Workers using fall protection equipment must have training starting in 2012
Starting next year, Newfoundland and Labrador workers using fall protection equipment must have fall protection training, according to the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission (WHSCC).
Newfoundland and Labrador Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, section 139 says a worker shall not use fall protection equipment after Jan. 1, 2012 unless he has completed a fall protection training program prescribed by the WHSCC.
"Fall protection is required for workers who work at three metres or more above the nearest safe surface or water, above a surface or thing that could cause injury if the worker were to fall, or above an open pit, tank or vat containing a hazardous substance," according to the WHSCC. "Fall protection includes a harness, net, rope, body belt, structure or other equipment and or device that will restrain a worker who is at risk of falling or stop a worker who has fallen."
Training must be a minimum of 16 hours and consist of eight hours of theory and eight hours of individualized practical training.
Workers will be required to re-certify every three years. Recertification will consist of four hours of theory review and four hours for practical exercises.
The fall protection training must be administered by an approved organization. The three approved administrators are the Atlantic Safety Centre in St. John's, the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety Association in Mount Pearl and Rogers Enterprises Ltd. in Paradise.
