17. (1) Every employee, while at work, shall

(a) take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances to protect the employee's own health and safety and that of other persons at or near the workplace;

(b) co-operate with the employer and with the employee's fellow employees to protect the employee's own health and safety and that of other persons at or near the workplace;

(c) take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances to ensure that protective devices, equipment or clothing required by the employer, this Act or the regulations are used or worn;

(d) consult and co-operate with the joint occupational health and safety committee, where such a committee has been established at the workplace, or the health and safety representative, where one has been selected at the workplace;

(e) co-operate with any person performing a duty or exercising a power conferred by this Act or the regulations; and

(f) comply with this Act and the regulations.

(2) Where an employee believes that any condition, device, equipment, machine, material or thing or any aspect of the workplace is or may be dangerous to the employee's health or safety or that of any other person at the workplace, the employee shall

(a) immediately report it to a supervisor;

(b) where the matter is not remedied to the employee's satisfaction, report it to the committee or the representative, if any; and

(c) where the matter is not remedied to the employee's satisfaction after the employee reports in accordance with clauses (a) and (b), report it to the Division.

87. (1) In this Section "safeguard" means a guard, shield, guardrail, fence, gate, barrier, safety net, wire mesh or other protective enclosure or device, but does not include personal protective equipment.

(2) Where a person may come in contact with a moving part of a machine or tool that may present a hazard to a person, an employer shall ensure that an adequate safeguard has been installed on the machine or tool to prevent contact.

(3) Despite subsection (2), an employer is not required to ensure that a safeguard is installed on a machine that is equipped with a device that stops the machine automatically before a person comes into contact with the moving parts.

(4) Despite subsection (2), where it is not reasonably practicable to use a safeguard on a cutting or shaping machine and there is a possibility of injury to a person, an employer shall

(a) ensure that a push block, push stick or other adequate protective device is used; and

(b) establish a written procedure to ensure the safety of an operator of the machine.

(5) No person shall remove or render ineffective a safeguard on a machine, unless

(a) the removal or rendering is necessary to enable the cleaning, maintenance, adjustment, testing or repair of the machine;

(b) the machine is locked out; and

(c) the person replaces the safeguard and ensures the safeguard is functioning properly before leaving the machine.

(6) An employer shall ensure that adequate safeguards are installed on a machine where a person may be injured by a flying object from a machine.

(7) Where an object or material is to be applied to, fed into or supplied to a machine or tool and the object or material may shatter, splinter, vibrate, create a flying projectile or otherwise cause hazardous movement because it is not secure, an employer shall ensure that the object or material is held by a restraining device or other means of providing an equivalent level of safety.

(8) Where opening an access door exposes the moving parts of a machine or tool, an employer shall ensure, where reasonably practicable, that the access door is fitted with interlocks that

(a) prevent the access door from opening while the moving parts are in motion; or

(b) disconnect the power from the driving mechanism, causing the moving parts to stop immediately if the door is opened.

(9) Where it is not reasonably practicable to fit an access door with interlocks in accordance with subsection (8), an employer shall, in consultation with the committee or representative, if any, establish an adequate written work procedure.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 46; 53/2013, s. 38]

93. (1) This Section and Sections 94, 95 and 96 do not apply to any device that is intended for the transport of persons and to which the Elevators and Lifts Act applies.

(2) An employer shall ensure that a conveyor is constructed or installed so that

(a) there is adequate clearance between the material transported on the conveyor and a fixed or moving object;

(b) pinch points that a person may come into contact with are adequately guarded; and

(c) the conveyor cannot feed onto a stopped power-driven conveyor, or that written procedures are established that provide an equivalent level of safety.

(3) Where a person in the workplace has access to a power-driven conveyor, an employer shall ensure that emergency stop devices are installed at designated work stations and other appropriate locations along the run of the conveyor to ensure the safety of a person in the workplace.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 49; 53/2013, ss. 41, 93]

94. (1) Where a person is required to cross over a conveyor, an employer shall

(a) provide an adequate means of crossing the conveyor; and

(b) identify the crossing point by adequate means.

(2) No person in a workplace shall

(a) ride on a conveyor; or

(b) stand on the supporting frame of a conveyor.

(3) Despite clause (2)(b), a person may stand on the supporting frame of a conveyor if the conveyor has been locked out.

95. Where a conveyor is installed at a height that may result in falling objects causing injury to a person, an employer shall ensure that

(a) it is equipped with guards or other adequate protection to prevent the material from falling from the conveyor to the workplace below; or

(b) adequate barriers are installed that prevent a person from being under the conveyor while it is running.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 50]

96. Where the rollback of the load or belt creates a hazard to a person at the workplace, an employer shall ensure that an anti-rollback device is installed on a conveyor that carries a load up an incline to prevent the belt or the load from rolling back.