall not be placed within 1 m from the edge of an excavation or trench.