Ministry of Labour

June 12, 2002 is the date upon which the Ontario Ministry of Labour  commenced enforcement of the new fall protection regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Fall protection is designed to address both fall prevention and fall arrest.

• The objective of fall prevention is to prevent exposure to the hazard of a fall and includes safe work procedures, ladder tie-offs, guard rails, barriers and safety related signs.
• The objective of fall arrest is to save a fallen worker and includes retractable lifelines, harnesses, suitable anchor points, and shock-absorbing lanyards.

Evidence of fall protection training will be required by all workers who are in areas where falls are a hazard on a jobsite. These workers will also be required to demonstrate an understanding of fall arrest systems. For purposes of the legislation, "workers" includes architects and their employees.

The obligation to ensure that workers are properly trained rests with the employer. If in the course of performing general review, the reviewer is at a height of 3 meters or more , or within 1 meter of a roof edge on an ICI building , the fall protection rules will apply and the reviewer will need to have had the requisite training.

Architectural practices who despatch employees to a jobsite for general review services will be required to fulfill their obligations as employers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. 

Regulation 26.2(1) states, ”An employer shall ensure that a worker who may use a fall protection system is adequately trained in its use and given adequate oral and written instructions by a competent person”. A “competent person” is defined in the Act as,” a person who,

(a)     is qualified because of knowledge, training and experience to organize the work and its performance,

(b)    is familiar with this Act and the regulations that apply to the work, and

(c)     has knowledge of any potential or actual danger to health or safety in the workplace:”

The Ministry requires that the employer ensure that instructors prepare, sign and maintain a written record of the training, which the employer is obliged to produce if requested  by the Ministry of Labour.

Training can be either by taking courses offered by certified trainers , or self directed employing  a do-it-yourself training kit entitled “Basics of Fall Protection”, available from the Construction Safety Association of Ontario (CSAO). This kit enables employers to deliver the program, keep records of training and issue proof of training cards. It consists of a trainer’s guide, user’s guide and a video. Each participant will be required to answer an evaluation questionnaire and will receive a user’s guide and card. A ‘Train the trainer’ support is also available from the CSAO.

For more information on Worker training contact CSAO at 416-674-3736 or 1-800-781-2726; or visit their Web site at: www.csao.org