Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Area Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/2021-248)

Marginal note:Prohibitions

166 It is prohibited to carry out the following diving activities at or from any workplace:

• (a) diving using a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA); and

• (b) surface-supplied diving using a breathing mixture that contains helium.

Marginal note:Instruction

167 The instruction that every dive contractor must provide to all dive team members includes instruction on the hazards of diving in cold water and the appropriate emergency response to any loss of heating to a diver, their breathing mixture or their equipment.

Marginal note:Dive safety specialists

• 168 (1) The operator of a workplace from which a dive project is to be carried out and the dive contractor that exercises direction and control over the diving operations at that workplace must each designate in writing a competent person as a dive safety specialist, to be present at the workplace for the duration of the dive project and be available during all dives to advise on any matter related to the safety of the project

• Marginal note:Requirements

  (2) Each dive safety specialist must

  • (a) conform to the competencies set out for offshore dive safety specialists in CSA Group standard Z275.4, Competency standard for diving, hyperbaric chamber, and remotely operated vehicle operations; and

  • (b) have no other duties that will interfere with their ability to provide prompt advice.

• Marginal note:Independence

  (3) The dive safety specialist designated by the operator must be independent of the dive contractor and the dive safety specialist designated by the dive contractor must be independent of the operator.

• Marginal note:Different persons

  (4) The same person may not be designated as a dive safety specialist by both the operator and dive contractor in respect of the same dive project.

Marginal note:Emergency response plan

• 169 (1) The emergency response plan developed under section 18 in respect of a workplace from which a dive project is carried out must include provisions developed by the dive contractor — in consultation with the dive safety specialists for the project and, as the case may be, the installation manager referred to in section 198.2 of the Act or the offshore construction manager and dive vessel master — that

  • (a) set out procedures for responding to all vessel or dive system emergencies that have the potential to compromise divers’ safety;

  • (b) set out procedures for responding to chamber system emergencies, including fire, loss of pressure, atmospheric contamination and life-support system malfunction;

  • (c) set out procedures to be followed in the case of any loss of communication;

  • (d) set out procedures for ensuring that any emergency at the workplace does not impede the provision of life support to divers, including during evacuation, recovery, decompression and observation for decompression sickness;

  • (e) set out procedures in relation to the rescue of a diver;

  • (f) if the dive project involves saturation diving, set out procedures

    • (i) for locating and recovering a lost diving bell,

    • (ii) for responding to the loss of atmospheric pressure within a diving bell, and

    • (iii) in relation to emergency hyperbaric evacuation, including the recovery and transport to a hyperbaric reception facility of self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboats, their reception at that facility and the replenishment of resources on the lifeboats; and

  • (g) address any other matters that are necessary for preparing for and responding to emergencies that have the potential to compromise divers’ safety.

• Marginal note:Procedures

  (2) The dive contractor must ensure that detailed emergency response procedures covering all reasonably foreseeable emergencies are readily available to all persons at the workplace who may have a role in carrying them out.

• Marginal note:Availability of plan

  (3) In addition to conforming to subsection 18(3), every dive contractor must ensure that the emergency response plan for the workplace from which the dive project for which it exercises direction or control over diving operations is carried out is made readily available to all persons, including those not at the workplace, who may have a role in responding to a dive emergency.

Marginal note:Emergency drills and exercises

170 The plan established under section 30 for any workplace from which a dive project is carried out must include provisions, developed by the dive contractor, requiring the conduct of exercises and drills with respect to all reasonably foreseeable dive emergencies, including

• (a) diver evacuation drills — including, if the dive project involves saturation diving, drills involving the boarding of a self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat — to be conducted prior to the first dive being carried out under the dive project and then at least once a month;

• (b) exercises involving the simulation by the members of the dive team of the procedures for dealing with a diver who has suffered injury or decompression sickness, including communication with a specialized dive physician, to be conducted at least once a month;

• (c) if the dive project involves the use of dynamic positioning equipment, drills completed on the diving vessel simulating the loss of dynamic positioning capability, to be conducted at least once a month;

• (d) if the dive project involves saturation diving,

  • (i) drills involving the location and recovery of a lost diving bell, to be conducted prior to the first dive being carried out under the dive project and then at least once every three months, and

  • (ii) drills involving the launch and manoeuvring of self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboats, to be conducted at least once every six months; and

• (e) drills or exercises in respect of all other reasonably foreseeable diving emergencies, to be conducted at least once a month.

Marginal note:Dive project plan

• 171 (1) Every dive contractor must, in respect of each dive project for which it exercises direction or control over the diving operations, in consultation with the dive safety specialists for the project and, as the case may be, the installation manager referred to in section 198.2 of the Act or the offshore construction manager and dive vessel master, establish, maintain and implement a written dive project plan that sets out, in detail, all operational and safety elements of the proposed dive project, including

  • (a) a description of each dive to be carried out that includes an indication of

    • (i) the diving technique to be used,

    • (ii) the tasks to be carried out,

    • (iii) any specialized equipment to be used,

    • (iv) the estimated and maximum time to be spent at each depth,

    • (v) the number of divers involved, and

    • (vi) the hours each diver will be expected to work, including the frequency and duration of their breaks;

  • (b) the composition of the dive team and the qualifications and any specialized training required of its members;

  • (c) the hierarchy of command for the project;

  • (d) a list of legislation, standards and codes of practice that are applicable to any aspect of the dive project;

  • (e) a list of all vessels to be used in the dive project, including rescue vessels to be on standby;

  • (f) the decompression tables to be used;

  • (g) the types of equipment, including personal protective equipment, that are to be worn or used by members of the dive team and the quantity of each that is required to ensure sufficient availability for standby divers;

  • (h) procedures, approved by a specialized dive physician, for carrying out the medical checks referred to in paragraphs 172(2)(b) and (3)(b);

  • (i) schematic diagrams indicating, for each vessel to be used, the distance at various depths from a diver to the vessel’s propulsion system components and other hazards to the diver and their umbilical, as well as the corresponding safe umbilical lengths;

  • (j) a description of the diving system and any dynamic positioning equipment to be used;

  • (k) a description of the potential failure modes of the diving system and any dynamic positioning equipment to be used, the consequences of such failures and the mitigation measures to be taken, including an indication of which of the system’s or equipment’s components require redundancy, as determined on the basis of a failure modes and effects analysis;

  • (l) schedules for inspecting the diving system and its components and the positions of those responsible for carrying out those inspections;

  • (m) a description of all subsea lifts planned;

  • (n) the means of communication to be used among members of the dive team and employees on the bridge, at the dive control station and at the dynamic positioning control station, and to support the provision of medical and emergency response services, including secondary means to be used in the case of a failure of the primary means or a loss of power, and procedures to be followed in the case of a total loss of communication;

  • (o) a copy of the emergency response plan developed in respect of the workplace under section 18;

  • (p) the method by which the dive project plan is to be communicated to the dive team and any other persons who may be affected by the plan;

  • (q) procedures for managing any changes that require deviation from the plan; and

  • (r) any other information that is necessary to plan for safe diving operations.

• Marginal note:Dive team

  (2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(b), the composition of the dive team must be determined having regard to the risk assessment carried out in accordance with the occupational health and safety program and that team must include

  • (a) no fewer than two dive supervisors on shift at the dive control station at all times during a dive, with the exception of breaks, during which one supervisor may be replaced at the dive control station by another competent person;

  • (b) sufficient dive support personnel to support the divers and operate and maintain all equipment; and

  • (c) in the case of surface-supplied diving, sufficient divers to ensure the availability of standby divers who satisfy the requirements set out in paragraph 172(2)(c).

• Marginal note:Means of communication

  (3) All means of communication referred to in paragraph (1)(n) must be dedicated and continuous and, if used between a dive supervisor and diver, must

  • (a) have sufficient sound quality to permit breathing and speech to be clearly heard without distortion;

  • (b) if the diver is using a breathing mixture that contains a substance that distorts the voice, be equipped with a voice descrambler; and

  • (c) be equipped with a recording device that continuously records all transmissions while a dive is in progress.

Marginal note:Dive contractor obligations

• 172 (1) Every dive contractor must ensure, with respect to all diving operations under its direction and control, that

  • (a) the diving system used conforms to the annex to International Maritime Organization Resolution A.831(19), Code of Safety for Diving Systems, 1995;

  • (b) each member of the dive team and the pilot of any remotely operated vehicle being deployed conforms to the applicable competencies set out in CSA Group standard Z275.4, Competency standard for diving, hyperbaric chamber, and remotely operated vehicle operations;

  • (c) each diver and dive supervisor holds a valid standard first aid certificate or advanced first aid certificate and a valid certificate in first aid oxygen administration;

  • (d) each diver has been certified, within the 12-month period ending on the last day of the diving operation, as being medically fit to dive by one of the following physicians and has confirmed that their medical condition has not changed since their most recent certification:

    • (i) a physician who is licensed to practise medicine in Canada and meets the competencies of a Level 1 Physician set out in CSA Group standard Z275.4, Competency standard for diving, hyperbaric chamber, and remotely operated vehicle operations, or

    • (ii) a specialized dive physician who bases their certification on their review of a medical fitness certification issued in a jurisdiction outside of Canada within the same 12-month period;

  • (e) a specialized dive physician is readily available at all times to provide medical advice from a remote location in Nova Scotia and to be transported to the workplace, if necessary, to provide medical treatment, including to a diver in a compression chamber;

  • (f) any person performing first aid on a diver has unimpeded access to a means of communicating with the specialized dive physician;

  • (g) appropriate equipment is available at the workplace to permit the specialized dive physician, from a remote location, to

    • (i) communicate directly with a diver inside a compression chamber,

    • (ii) observe and examine a diver inside a compression chamber by means of visual and auditory aids, and

    • (iii) use available monitoring or clinical assessment technologies on a diver;

  • (h) the data transfer rate at the workplace is sufficient to permit continuous monitoring of a person inside a compression chamber and to allow the results of ongoing medical testing, such as electrocardiograms, to be transferred to the specialized dive physician, as determined through testing before the start of the diving operations;

  • (i) breathing mixtures that conform to CSA Group standard Z275.2, Operational safety code for diving operations or European Committee for Standardization (CEN) standard EN 12021, Respiratory equipment — Compressed gases for breathing apparatus are available in the quantities calculated in accordance with paragraph 165(i);

  • (j) each diver has independent primary and secondary breathing mixture supplies, each of which can be isolated from the supplies of other divers;

  • (k) breathing mixtures are available to divers at a rate appropriate to the depth and circumstances of the dive but no less than 62.5 L per minute;

  • (l) breathing mixtures are stored in compressed gas cylinders that have been certified by a competent person who is independent of the operator, dive contractor and manufacturer as being safe for that use;

  • (m) the applicable colour code referred to in paragraph 165(j) is posted in a conspicuous place in all breathing mixture storage areas;

  • (n) the oxygen content of each breathing mixture is analyzed by a member of the dive team on receipt of the mixture and immediately prior to each dive for which that mixture is to be used and any breathing mixture found to contain more than 25% oxygen by volume is handled as if it were pure oxygen;

  • (o) if a remotely operated vehicle is deployed while divers are in the water, there is a dedicated and continuous means of communication between the dive supervisor and the vehicle’s pilot and a monitor at the dive control station displays the same picture as seen by the pilot;

  • (p) if a dive is being carried out from a dynamically positioned vessel,

    • (i) the vessel is equipped with

      • (A) an indicator that continuously displays its station keeping status,

      • (B) a visual and audible alarm system that warns of station keeping status changes, and whose alarms are visible and audible on the bridge, at the dive control station and in any other location where knowledge of such a change would be important for ensuring diver safety, and

      • (C) a fixed means of communication between the vessel’s bridge and the dive control station and between the dive control station and the dynamic positioning control station that is capable of working even in the event of a total loss of power to the vessel, and

    • (ii) there is a dedicated and continuous means of communication between the dive control station and the dynamic positioning control station for the duration of the dive and employees at each station inform those at the other station immediately of any changes in operational circumstances;

  • (q) divers’ breathing patterns are continuously monitored and their activities continuously observed and recorded for the duration of each dive;

  • (r) every diver’s location in the water is continuously monitored for the duration of each dive;

  • (s) effective means of assisting and recovering divers are available for the duration of each dive;

  • (t) any dive during which a diver loses thermal balance or there is a failure of a thermal control system is immediately suspended and all divers are returned to the diving bell, if safe, or to the surface, even if the loss or failure is expected to be temporary;

  • (u) decompression is carried out only in accordance with the applicable decompression table identified in the dive project plan, except in extenuating circumstances and in consultation with a specialized dive physician;

  • (v) no diver travels by air within 24 hours after a dive or while suffering from decompression sickness, unless approved by a specialized dive physician; and

  • (w) the medical report associated with each diver’s certification under paragraph (d) is readily available, in the case of an emergency, to members of the dive team who hold a diving medical technician certificate and to the specialized dive physician referred to in paragraph (e), in an official language understood by that physician.

• Marginal note:Surface-supplied diving

  (2) If the diving operation involves surface-supplied diving, the dive contractor must also ensure that

  • (a) there is, at all times, at least one member of the dive team who holds a valid diving medical technician certificate and is not on a mandatory rest period on the surface and readily available to provide assistance to the divers;

  • (b) medical checks are carried out by a member of the dive team who holds a diving medical technician certificate, or by a medic under the direction of the specialized dive physician, on each diver at the beginning and end of each shift during which they dive;

  • (c) except in the case of an emergency, each standby diver has had 12 consecutive hours of rest since their most recent dive and has no residual inert gas in their tissue as calculated in accordance with the applicable decompression table set out in the dive project plan;

  • (d) no dive is carried out at pressures greater than 50 msw or if the partial pressure of oxygen exceeds 1.4 ATA;

  • (e) sufficient double-lock deck compression chambers that have an inside diameter of at least 1.524 m and that can accommodate all divers who need to undergo decompression at any one time, as well as all other persons needing to be in the chamber with the divers to carry out the decompression procedures or provide medical care to them, are available at the workplace to allow for decompression in accordance with the applicable decompression table identified in the dive project plan; and

  • (f) if diving occurs from a light dive craft, the time needed to transport a diver from the surface to the deck compression chamber or medical room on the primary vessel from which the light dive craft is deployed does not exceed 15 minutes.

• Marginal note:Saturation diving

  (3) If the diving operation involves saturation diving, the dive contractor must also ensure that

  • (a) each diver holds a valid diving medical technician certificate;

  • (b) medical checks are carried out by a member of the dive team who holds a diving medical technician certificate, or by a medic under the direction of the specialized dive physician, on each diver immediately before they enter the compression chamber and immediately after they exit it after decompression;

  • (c) at least two diving bells are available, each of which

    • (i) is capable of sustaining the lives of the divers in it and protecting them against hypothermia for at least 24 hours,

    • (ii) is equipped with an emergency locating device whose signals the marine installation or structure from which the dive operation is carried out, and all rescue vessels on standby, are equipped to receive and interpret,

    • (iii) has suitable protective devices fitted to its main umbilical to control loss of atmospheric pressure in the diving bell if any of the components in the umbilical are ruptured, and

    • (iv) has its internal atmosphere continuously monitored for contaminants and oxygen and carbon dioxide levels by both a primary and secondary monitoring system for the duration of each dive, with the data displayed both in the diving bell and at the dive control station, and the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels being recorded at least hourly;

  • (d) the relative humidity in all living chambers is maintained between 40% and 60% at all depths, regardless of the number of divers in the chamber;

  • (e) no pressurization is scheduled to last more than 28 days; and

  • (f) a hyperbaric evacuation system that includes the following is readily available for the evacuation and reception of all divers:

    • (i) a hyperbaric reception facility, and

    • (ii) self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboats that are equipped with a life support package sufficient to sustain the lives of the divers and for which a mating trial with the reception facility has been conducted.