3. In this Act,

(a) "aggrieved person" means an employer, constructor, contractor, employee, self-employed person, owner, supplier, provider of an occupational health or safety service, architect, engineer or union at a workplace who is directly affected by an order or decision;

(b) "analyst" means a person appointed as an analyst by the Minister pursuant to this Act;

(c) "Board" means the Labour Board established under the Labour Board Act;

(d) "committee" means a joint occupational health and safety committee established pursuant to this Act;

(e) "compliance notice" means a response, in writing, to an order of an officer, describing the extent to which the person against whom the order was made has complied with each item identified in the order;

(f) "constructor" means a person who contracts for work on a project or who undertakes work on a project himself or herself;

(g) "contractor" means a person who contracts for work to be performed at the premises of the person contracting to have the work performed, but does not include a dependent contractor or a constructor;

(h) "contracts for work" includes contracting to perform work and contracting to have work performed;

(i) "Council" means the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Council established pursuant to this Act;

(j) "dependent contractor" means a person, whether or not employed under a contract of employment and whether or not furnishing the person's own tools, vehicles, equipment, machinery, material or any other thing, who performs work or services for another on such terms and conditions that the person is

(i) in a position of economic dependence upon the other,

(ii) under an obligation to perform duties mainly for the other, and

(iii) in a relationship with the other more closely resembling that of an employee than an independent contractor;

(k) "Deputy Minister of Labour and Advanced Education" includes a person designated by the Deputy Minister of Labour and Advanced Education to act in the stead of the Deputy Minister;

(l) "Director" means the Executive Director of Occupational Health and Safety or any person designated by the Executive Director pursuant to this Act to act on behalf of the Executive Director;

(m) "Director of Labour Standards" means the Director of Labour Standards under the Labour Standards Code;

(n) "Division" means the Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Department of Labour and Advanced Education;

(o) "employee" means a person who is employed to do work and includes a dependent contractor;

(p) "employer" means a person who employs one or more employees or contracts for the services of one or more employees, and includes a constructor, contractor or subcontractor;

(q) "former Act" means Chapter 320 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Occupational Health and Safety Act;

(r) "health and safety" includes both physical and psychological health and safety;

(s) "Minister" means the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education;

(t) "occupation" means any employment, business, calling or pursuit;

(u) "officer" means an occupational health and safety officer appointed pursuant to this Act and includes the Director;

(v) "owner" includes a trustee, receiver, mortgagee in possession, tenant, lessee or occupier of lands or premises used as a workplace and a person who acts for, or on behalf of, an owner as an agent or delegate;

(w) "police officer" means

(i) a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or

(ii) a member or chief officer of a police force appointed pursuant to the Police Act;

(x) "policy" means an occupational health and safety policy made pursuant to this Act;

(y) "practicable" means possible, given current knowledge, technology and invention;

(z) "program" means an occupational health and safety program required pursuant to this Act, unless the context otherwise requires;

(aa) "project" means a construction project, and includes

(i) the construction, erection, excavation, renovation, repair, alteration or demolition of any structure, building, tunnel or work and the preparatory work of land clearing or earth moving, and

(ii) work of any nature or kind designated by the Director as a project;

(ab) "reasonably practicable" means practicable unless the person on whom a duty is placed can show that there is a gross disproportion between the benefit of the duty and the cost, in time, trouble and money, of the measures to secure the duty;

(ac) "regularly employed" includes seasonal employment with a predictably recurring period of employment that exceeds four weeks, unless otherwise established by regulation or ordered by an officer;

(aca) "repeatedly" means occurring more than once within the preceding three year period;

(ad) "representative" means a health and safety representative selected pursuant to this Act;

(ae) "self-employed person" means a person who is engaged in an occupation on that person's own behalf and includes a person or persons operating a sole proprietorship but does not include a dependent contractor;

(aea) "serious injury" means an injury that endangers life or causes permanent injury;

(af) "supplier" means a person who manufactures, supplies, sells, leases, distributes or installs any tool, equipment, machine or device or any biological, chemical or physical agent to be used at or near a workplace;

(ag) "union" includes a trade union as defined in the Trade Union Act that has the status of bargaining agent under that Act in respect of any bargaining unit at a workplace, and includes an organization representing employees where the organization has exclusive bargaining rights under any other Act in respect of the employees;

(ah) "workplace" means any place where an employee or a self-employed person is or is likely to be engaged in any occupation and includes any vehicle or mobile equipment used or likely to be used by an employee or a self-employed person in an occupation.

[S.N.S. 2000, c. 28, s. 86; 2010, c. 66, s. 2; 2010, c. 37, s. 117; 2011, c. 24, s. 2; 2016, c. 14, s. 1; 2024, c. 10, s. 11]

28. (1) Where

(a) twenty or more employees are regularly employed by an employer other than a constructor or contractor;

(b) twenty or more employees are regularly employed directly by a constructor or contractor, not including employees for whose services the constructor or contractor has contracted; or

(c) the regulations require an occupational health and safety program,

the employer shall establish and maintain a written occupational health and safety program, in consultation with the committee or representative, if any, that is adapted to the circumstances of the organization for the purpose of implementing the employer's policy, this Act and the regulations.

(2) The program shall include

(a) provision for the training and supervision of employees in matters necessary to their health and safety and the health and safety of other persons at the workplace;

(b) provision for the preparation of written work procedures required to implement safe and healthy work practices, including those required pursuant to this Act, the regulations or by order of an officer, and identification of the types of work for which the procedures are required at the employer's workplace;

(c) provision for the establishment and continued operation of a committee required pursuant to this Act, including maintenance of records of membership, rules of procedure, access to a level of management with authority to resolve health and safety matters and any information required under this Act or the regulations to be maintained in relation to a committee;

(d) provision for the selection and functions of a representative where required pursuant to this Act, including provision for access by the representative to a level of management with authority to resolve health and safety matters;

(e) a hazard identification system that includes

(i) evaluation of the workplace to identify potential hazards,

(ii) procedures and schedules for regular inspections,

(iii) procedures for ensuring the reporting of hazards and the accountability of persons responsible for the correction of hazards, and

(iv) identification of the circumstances where hazards must be reported by the employer to the committee or representative, if any, and the procedures for doing so;

(f) a system for workplace occupational health and safety monitoring, prompt follow-up and control of identified hazards;

(g) a system for the prompt investigation of hazardous occurrences to determine their causes and the actions needed to prevent recurrences;

(h) maintenance of records and statistics, including reports of occupational health and safety inspections and occupational health and safety investigations, with provision for making them available to persons entitled to receive them pursuant to this Act; and

(i) provision for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the program.

(3) The employer shall make available a copy of the program

(a) to the committee or representative, if any; and

(b) on request, to an employee at the workplace.

31. It is the function of the committee to involve employers and employees together in occupational health and safety in the workplace and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes

(a) the co-operative identification of hazards to health and safety and effective systems to respond to the hazards;

(b) the co-operative auditing of compliance with health and safety requirements in the workplace;

(c) receipt, investigation and prompt disposition of matters and complaints with respect to workplace health and safety;

(d) participation in inspections, inquiries and investigations concerning the occupational health and safety of the employees and, in particular, participation in an inspection referred to in Section 50;

(e) advising on individual protective devices, equipment and clothing that, complying with this Act and the regulations, are best adapted to the needs of the employees;

(f) advising the employer regarding a policy or program required pursuant to this Act or the regulations and making recommendations to the employer, the employees and any person for the improvement of the health and safety of persons at the workplace;

(g) maintaining records and minutes of committee meetings in a form and manner approved by the Director and providing an officer with a copy of these records or minutes on request; and

(h) performing any other duties assigned to it

(i) by the Director,

(ii) by agreement between the employer and the employees or the union, or

(iii) as are established by the regulations.

[S.N.S. 2010, c. 66, s. 8]

45. (1) In this Section and in Section 46, "reprisal" means an action that adversely affects an employee with respect to terms or conditions of employment or any opportunity for employment or promotion and includes dismissal, layoff, suspension, demotion, transfer of job or location, change in hours of work, coercion, intimidation, imposition of any discipline, reprimand or other penalty including reduction in wages, salary or other benefits, or the discontinuation or elimination of the job of the employee.

(2) No employer or union shall take, or threaten to take, a reprisal against an employee because the employee has acted in compliance with this Act or the regulations or an order or direction made thereunder or has sought the enforcement of this Act or the regulations or, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, because

(a) of the participation of the employee in, or association with, a committee or the employee has sought the establishment of a committee or performed functions as a committee member;

(b) of the association of the employee with a representative or the employee has sought the selection of a representative or performed functions as a representative;

(c) the employee has refused to work pursuant to subsection 43(1);

(d) the employee has sought access to information to which the employee is entitled by this Act or the regulations, or has been assigned the role of observer pursuant to Section 42;

(e) the employee has testified or is about to testify in any proceeding or inquiry pursuant to this Act or the regulations; or

(f) the employee has given information to the committee, a representative, an officer or other person concerned with the administration of this Act or the regulations with respect to the health and safety of employees at the workplace,

unless the employer or union, as the case may be, establishes that such action is solely motivated by legitimate business reasons.

(3) On an inquiry into a complaint pursuant to Section 46 alleging that there has been a failure by an employer or a union to comply with subsection (2), the burden of proving that there has been no such failure is upon the employer or the union, as the case may be.

[S.N.S. 2024, c. 10, ss. 15, 16]

46. (1) An employee who complains that

(a) an employer has failed to pay wages, salary, pay or a benefit entitlement required pursuant to

(i) subsection 30(6), 33(5), 42(1), 43(4), 43(6), 43(7) or 50(8), or

(ii) the regulations; or

(b) an employer or a union has taken, or threatened to take, a reprisal contrary to subsection 45(2),

may

(c) where the employee is not subject to a collective agreement under which the employee is entitled to file a grievance, within thirty days, make a complaint in writing to an officer; or

(d) where the employee is subject to a collective agreement under which the employee is entitled to file a grievance,

(i) have the complaint dealt with by final and binding arbitration under the collective agreement, or

(ii) within thirty days, make a complaint in writing to an officer, if an arbitrator has not seized jurisdiction over the matter under the collective agreement, in which case the matter shall be dealt with by the arbitrator under the collective agreement.

(2) Where an officer receives a complaint pursuant to subsection (1), the officer shall investigate the complaint and

(a) issue an order specifying the provision of this Act or the regulations that has been contravened; or

(b) determine that there are no grounds upon which to issue an order, and so notify the complainant.

(3) Where the officer determines that an employer has failed to pay wages, salary, pay or a benefit entitlement required by a provision referred to in clause (1)(a), the officer's order issued pursuant to clause (2)(a) shall require, by a specified date,

(a) the employer to pay the wages, salary, pay or other benefits required by the provision referred to in clause (1)(a); or

(b) the employer or the union to do the things that, in the opinion of the officer, are necessary to secure compliance with this Act and the regulations.

(4) Where the officer determines that a reprisal has been taken or threatened against an employee contrary to subsection 45(2), the officer's order issued pursuant to clause (2)(a) shall require, by a specified date,

(a) the employer to reinstate the employee pursuant to the same terms and conditions under which the employee was formerly employed;

(b) the employer to pay any wages, salary, pay or other benefits that the employee would have earned but for the reprisal;

(c) that any reprimand or other references to the matter in the employer's records on the employee be removed;

(d) the reinstatement of the employee to the union and the payment by the union to the employee of any wages, salary, pay or other benefits that the employee would have earned but for the reprisal; or

(e) the employer or the union to do the things that, in the opinion of the officer, are necessary to secure compliance with this Act and the regulations.

(5) Where an order or decision of an officer made pursuant to clause (2)(a) is not appealed, the decision of the officer is final and binding.

[S.N.S. 2009. c. 24, s. 1; 2024, c. 10, s. 17]

62. (1) Notwithstanding Section 35, no person shall disclose information obtained in a medical examination, test, X-ray or hospital record of an employee made, taken or provided pursuant to this Act except in a form calculated to prevent the information from being identified with a particular person or case or with the permission of the employee.

(2) No person to whom information is communicated in confidence pursuant to this Act or the regulations

(a) shall divulge the information, except in accordance with this Act and the regulations;

(b) is competent or compellable to divulge the information before a court or other tribunal or in any other proceeding.

3. In these regulations,

(a) "Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety Act;

(b) "blaster" means any of the following:

(i) a person who holds a blaster certificate,

(ii) a person who conducts a blast in a specialized blasting operation,

(iii) a person who conducts a special case blast, as defined in Section 23;

(c) "blaster certificate" means a certificate of qualification in the blaster trade issued under the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act;

(d) "blasting activity" includes all of the following:

(i) storing, handling, transporting, preparing and using explosives,

(ii) drilling at a blasting area or in combination with the use of explosives,

(iii) loading a hole with explosives;

(e) "blasting area" means the zone extending 50 m in all directions from the place in which explosives are handled, prepared, used or loaded for firing, or in which misfired explosives exist or are believed to exist;

(f) "blasting machine" means an electric or electro-mechanical device that provides electric energy for energizing electric detonators, but does not include batteries by themselves;

(g) "blasting meter" means a test instrument, such as a blasting galvanometer, blasting ohmmeter, blasting voltmeter or blasting multimeter, that is used to check detonators and electric circuits for continuity, resistance, stray currents and other pertinent measurements;

(h) "blasting operation" means the portion of a procedure involving explosives that begins when explosives are brought into the area to be blasted and ends when all explosives are removed from the area;

(i) "blasting switch" means a device used to permit the firing of electric blasting circuits from power lines;

(j) "burden" means the distance between the blast hole and the free face of the material being blasted;

(k) "day box" means a portable unit used for storing explosives;

(l) "detonator" means a device used to fire a charge;

(m) "explosive" means a substance, including a detonator or primed explosive, that is manufactured or used to produce an explosion by detonation or deflagration and that is regulated by the Explosives Act (Canada), but does not include ammunition for weapons, fireworks or explosive-actuated tools;

(n) "extraneous electricity" means unwanted electric current that is present at a blasting area and that could enter an electric blasting circuit, and includes stray current, static electricity, radio frequency energy and time-varying electric and magnetic fields;

(o) "magazine" means a fixed unit used for storing explosives;

(p) "misfired hole" means a charge of explosives in a hole or part of a hole that for any reason has failed to fire as planned, and includes an aborted charge under clause 85(d);

(q) "prime a charge" means to position a detonator for use in firing a charge;

(r) "primed explosive" means an explosive containing a detonator;

(s) "specialized blasting" means blasting of any of the following types:

(i) blasting in a confined space,

(ii) blasting underwater,

(iii) blasting to demolish an above-ground building, stack or similar structure,

(iv) blasting ice,

(v) blasting in theatrical applications,

(vi) blasting in, at or near an oil or gas well.

37. (1) An employer must ensure that an employee designated under Section 36 as being in charge of a magazine maintains a written inventory of the contents of the magazine.

(2) A magazine inventory must include either

(a) a record of detonators stored in the magazine, organized by period and legwire length; or

(b) a record of explosives other than detonators stored in the magazine, organized by type of explosive.

(3) An employer must keep a magazine inventory for at least 2 years after the date that information is last entered into the magazine inventory.

(4) An employer must keep a magazine inventory at the workplace.

(5) An employer must not keep a magazine inventory in a magazine.

81. (1) An employer must ensure that a blasting machine is inspected at least once every 12 months and that the inspection is conducted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

(2) An employer must keep a record of each inspection required by subsection (1) for at least 2 years.

2. In these regulations,

(a) "Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety Act ;

(aa) "adequate" means sufficient to protect a person from injury or damage to health;

(b) "ALI" means the Automotive Lift Institute;

(ba) "angle of repose" means the angle with the horizontal at which material will no longer flow freely;

(c) "ANSI" means the American National Standards Institute;

(ca) "approved" means approved by the Department or by an agency or authority designated or selected by the Department to make approvals;

(d) "ASME" means the American Society of Mechanical Engineers;

(e) "ASTM" means the American Society for Testing and Materials;

(ea) "CGA" means the Compressed Gas Association;

(f) "CGSB" means the Canadian General Standards Board;

(g) "competent person" means a person who is

(i) qualified because of their knowledge, training and experience to do the assigned work in a manner that ensures the health and safety of every person in the workplace, and

(ii) knowledgeable about the provisions of the Act and regulations that apply to the assigned work, and about potential or actual danger to health or safety associated with the assigned work;

(ga) "compressed air" means air mechanically raised to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure;

(h) "CSA" means the Canadian Standards Association;

(i) "demolition" means the destruction or removal of all, or part, of an existing building or structure;

(ia) "Department" means the Department of Labour and Advanced Education;

(j) "designated" means, in relation to an employer, appointed in writing by the employer;

(k) "electrical installation" means the wires, machinery, apparatus, appliances, devices, material and equipment used or intended for use for the generation, transmission, distribution, supply and use of electrical power or energy, and includes a power line and power line equipment;

(l) "engineer" means a person who is registered as a member or licensed to practise under the Engineering Profession Act and is competent to do the work being performed;

(m) "firefighter" means

(i) an employee who provides fire suppression services to the public from a fire department within a municipality or local service district, or

(ii) an industrial firefighter;

(n) "guardrail" means a fall protection system consisting of vertical and horizontal members that

(i) are capable of withstanding concentrated forces, as prescribed in these regulations or an applicable standard,

(ii) warn of a fall hazard, and

(iii) reduce the risk of a fall;

(o) "hazardous substance" means chemical or biological material, dangerous goods within the meaning of the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act or a controlled product within the meaning of the Hazardous Products Act (Canada) that is likely to, because of its harmful nature, cause injury or damage to the health or safety of a person exposed to it;

(p) "hoist" means a device or equipment and its structure used for lifting or lowering material, including cranes, an automotive lift, a winch, a chain fall or other similar device, but does not include a lift truck, a power operated elevating work platform, a device to which the Elevators and Lifts Act applies or a hoist that operates in a shaft in the underground at a mine;

(pa) "ITSDF" means the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation;

(q) "industrial firefighter" means an employee who

(i) is designated to fight fires at the employee's place of employment, and

(ii) is employed by an employer who does not, in the normal course of its business, provide fire suppression services to the public;

(qa) "latest version" means, in relation to a standard or other publication, the latest edition of the standard or publication as supplemented, amended, added to, replaced or superseded;

(r) "lift truck" means a lift truck as defined in the latest version of ANSI standard ANSI/ITSDF B56.1, "Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks";

(s) "locked out" means to have

(i) isolated the energy source or sources from a machine, equipment, tool or electrical installation,

(ii) dissipated any residual energy in a system, and

(iii) secured the isolation of the energy source or sources by an inhibiting device that is operated by a key or other process,

and to have performed a "lock-out" has a similar meaning;

(t) "machine" Repealed. [N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 1]

(u) "manufacturer's specifications" means

(i) the written instructions of a manufacturer of a machine, material, tool or equipment that outline the manner in which the machine, material, tool or equipment is to be erected, installed, assembled, started, operated, used, handled, stored, stopped, adjusted, carried, maintained, repaired, inspected, serviced, tested, cleaned or dismantled, and

(ii) a manufacturer's instruction, operating or maintenance manual and drawings respecting a machine, tool or equipment;

(ua) "mobile crane" means a mobile crane to which the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z150 , "Safety Code on Mobile Cranes" applies;

(v) "NFPA" means the National Fire Protection Association;

(va) "overhead crane" means any mechanical device or structure that is used to raise, lower and move material that travels overhead and that incorporates a

(i) power driven drum, bridge and cable or rope,

(ii) single or multiple girder, and

(iii) moveable bridge carrying a moveable or fixed hoisting mechanism,

but does not include wall cranes, cantilever gantry cranes and semi-gantry cranes;

(vb) "personal flotation device" means personal protective equipment that is capable of supporting a person with their head above water without the direct effort of the person wearing the equipment;

(w) "power line" means the above-ground or underground wiring that is used to distribute electricity;

(x) "power line equipment" means the components that are required to distribute electricity by means of a power line;

(y) "power operated elevating work platform" means a mobile horizontal working surface that provides access and support to a person at a workplace, and that is elevated and lowered by means of a mechanism and [that complies with] Part 23: Scaffolds and Other Elevated Work Platforms, of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations made under the Act, including a standard listed in subsection (4) thereof;

(z) "powered mobile equipment" means self-propelled equipment that is designed to operate on land in conditions other than a public highway, but does not include equipment primarily designed to transport persons, a lift truck or a power operated elevating work platform;

(aa) "SAE" means the Society of Automotive Engineers;

(ab) "structural fire-fighting" means the activities of rescue, fire suppression and conservation of property from fires involving buildings, structures, vehicles, vessels, aircraft or other large objects constructed by human effort;

(ac) "surface mine" means a work or undertaking, other than a trench, for the purpose of opening up, proving, removing or extracting any metallic or non-metallic mineral or mineral bearing substance, rock, earth, clay, sand or gravel by means of an open excavation, and includes a pit or quarry;

(ad) "tower crane" means any mechanical device or structure that

(i) incorporates a power-driven drum and cable or rope and a vertical mast or tower and a jib,

(ii) is of the traveling, fixed or climbing type, and

(iii) is used exclusively for raising, lowering and moving material;

(ae)"trench" means an excavation in which the excavation depth exceeds the excavation width;

(af) "work area" means a location at the workplace at which an employee or self-employed person is or is likely to be working;

(ag) "worked" means drilled, blasted, extracted, excavated, loaded or subjected to other similar work.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 1; 151/2003; 53/2013, ss. 1, 93]

8. (1) Except as specified in subsection (2) or otherwise specified in these regulations, an employer must keep a record referred to in these regulations for at least 5 years after the date the record was made.

(2) An employer must keep records set out in the following table for the periods of time specified:

Table

[N.S. Reg. 53/2013, s. 6]

8A Repealed. [N.S. Reg. 53/2013, s. 7]

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 2; 53/2013, s. 7]

75. (1) In addition to any inspections referred to in Sections 72 or 73, an employer shall ensure that a competent person visually inspects a hoist, including any safety devices, for defects that may affect the structural integrity of the hoist

(a) before it is put into service initially or after 1 month or more of disuse;

(b) once during every month of operation; and

(c) after any incident or repair, including contact with an energized utility line or equipment that may have damaged some part of the hoist or endangered any person.

(2) Where an inspection identifies a defect in a hoist that affects the safe operation of the hoist, an employer shall remove the hoist from service and repair it before it is put back into service.

(3) An employer shall maintain a record of

(a) each inspection of a hoist required under Sections 72 and 73, and subsection (1); and

(b) each repair potentially affecting the structural integrity of a component of a hoist that supports a load, including the date, time, nature and results of the inspection or repair and the name of the person who performed the inspection or repair to a hoist.

(4) Where limit switches and safety devices are installed on a hoist by the manufacturer, an employer shall ensure that these switches and devices are maintained in adequate condition.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 42]

80. (1) In this Section, "rigging hardware" means a chain, cable, webbing, bucket, grapple, hook, ring, sling or other device used to attach a load to a hoist.

(2) Every inspection required to be performed under this Section shall be performed by a competent person.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), an employer shall ensure that rigging hardware is constructed, installed, operated, inspected and maintained in accordance with the latest version of the applicable ASME standard listed below:

(a) ASME B30.9, "Slings";

(b) ASME B30.10, "Hooks"; or

(c) ASME B30.20, "Below-the-Hook Lifting Devices".

(4) Where none of the standards referred to in subsection (3) apply, an employer shall ensure that the rigging hardware complies with an adequate design certified by an engineer.

(5) Where rigging hardware is commercially manufactured, in addition to the requirements of subsection (3) or (4), an employer shall ensure that rigging hardware is constructed, installed, operated, inspected and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.

(6) In addition to any inspection required under subsection (5), an employer shall ensure that a person inspects the rigging hardware before each use to ensure that no defect exists that may affect its structural integrity.

(7) In addition to the requirements of subsections (5) and (6), an employer shall ensure that a person inspects the rigging hardware

(a) before it is put into initial service or after one month or more of disuse; and

(b) once during every year that it is in operation.

(8) Where the competent person conducting an inspection referred to in subsections (3), (5), (6) or (7) identifies a defect that may affect the structural integrity of the rigging hardware, an employer shall ensure that the rigging hardware is removed from service until such time as it is repaired.

(9) An employer shall maintain a record of

(a) the inspections referred to in subsections (3), (5) and (7); and

(b) any repairs to rigging hardware.

(10) The record referred to in subsection (9) shall include the date, time, nature and results of the inspection or repair and the name of the person who performed the inspection or repair.

(11) An employer shall identify the safe lifting capacity of rigging hardware on the device in a permanent and clearly legible manner.

(12) An employer shall ensure that a person using rigging hardware receives adequate training and other information sufficient to ensure that they are knowledgeable about the capacity of the rigging hardware.

(13) An employer shall designate a competent person to use rigging hardware.

(14) Before a load is raised by a hoist, an employer shall ensure that a competent person ensures that the load is secured to the hoist in an adequate manner by means of appropriate rigging hardware.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 44; 4/2004, s. 1; 53/2013, s. 34]

82. (1) An employer must ensure that a lift truck is operated in a manner that will not endanger a person.

(1A) Where a lift truck is propelled by an internal combustion engine in a building or other enclosed structure, the employer must ensure adequate ventilation, monitoring and record keeping practices are carried out to ensure exposure from exhaust gases does not exceed the occupational exposure limit for the gas under Part 2: Occupational Health, of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations made under the Act.

(2) An employer shall ensure that where a lift truck is operated

(a) in a one-way aisle, the width of the aisle equals at least the width of the vehicle or load being carried, whichever is wider, plus 600 mm; and

(b) in a two-way aisle, the width of the aisle equals at least twice the width of the vehicle or load being carried, whichever is wider, plus 900 mm.

(3) An employer must ensure that a lift truck that is propelled by propane has all engine and fuel components designed, assembled, examined, inspected, operated and maintained in accordance with the latest version of CSA standard CSA B149.2 , "Propane Storage and Handling Code".

[N.S. Reg. 53/2013, ss. 36, 93]

83. Repealed. [N.S. Reg. 53/2013, s. 37]

113. (1) An employer shall ensure that no person performs a welding or allied process on a container, pipe, valve or fitting that

(a) holds or may have held an explosive, flammable or otherwise hazardous substance; or

(b) may become pressurized to the point of being a hazard to a person at the workplace,

unless the welding or allied process is performed in accordance with a written work procedure established by the employer.

(1A) Where a welding or allied process is performed on a natural gas pipeline or a liquids pipeline associated with a natural gas pipeline, an employer shall ensure that an engineer certifies that the written work procedure required under subsection (1) is in accordance with American Petroleum Institute standard API Recommended Practice 2201, "Procedures for Welding or Hot Tapping on Equipment in Service", Fourth Edition, September 1995.

(2) Where a container, pipe, valve or fitting holds or may have held an explosive, flammable or other hazardous substance, and subsection (1A) does not apply, an employer shall include in the written work procedure required under subsection (1), provision

(a) for disconnecting and blanking off or moving out of alignment pipes or locking out valves in the closed position; and

(b) that after ventilation, a competent person shall

(i) where reasonably practicable, examine the area to be welded or processed to ensure that it is free from residue,

(ii) test air samples to ensure that explosive, flammable or hazardous amounts of gases or vapours have been reduced to less than 1% of the lower explosive limit in areas to be welded or processed, and

(iii) certify, in writing, that work involving the application of heat can be safely undertaken and that the conditions tested in the area to be heated are likely to be maintained within a predicted and recorded range for the entire time the certification is valid.

(3) The certificate referred to in subclause (2)(b)(iii) shall include

(a) the signature of the competent person;

(b) the date and time the tests were performed;

(c) the type of work that

(i) can be performed in the area to be heated, and

(ii) is explicitly banned in the area to be heated;

(d) the means by which the work is to be performed;

(e) the expiry date and time of the certificate; and

(f) a record of any tests performed and of any test results.

(4) No certification issued under subclause (2)(b)(iii) shall be valid for longer than 24 hours after the time of the examination and test required to be performed under subclauses (2)(b)(i) and (ii).

(5) An employer shall ensure that no person uses the exhaust of an internal combustion engine as a means of decreasing the concentration of flammable and explosive gases and vapours in the area to be welded or processed.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 57; 4/2004, s. 2; 53/2013, ss. 45, 93]

130. (1) An employer shall ensure that no person enters a confined space until the employer has fulfilled the requirements of this Section and a competent person has provided a written certificate, in accordance with Section 131.

(2) Where a workplace includes a confined space, the employer shall ensure that a person who may be required to enter the confined space has the information necessary to identify it as such.

(3) Where at least one confined space has been identified, an employer shall establish a written confined space entry procedure that includes provision

(a) that prior to the entry of a person into the confined space, an assessment of the confined space is

(i) done in accordance with subsection (8), and

(ii) recorded by the person conducting the assessment in accordance with Section 131;

(b) for the training required by a person who may enter a confined space in the course of the person's work, and for the training required by a person who may undertake rescue operations with regard to a confined space, including training on

(i) proper use of personal protective equipment,

(ii) written rescue procedures,

(iii) maintaining contact between a person in the confined space and an attendant required under clause 134(2)(a) and the means by which the written rescue procedure is initiated in the event of an emergency in the confined space,

(iv) the limitations on the type of work that can be performed in the confined space, and

(v) the means of identifying a hazard while in a confined space;

(c) for the process for notifying a person entering a confined space of the specific type of work that may be performed in the confined space;

(d) for the method to be followed by a person entering into, exiting from or occupying the confined space;

(e) for the protective equipment that is to be used by every person entering the confined space;

(f) for the written emergency procedures to be followed in the event of an accident or other emergency in or near the confined space, including

(i) immediate evacuation of the confined space when an alarm is activated or there is any significant, unexpected and potentially hazardous change in the concentration, level or percentage referred to in subsection (8),

(ii) a determination of whether more than one person is required to be present outside a confined space during the occupancy of any person, and

(iii) a written rescue procedure;

(g) for the protective equipment and emergency equipment to be used by a person who undertakes rescue operations in the event of an accident or other emergency;

(h) for a written procedure for testing the confined space in an adequate manner, at regular intervals and on a continuous basis, if necessary, to ensure the concentration or level of a hazardous substance or physical agent complies with the limits in subsection (8); and

(i) for a means of ventilating the confined space to ensure the removal or dilution of all airborne hazardous substances from the confined space.

(4) An employer shall provide to each person entering the confined space and a person who may undertake rescue operations the protective equipment and emergency equipment referred to in this Section.

(5) An employer shall ensure that

(a) a person who enters a confined space is trained at least once every 2 years in accordance with the procedures set out in clause (3)(b); and

(b) a person who undertakes rescue operations is trained at least once every year in accordance with the procedures set out in clause (3)(b).

(6) Every person who enters into, exits from or occupies the confined space shall follow the written procedures and use the protective equipment and emergency equipment as required.

(7) An employer shall review the confined space entry procedure at least once a year and amend it, if necessary.

(8) An employer shall designate a competent person who shall perform the assessment required in clause (3)(a), which shall include

(a) where the level of a chemical substance or a mixture of chemical substances may constitute a hazard, tests to ensure that the concentration of a chemical substance or a mixture of chemical substances in the confined space does not exceed its occupational exposure limit under Part 2: Occupational Health, of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations made under the Act or 50% of its lower explosive limit;

(b) where the level of a physical agent may constitute a hazard, tests to ensure that the level of the physical agent in the confined space is not hazardous;

(c) tests to ensure that the level of oxygen in the atmosphere in the confined space is not less than 19.5 % and not more than 22.5 %, unless the employer can demonstrate that an unsafe oxygen level is not a possibility in the circumstance;

(d) a determination of whether the concentrations, levels or percentages referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c) can be maintained during the period of proposed occupancy of the confined space;

(e) a confirmation that any liquid in which the person may drown or any free flowing solid in which a person may become entrapped has been removed from the confined space or that work practices have been established that specifically address the presence of the liquid or solid;

(f) a confirmation that entry of any liquid, free flowing solid or hazardous substance into the confined space that could endanger the health or safety of a person has been prevented by a secure means of disconnection, the fitting of blank flanges or the implementation of a double block and bleed written procedure established by the employer or similar positive actions;

(g) confirmation that a machine, equipment, tool or electrical installation that presents a hazard to a person entering into, exiting from or occupying the confined space has been locked out; and

(h) confirmation that the opening for entry into and exit from the confined space is sufficient to allow safe passage of a person who is using personal protective equipment or emergency equipment.

(9) Where there is no possibility that a hazard identified in clauses (8)(a), (b) and (c) may occur, the requirements of clause (3)(h) do not apply.

(10) The competent person referred to in subsection (8) shall, when performing the tests required under clauses (8)(a), (b) and (c), use appropriate and properly calibrated instruments that have been functionally tested and maintain a written record of the functional and calibration tests.

(11) An employer shall keep the assessment and the confined space entry procedure required under subsection (3) at the place of business of the employer nearest to the workplace at which the confined space is located.

(12) An employer shall make available a copy of the confined space entry procedure to all persons involved in the entry of a confined space.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 67; 53/2013, s. 54]

131. (1) Subsequent to performing the tests required in clauses 130(8)(a), (b) and (c), a competent person shall certify, in writing, that the conditions tested in the confined space are likely to be maintained within a predicted and recorded range for the entire time the certification is valid, and the certification shall include

(a) the signature of the competent person;

(b) the date and time of when the tests were performed;

(c) the type of work that

(i) can be performed in the confined space, and

(ii) is explicitly banned in the confined space;

(d) the means by which the work is to be performed;

(e) the expiry date and time of the certification; and

(f) a record of the tests performed and of the test results.

(2) No certification issued under subsection. (1) shall be valid for longer than 24 hours after the time the tests required by clauses 130(8)(a), (b) and (c) were performed.

(3) An employer shall post a copy of the currently valid certification required in subsection. (1) at the entrance to the confined space for the duration of the confined space occupancy.

(4) An employer shall maintain a copy of the certification required in subsection. (1) for 12 months.

[N.S. Reg. 53/2013, ss. 55, 93]

134. (1) An employer must ensure that all of the following is provided as close as reasonably practicable to the entrance to the confined space before a person enters the confined space:

(a) all protective equipment and emergency equipment identified under subsection 130(3); and

(b) adequate rescue equipment including a yoke and adequate means to lift an unconscious person.

(2) Where a person enters a confined space, an employer shall ensure that a competent person

(a) is in attendance in the immediate vicinity of the confined space;

(b) has a means of adequate communication with a person inside the confined space;

(c) is provided with a means of activating the rescue procedure in an emergency;

(d) is adequately trained in the emergency response procedure; and

(e) maintains a record of who is in the confined space.

(3) An employer shall

(a) where reasonably practicable, provide a person entering into and occupying a confined space with a full body harness;

(b) ensure that a full body harness provided under clause (a) is worn; and

(c) where it does not present a hazard, ensure that an attached life line is

(i) securely fastened to an anchor point, and

(ii) controlled by the competent person referred to in subsection (2).

(4) An employer shall ensure that the full body harness referred to in subsection (3) complies with the requirements for Group E harnesses in the latest version of CSA standard CSA 259.10 , "Full Body Harnesses".

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 69; 53/2013, ss. 57, 93]

183. (1) No person shall begin work, other than at a stockpile, at or near a working face in a surface mine at the beginning of each operating shift until a competent person inspects the working face to ensure that the working face is adequate.

(2) The competent person referred to in subsection. (1) shall record the results of the inspection required by subsection. (1) in a daily examination and record book and shall record all unusual occurrences or hazards.

(3) The competent person referred to in subsection. (1) shall read the record in the daily examination and record book made for the previous shift and sign it before work at the face begins on the next shift.

(4) An employer shall make available the daily examination and record book referred to in subsections (2) and (3) on request to the committee or the representative, if any.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 94; 53/2013, s. 75]

1.15 (1) Except as specified in subsection (2) or otherwise specified in these regulations, an employer must keep a record referred to in these regulations for at least 5 years after the date the record was made.

(2) An employer must keep records set out in the following table for the periods of time specified:

Table

4.6 (1) A copy of all valid workplace first aid certificates must be maintained by all of the following:

(a) the employer of the certificate holder;

(b) the training agency that issued the certificate.

(2) Unless the training agency that issues a certificate establishes a shorter period, a workplace first aid certificate expires 3 years from the date it is issued.

[N.S. Reg. 43/2022, s. (b)]

4.14 The employer of an injured person who is administered first aid at a workplace must create a written record of the injury, including all of the following information:

(a) the name of the injured person;

(b) the date and time of the injury;

(c) the location and nature of the injuries on the person’s body;

(d) the time when first aid was administered;

(e) the first aid treatment provided;

(f) the name of the person who provided the first aid, and the workplace first aid certificate that they hold;

(g) the name of the person to whom the injury was reported.

[N.S. Reg. 43/2022, s. (b)]

21.21 (1) A record of fall-protection training required under Section 21.19 for each participant who successfully completes the training must be maintained by all of the following:

(a) the employer;

(b) any training organization that conducts the training.

(2) A record of training under this Section must include all the following information:

(a) the name of the participant;

(b) the date or dates of training;

(c) the name of the instructor;

(d) the name of the employer;

(e) the name of the training organization, if training is not conducted by the employer;

(f) a description of the training;

(g) the expiry date before which training must be renewed.

(3) Each person who takes fall-protection training required by Section 21.19 must be given a copy of their record maintained under this Section.

22.8 (1) An employer must ensure that a rope access technician engaged in rope access work is a competent person for the intended activity in accordance with the employer's code of practice.

(2) An employer must keep a record that documents how a rope access technician qualifies as a competent person under the regulations, and must ensure a copy of the record is available at the workplace at all times.

22.10 (1) A rope access technician must keep a hard copy logbook that meets all of the following criteria:

(a) it has the name of the rope access technician written on it;

(b) it is permanently bound;

(c) it has consecutively numbered pages.

(2) A rope access technician must keep their logbook at a work area at all times when they are at the work area.

(3) A rope access technician must make and sign an entry in their logbook as soon as reasonably practicable after doing rope access work and before leaving a work area.

(4) Each entry in a rope access technician's logbook must include all of the following information:

(a) the date of the work;

(b) the geographic location of the work;

(c) the name of their employer;

(d) the name of the supervisor for the work;

(e) the type of rope access equipment used;

(f) the time the work began;

(g) the duration of the work;

(h) the type of work performed;

(i) any accident, near miss or unusual incident that occurred and has the potential to affect health or safety;

(j) any factors that they consider relevant to their health or safety.

(5) A rope access technician must keep their logbook for at least 2 years after the date of the last entry in the logbook.

(6) An employer must ensure a rope access technician keeps a logbook in accordance with this Section.

23.13 (1) An employer must ensure that portable, self-propelled and self-propelled boom-supported elevating work-platforms are designed, constructed, erected, maintained, inspected, monitored and used in accordance with the latest version of the following applicable standards:

(a) CSA standard CSA B354.1 , "Portable Elevating Work Platforms";

(b) CSA standard CSA B354.2 , "Self-Propelled Elevating Work Platforms";

(c) CSA standard CSA B354.4 , "Self-Propelled, Boom-Supported Elevating Work Platforms";

(d) CSA standard CSA C225 , "Vehicle Mounted Aerial Devices".

(2) An employer must ensure that elevating work-platforms used for fire-fighting are designed, constructed, erected, maintained, inspected, monitored and used in accordance with the latest version of the following applicable standards:

(a) NFPA standard NFPA 1901, "Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus";

(b) NFPA standard NFPA 1911, "Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing and Retirement of In Service Automotive Fire Apparatus".

(3) An employer must ensure that a record of inspections, tests, repairs, modifications and maintenance activities required by the applicable standards in subsections (1) and (2) includes the name and signature of the person or persons who performed the required activities.

(4) Whether or not guardrails are also installed, before operating the equipment in subsection (1) or (2), an employer must ensure, in accordance with Part 21: Fall Protection, that fall-arrest equipment is worn and anchored to a suitable anchorage.

14. (1) An owner of a regulated crane must provide a logbook for the regulated crane.

(2) An owner of a regulated crane must ensure that a logbook for a regulated crane is kept with the crane or at a place that is easily accessed by the crane operator and a CO inspector.

(3) An owner of a regulated crane must ensure that the crane's logbook is used to record information on the crane or comments by the crane operator on the safe operation, maintenance and servicing of the crane.

17. An owner of a regulated crane must make any information requested by a CO inspector available for review for a compliance audit, including all of the following:

(a) information on the operation of the regulated crane;

(b) evidence or records of a current maintenance contract or any other information on the maintenance of the regulated crane;

(c) evidence or records related to CO certificates of competency, CO licences or endorsements.

2. (1) In these regulations,

"Act" means the Technical Safety Act;

"apprentice" means an apprentice registered under the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act and enrolled in a program under that Act to qualify to perform the regulated work of a crane operator;

"articulating boom" means a boom that is all of the following:

(i) it is typically constructed of hollow structural steel sections with each section of a smaller cross-section housed inside the next larger section,

(ii) it is supported and raised or lowered by a hydraulic cylinder attached to the boom and crane superstructure,

(iii) it can be increased or diminished in length by telescoping each section of boom through hydraulic actuation,

(iv) it is capable of articulating or pivoting, at multiple points along the boom, in the vertical plane using hydraulic actuation,

(v) it is capable of including a winch for lifting a load;

"boom" means a structural arm that supports, lifts, moves or guides a load by means of a rope, cable, block, hook or other rigging hardware;

"boom truck" means a lifting device that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it is mounted on and powered by 1 of the following:

(A) a commercial truck chassis with a carrying deck designed to carry a payload,

(B) a truck tractor semi-trailer,

(ii) it has a rated lifting capacity of more than 4.5 tonnes (5 tons),

(iii) it has a telescoping or articulating boom;

"bridge" means that part of an overhead travelling crane that carries the trolley or trolleys across a horizontal plane and meets all the following criteria:

(i) it has 1 or more girders,

(ii) it has 1 or more trucks,

(iii) it has a drive mechanism;

"CO certificate of competency" means a certificate of competency granted to an individual under Section 26 of the Act by the CO chief inspector in recognition of the individual's qualifications to perform the regulated work the class of certificate covers;

"CO chief inspector" means the inspector designated as the chief inspector for the purposes of the Act and these regulations;

"CO fees" means the fees for crane operator services set by the Minister in the Technical Safety Fees Regulations made under the Act;

"CO inspector" means an inspector designated for the purposes of the Act and these regulations;

"CO licence" means a licence granted to an individual under Section 23 of the Act that authorizes the individual to perform regulated work according to the class of licence and as specified in the licence;

"CO standards" means the standards for crane operators established or adopted by the Minister in the Technical Safety Standards Regulations made under the Act;

"crane operator" means an individual who holds a CO licence and any endorsement required under these regulations, or is deemed to hold a CO licence under Section 52 of the Act;

"designated rigger" means an individual designated by an owner of a regulated crane to perform the rigging for a lift with the crane;

"direct supervision", in relation to a trainee, means that the trainee is supervised by a crane operator who

(i) has control over the trainee's activities,

(ii) instructs and directs the trainee, and

(iii) is able to be in direct communication with the trainee whenever the trainee is performing the duties of a crane operator;

"endorsement" means an authorization granted to an individual under Section 22 of the Act by the CO chief inspector, in conjunction with either a CO certificate of competency or a CO licence, that authorizes the individual to perform regulated work according to the type and class of endorsement;

"lattice boom" means a boom that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it is typically constructed of tubular or structural steel chords with steel lacings that interconnect to form a rigid frame,

(ii) it is supported by a gantry or mast,

(iii) it is raised or lowered by a series of wire ropes and sheaves attached to the gantry or mast and to the lifting device's superstructure,

(iv) it can be increased or diminished in length by manually adding or removing sections;

"lattice boom crane" means a mobile crane that is equipped with a lattice boom;

"logbook" means a bound book with numbered pages or a record kept in electronic format approved by the CO chief inspector that is used for keeping a record of the operation, inspections, testing, maintenance and servicing performed on a regulated crane;

"mobile crane" means a lifting device that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it is equipped with a lattice or telescoping boom,

(ii) it is mounted on a chassis or structure designed specifically to carry or transport the lifting device,

(iii) it is mounted on a turret or turntable designed to rotate the lifting device in the horizontal plane,

(iv) it has a manufacturer's rated lifting capacity of more than 4.5 tonnes (5 tons);

"monorail" means the part of an overhead travelling crane that carriers the trolley or trolleys in 1 or more directions and meets all the following criteria:

(i) it has 1 overhead beam,

(ii) it has a truck,

(iii) it can have a drive mechanism;

"operator's seat" means the place where a crane operator is located to operate the controls for a regulated crane to hoist or control the movement of the load for the crane;

"overhead travelling crane" means a lifting device that is used for raising, lowering, transporting or moving material and meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it is mounted on wheels,

(ii) it travels overhead on rails or beams that are either fixed overhead or supported from the ground,

(iii) it incorporates a power-driven drum and bridge and a cable or rope,

(iv) it uses a bridge and trolley, or monorail and trolley, and a winch for moving a load in the vertical and horizontal planes,

(v) it has a rated lifting capacity of more than 9.1 tonnes (10 tons);

"rated lifting capacity" means the rated lifting capacity specified by the manufacturer that is the maximum load lifting capacity at the highest lifting angle that can be attained by the crane at the minimum load lifting radius;

"regulated crane" means a crane prescribed as a regulated product in clauses 3(a) to (f);

"rigging" means performing a load calculation and selecting, configuring or installing the rigging hardware between the point of lift of the crane and a load;

"rigging hardware" means a device or devices used to attach a load to the point of lift of a crane and includes chains, cables, wires, ropes, webbing, buckets, grapples, shackles, hooks, rings or slings used by the devices;

"self-erecting tower crane" means a portable tower crane that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it is capable of self-erection by means of articulation from a position for transport to a position for operation,

(ii) it does not require a concrete base to support the crane,

(iii) it has a rated lifting capacity of less than 40 meter tonne (144.3 feet ton),

(iv) it operates by remote control or pendant control;

"supervision" means supervision by an individual who is able to be immediately contacted by the individual requiring supervision;

"telescoping boom" means a boom that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it is constructed of hollow structural steel sections with each section of a smaller crosssection housed inside the next larger section,

(ii) it is supported and is raised or lowered by a hydraulic cylinders attached to the boom and the lifting device's superstructure,

(iii) its length can be increased or diminished by telescoping each section of boom through hydraulic actuation,

(iv) it can include a winch to lift a load;

"trainee" means an individual, including an apprentice, who is in a training program and actively pursuing a CO certificate of competency or a certificate of competency to perform the regulated work of a crane operator;

"tower crane" means a lifting device that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) it incorporates a power-driven drum with a cable or rope and a vertical mast or tower,

(ii) it has either a stationary boom with a trolley or a luffing boom or jib,

(iii) it is the travelling, fixed, articulating, telescoping or climbing type,

(iv) it is used exclusively for raising, lowering, transporting or moving material,

(v) it is designed so that it can be assembled and disassembled for use at various sites,

(vi) it is not a mobile crane outfitted as a tower crane.

(2) A term defined in Section 2 of the Technical Safety General Regulations made under the Act has the same meaning when used in these regulations.