4 Fall Protection Requirements

NS Fall Protection Requirements^[1]

The Nova Scotia Workplace Health & Safety Regulations require fall protection if a person is at risk of falling from a work area where the fall distance is

1. 3 m or more above a safe surface or water;
2. Less than 3 m and the work area is above 1 of the following:
   1. a surface or thing that could cause injury to the person on contact that is worse than an injury from landing on a solid, flat surface,
   2. above an exposed material, such as in an open tank, pit or vat.

In other words, fall protection is automatically required where a person is exposed to the hazard of a fall equal to or greater than 3.0 meters. Fall protection may also be required at lower heights, depending on the surface conditions below.

If fall protection is required, at least one of the following must be used:

• A guardrail
• Temporary flooring
• A personal safety net
• A travel restraint system
• A fall arrest system

Federal Fall Protection Requirements^[2]

12.07(1)Subject to subsection (2), an employer must provide or put in place a fall-protection system if work is to be performed

1. from a structure or on a vehicle at a height of 3 m or more;
2. from a ladder at a height of 3 m or more if, because of the nature of the work, the person performing it is unable to use at least one hand to hold onto the ladder; or
3. at a height of less than 3 m if the surface onto which the person might fall would present a greater risk of injury than a solid, flat surface.

Fall-protection system means a system that is designed and configured to eliminate or reduce the risk of a person falling, restrain a person who is at risk of falling or arrest a person’s fall. The system may be composed of one or more of the following:

1. passive fall-protection system;
2. fall-restraint system;
3. fall-arrest system;
4. fall hazard zone system

12.07 (2)If an employee is required to work on a vehicle and it is not feasible to provide or put in place a fall-protection system, an employer must

1. in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative,
   1. perform a job safety analysis to eliminate or minimize the need for the employee to climb onto the vehicle or its load, and
   2. provide every employee who could be required to climb onto the vehicle or its load with instruction and training by a qualified person on the safe method of climbing onto it and working there;
2. make a report in writing to the Minister setting out the reasons why it is not feasible to provide or put in place a fall-protection system and include in that report the job safety analysis and a description of the instruction and training referred to in paragraph (a); and
3. provide a copy of the report referred to in paragraph (b) to the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative.

(3) The job safety analysis, instruction and training referred to in paragraph(2)(a) must be reviewed every two years in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative.