Maritime Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2010-120)

Guarantees of Isolation of Electrical Equipment

• 185 (1) An employee must not give or receive a guarantee of isolation for electrical equipment unless they are authorized in writing by their employer to give or receive a guarantee of isolation.

• (2) No more than one employee is to give a guarantee of isolation for a piece of electrical equipment for a given period.

• (3) Before an employer issues a work permit, the person in charge must receive from the guarantor

  • (a) a written guarantee of isolation; or

  • (b) if owing to an emergency it is not feasible for the person in charge to receive a written guarantee of isolation, a non-written guarantee of isolation.

• (4) The written guarantee of isolation referred to in paragraph (3)(a) must be signed by the guarantor and by the person in charge and must contain the following information:

  • (a) the date and hour when the guarantee of isolation is given to the person in charge;

  • (b) the date and hour when the electrical equipment will become isolated;

  • (c) the date and hour when the isolation will be terminated, if known;

  • (d) the procedures by which isolation is assured;

  • (e) the name of the guarantor and the person in charge; and

  • (f) a statement as to whether live tests are to be performed.

• (5) If a non-written guarantee of isolation referred to in paragraph (3)(b) is given, a written record of the guarantee must, as soon as feasible, be made by the guarantor and signed by the person in charge.

• (6) A written record must contain the information referred to in subsection (4).

• (7) Every written guarantee of isolation and every written record must be

  • (a) kept by the person in charge and made readily available for examination by the employee performing the work or live test until the work or live test is completed;

  • (b) given to the employer when the work or live test is completed; and

  • (c) kept by the employer at their place of business nearest to the work place in which the electrical equipment was located when it was isolated, for a period of one year after the completion of the work or live test.

• (8) If a written guarantee of isolation or a written record of an oral guarantee of isolation is given to a person in charge and the person in charge is replaced at the work place by another person in charge before the guarantee has terminated, the other person in charge must sign the written guarantee of isolation or written record of the oral guarantee of isolation.

• (9) Before an employee gives a guarantee of isolation for electrical equipment that obtains all or any portion of its electrical energy from a source that is not under the employee’s direct control, the employee must obtain a guarantee of isolation in respect of the source from the person who is in direct control of the source and is authorized to give the guarantee in respect of that source.

Live Test

• 186 (1) An employee must not give a guarantee of isolation for the performance of a live test on isolated electrical equipment unless

  • (a) any other guarantee of isolation given in respect of the electrical equipment for any part of the period for which the guarantee of isolation is given is terminated;

  • (b) every person to whom the other guarantee of isolation referred to in paragraph (a) was given has been informed of its termination; and

  • (c) any live test to be performed on the electrical equipment will not be hazardous to the health or safety of the person performing the live test.

• (2) Every person performing a live test must warn all persons who, during or as a result of the test, are likely to be exposed to a hazard.

Termination of the Guarantee of Isolation

• 187 (1) The guarantee of isolation ends when work on, or a live test of, isolated electrical equipment is completed and the following conditions are met:

  • (a) every person in charge

    • (i) has informed the guarantor that the work or live test is completed, and

    • (ii) has made and signed a record containing the date and hour when they informed the guarantor and the name of the guarantor; and

  • (b) on receipt of the information referred to in paragraph (a), the guarantor made and signed a record containing

    • (i) the date and hour when the work or live test was completed, and

    • (ii) the name of the person in charge.

• (2) The records referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) and paragraph (1)(b) must be kept by the employer at the employer’s place of business nearest to the work place in which the electrical equipment was located when it was isolated, for a period of one year after the day on which they are signed.

Safety Grounding

• 188 (1) An employee must not attach a safety ground to electrical equipment unless they have tested the electrical equipment and have established that it is isolated.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of electrical equipment that is grounded by means of a grounding switch that is an integral part of the equipment.

• (3) Work must not be performed on any electrical equipment in an area if the following devices are found unless the device is connected to a common grounding network:

  • (a) a grounding bus;

  • (b) a station grounding network;

  • (c) a neutral conductor;

  • (d) temporary phase grounding; or

  • (e) a metal structure.

• (4) If, after the connections are made, a safety ground is required to ensure the safety of an employee working on the electrical equipment, the safety ground must be connected to the common grounding network.

• (5) Every conducting part of a safety ground on isolated electrical equipment must have sufficient current carrying capacity to conduct the maximum current that is likely to be carried on any part of the equipment for the time that is necessary to permit operation of any device that is installed on the electrical equipment so that, in the event of a short circuit or other electrical current overload, the electrical equipment is automatically disconnected from its source of electrical energy.

• (6) A safety ground must not be attached to or disconnected from isolated electrical equipment except in accordance with the following requirements:

  • (a) the safety ground must, if feasible, be attached to the pole, structure, apparatus or other thing to which the electrical equipment is attached;

  • (b) all isolated conductors, neutral conductors and non-insulated surfaces of the electrical equipment must be short-circuited, electrically bonded together and attached by a safety ground to a point of safety grounding in a manner that establishes equal voltage on all surfaces that can be touched by persons who work on the electrical equipment;

  • (c) the safety ground must be attached by means of mechanical clamps that are tightened securely and are in direct contact with bare metal;

  • (d) the safety ground must be secured so that none of its parts can accidentally make contact with any live electrical equipment;

  • (e) the safety ground must be attached and disconnected using insulated protection equipment and tools;

  • (f) the safety ground must, before it is attached to isolated electrical equipment, be attached to a point of safety grounding; and

  • (g) the safety ground must, before it is disconnected from the point of safety grounding, be removed from the isolated electrical equipment in a manner that the employee avoids contact with all live conductors.

• (7) For the purposes of subsection (6), a point of safety grounding means a grounding bus, a station grounding network, a neutral conductor, a metal structure or an aerial ground.

PART 16Hot Work Operations

Definition

189 In this Part, hot work means any work where flame is used or a source of ignition may be produced.

General

190 If hot work is to be performed,

• (a) a qualified person must be assigned to patrol the working area and the adjoining areas and maintain a fire protection watch of the area for the duration of the work and, if necessary, as determined by the qualified person, for a period of 30 minutes after the work is completed; and

• (b) a sufficient number of fire extinguishers shall be provided in the working area and the adjoining areas.

191 Hot work must not be performed in a working area where

• (a) flammable gas, vapour or dust may be present in the atmosphere, unless the area has been freed of gas, tested by a marine chemist or other qualified person, and found to be safe for that work to be performed in the area; and

• (b) an explosive or flammable substance may be present in the working area, unless a marine chemist or other qualified person has ensured that adequate protection exists to permit that work to be safely performed in the area.

• 192 (1) Electrical welding equipment cables and gas welding or burning equipment cylinders and pipes must be placed clear of areas used for vehicles unless adequate protection for the cables, cylinders and pipes is provided.

• (2) Gas cylinders of welding and burning equipment must be placed securely in an upright position when in use.

193 Before equipment used for hot work is left unattended, the person in charge of the working area must ensure that the equipment is in a safe condition.

Ventilation Equipment

194 If a hazardous substance may be produced in a work area as a result of hot work

• (a) the work area must be well ventilated; or

• (b) any person in the work area must wear respiratory protective equipment.

• 195 (1) The concentration of any chemical agent to which a person is likely to be exposed in a work area must not be more than

  • (a) the value referred to in subsection 255(1); or

  • (b) the percentage referred to in subsection 255(5).

• (2) The concentration in a work area of airborne hazardous substances, other than chemical agents, must not be hazardous to the health or safety of the person in the area.

196 The percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere in a working area must not be less than 19.5 per cent or more than 23 per cent by volume at normal atmospheric pressure and in no case is the partial pressure of oxygen to be less than 148 mm Hg.

• 197 (1) If ventilation equipment is used to maintain the concentration of an airborne hazardous substance below or at the value or percentage referred to in section 195 or the percentage of oxygen in the air of a confined space within the limits referred to in section 196, the employer is prohibited from granting any person access to the work area, unless

  • (a) the ventilation equipment is

    • (i) equipped with an alarm that will, if the equipment fails, be activated automatically and be audible or visible to any person in the working area, or

    • (ii) monitored by an employee who is in constant attendance at the equipment; and

  • (b) in the event of a failure of the ventilation equipment, sufficient time will be available for a person to escape from the working area before one of the following occurs:

    • (i) that person’s exposure to or the concentration of a hazardous substance in the work area is more than the value or percentage prescribed in section 195, or

    • (ii) the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere ceases to meet the requirements of section 196.

• (2) The employee referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(ii) must activate an alarm in the event of faulty operation of the ventilation equipment.

PART 17Boilers and Pressure Vessels

Application

198 This Part does not apply in respect of

• (a) a heating boiler that has a wetted heating surface of 3 m² or less;

• (b) a pressure vessel that has a capacity of 40 l or less;

• (c) a pressure vessel that is installed for use at a pressure of one atmosphere of pressure or less;

• (d) a pressure vessel that has an internal diameter of 152 mm or less;

• (e) a pressure vessel that has an internal diameter of 610 mm or less and that is used to store hot water;

• (f) a pressure vessel that has an internal diameter of 610 mm or less connected to a water pumping system and that contains compressed air which serves as a cushion;

• (g) a hydropneumatic tank that has an internal diameter of 610 mm or less; or

• (h) a refrigeration plant that has a capacity of 18 kW or less.

199 [Repealed, SOR/2023-257, s. 422]

Use, Operation and Maintenance

200 An employer must ensure that a qualified person, charged with the operation of a boiler, is in attendance and readily available at all times while the boiler is in operation.

PART 18Tools and Machinery

Interpretation

201 The following definitions apply in this Part.

explosive-actuated fastening tool

explosive-actuated fastening tool means a tool that, by means of an explosive force, propels or discharges a fastener for the purpose of impinging it on or causing it to penetrate another object or material. (pistolet de scellement à cartouches explosives)

fire hazard area

fire hazard area means an area that contains or is likely to contain an explosive or flammable concentration of a hazardous substance. (endroit présentant un risque d’incendie)

Application

202 This Part applies to machines, tools and guards.

Design, Construction and Operation of Tools

• 203 (1) The exterior surface of any tool used by an employee in a fire hazard area must be made of non-sparking material.

• (2) All portable electric tools used by employees must meet the CSA Standard CAN/CSA-C22.2 NO. 71.1-M89 (R2004), Portable Electric Tools.

• (3) All portable electric tools used by employees must be grounded except when the tools

  • (a) are powered by a self-contained battery;

  • (b) have a protective system of double insulation; or

  • (c) are used in a location where reliable grounding cannot be obtained if the tools are supplied from a double insulated portable ground fault circuit interrupter of the class A type that meets the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN/CSA-C22.2 NO. 144-M91 (R2006), Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters.

• (4) All portable electric tools used by employees in a fire hazard area must be marked as appropriate for use or designed for use in a fire hazard area.

• (5) If an air hose is connected to a portable air-powered tool used by an employee, a restraining device must be attached

  • (a) to all hose connections; and

  • (b) if an employee may be injured by the tool falling, to the tool.

• (6) All explosive-actuated fastening tools used by employees must meet and be operated in accordance with the standards set out in CSA Standard Z166-1975, Explosive Actuated Fastening Tools.

• (7) An employee must not operate an explosive-actuated fastening tool unless authorized to do so by their employer.

• (8) All chain saws used by employees must meet the standards set out in CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z62.1-03 (R2008), Chain Saws.