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Codes, Regulations, and Industry Standards
Under the Building Code Act, 1992
Ontario’s Building Code | ontario.ca
Ministry of Labour / Ministère du Travail (gov.on.ca)
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) | ontario.ca
O. Reg. 332/12: Building Code
4.4.4.1. Anchor Systems on Building Exterior
(1) Where suspended maintenance and window cleaning operations are intended to be carried out on the exterior of a building described in Article 1.1.2.2. of Division A, anchor systems shall be provided where any portion of the roof is more than 8 m above adjacent ground level.
(2) Except as provided in Sentence (3), the anchor systems in Sentence (1) shall be designed, installed and tested in conformance with CAN/CSA-Z91, “Health and Safety Code for Suspended Equipment Operations”.
(3) Other anchor systems may be used where such systems provide an equal level of safety.
(4) The anchor system material shall be made of stainless steel, or other corrosion resistant base material, or from steel that is hot dipped galvanised, in accordance with CAN/CSA-G164-M, “Hot Dip Galvanising of Irregularly Shaped Articles”.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
O. Reg. 213/91: Construction Projects
Part II – General Construction
Protective Clothing, Equipment and Devices (Section 26)
26. Sections 26.1 to 26.9 apply where a worker may be exposed to any of the following hazards:
1. Falling more than 3 metres.
2. Falling more than 1.2 metres, if the work area is used as a path for a wheelbarrow or similar equipment.
3. Falling into operating machinery.
4. Falling into water or another liquid.
5. Falling into or onto a hazardous substance or object.
6. Falling through an opening on a work surface. O. Reg. 145/00, s. 12; O. Reg. 85/04, s. 4; O. Reg. 345/15, s. 4.
26.1 (1) A worker shall be adequately protected by a guardrail system that meets the requirements of subsections 26.3 (2) to (8). O. Reg. 145/00, s. 12.
(2) Despite subsection (1), if it is not practicable to install a guardrail system as that subsection requires, a worker shall be adequately protected by the highest ranked method that is practicable from the following ranking of fall protection methods:
1. A travel restraint system that meets the requirements of section 26.4.
2. A fall restricting system that meets the requirements of section 26.5.
3. A fall arrest system, other than a fall restricting system designed for use in wood pole climbing, that meets the requirements of section 26.6.
4. A safety net that meets the requirements of section 26.8. O. Reg. 145/00, s. 12; O. Reg. 85/04, s. 5 (1); O. Reg. 345/15, s. 5 (1).
(3) The components of any system listed in subsection (2) shall be designed by a professional engineer in accordance with good engineering practice, and shall meet the requirements of any of the following National Standards of Canada standards that are applicable:
1. CAN/CSA-Z259.1-05: Body Belts and Saddles for Work Positioning and Travel Restraint.
2. CAN/CSA-Z259.2.5-12: Fall Arresters and Vertical Lifelines.
3. CAN/CSA-Z259.2.2-98 (R2004): Self-Retracting Devices for Personal Fall-Arrest Systems.
4. CAN/CSA-Z259.2.3-99 (R2004): Descent Control Devices.
5. CAN/CSA-Z259.10-06: Full Body Harnesses.
6. CAN/CSA-Z259.11-05: Energy Absorbers and Lanyards.
7. CAN/CSA-Z259.12-01 (R2006): Connecting Components for Personal Fall Arrest Systems (PFAS).
8. CAN/CSA-Z259.14-01 (R2007): Fall Restrict Equipment for Wood Pole Climbing. O. Reg. 85/04, s. 5 (2); O. Reg. 443/09, s. 1; O. Reg. 345/15, s. 5 (2).
(4) Before any use of a fall arrest system or a safety net by a worker at a project, the worker’s employer shall develop written procedures for rescuing the worker after his or her fall has been arrested. O. Reg. 145/00, s. 12.
Access at Heights (Section 125)
125. (1) Where work cannot be done on or from the ground or from a building or other permanent structure without hazard to workers, a worker shall be provided with a scaffold, a suspended work platform, a boatswain’s chair or a multi-point suspended work platform that meets the requirements of this Regulation. O. Reg. 242/16, s. 9.
(2) A worker who is on or under a scaffold, a suspended work platform system or a multi-point suspended work platform while it is being erected, altered or dismantled shall be on a part of the scaffold, suspended work platform system or multi-point suspended work platform that meets the requirements of this Regulation. O. Reg. 242/16, s. 9.
• Suspended Work Platforms and Boatswain’s Chairs (Sections: 126-136.0.1)
R.R.O 1990, Reg. 851: Industrial Establishments
85. Where a worker is exposed to the hazard of falling and the surface to which he or she might fall is more than three metres below the position where he or she is situated,
(a) the worker shall wear a serviceable safety belt or harness and lifeline that is adequately secured to a fixed support and so arranged that the worker cannot fall freely for a vertical distance of more than 1.5 metres; and
(b) the fall arrest system described in clause (a) shall,
(i) have sufficient capacity to absorb twice the energy and twice the load that under the circumstances of its use may be transmitted to it, and
(ii) be equipped with a shock absorber or other devices to limit the maximum arresting force to 8.0 kilonewtons to the worker. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 851, s. 85; O. Reg. 420/10, s. 14.
Fixed Access Ladders:
Engineering Data Sheet 2 – 04
3.4 Safety Cages:
With an elevated access, a cage shall be provided where the top of the ladder is greater than 5 metres above ground level, roof or floor and where there is a danger of a worker falling from the ladder to the ground level, roof or floor, even if the length of the climb is less than 5 metres. (See Fig. 3 and 4. and also clause 18(1)(d) of Reg. 851)
R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 859: Window Cleaning
Duties of the Owner of a Building
39. (1) Every owner of a building where a suspended scaffold, boatswain’s chair or similar single-point suspension equipment is to be used for window cleaning shall prepare a sketch or sketches showing all anchor points and related structures on the building that are suitable and adequate for the attachment of the suspended scaffold, boatswain’s chair or similar single-point suspension equipment and the lifeline.
(2) The building owner shall provide a copy of the sketch or sketches mentioned in subsection (1) to the person supplying the window cleaning services before the work is begun and no employer may permit a worker to engage in window cleaning using a suspended scaffold, boatswain’s chair or similar single-point suspension equipment until the employer has received a copy of the sketch or sketches.
(3) The building owner shall post a copy of the sketch or sketches mentioned in subsection (1) at the building near the entrance to the roof. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 859, s. 39.