Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

Positioning the Load

• 14.34 (1) If motorized or manual materials handling equipment is travelling with a raised or suspended load, its operator shall ensure that the load is carried as close as possible to the ground or floor and shall not in any case transport the load at or beyond the point at which the loaded equipment becomes unstable.

• (2) Any load, other than bulk materials, that would likely slide on or fall from motorized or manual materials handling equipment resulting in a hazardous condition shall be secured to prevent such movement.

Tools

14.35 Tools, tool boxes or spare parts that are carried on motorized or manual materials handling equipment shall be securely stored.

Housekeeping

14.36 The floor, cab and other occupied parts of motorized materials handling equipment shall be kept free of any grease, oil, materials, tools, equipment or other hazards that may cause an employee to slip or trip or may create a fire hazard or otherwise interfere with the safe operation of the equipment.

Parking

• 14.37 (1) No motorized or manual materials handling equipment shall be parked in a corridor, aisle, doorway or other place where it may interfere with the safe movement of persons, materials, goods or things.

• (2) Where motorized or manual materials handling equipment is required to enter or exit a vehicle other than a railway car to load or unload materials, goods or things to or from the vehicle, the vehicle shall be immobilized and secured against accidental movement, by means additional to the vehicle’s braking system.

• (3) Where motorized or manual materials handling equipment is required to enter or exit a railway car to load or unload materials, goods or things to or from the railway car, the railway car shall be immobilized.

• (4) Any motorized materials handling equipment that is left unattended shall be immobilized against accidental movement, by applying a parking brake or other braking device.

Materials Handling Area

• 14.38 (1) In this section, materials handling area means an area within which materials handling equipment may create a hazard to any person.

• (2) An employer shall cause warning signs to be posted, or a signaller to be in control, at the approaches to any materials handling area while materials handling operations are in progress.

• (3) Only the following persons may enter a materials handling area while materials handling operations are in progress:

  • (a) the Minister;

  • (b) an employee whose presence in the materials handling area is essential to the conduct, supervision or safety of the materials handling operations; or

  • (c) a person who has been authorized by the employer to be in the materials handling area while materials handling operations are in progress.

• (4) If any person other than a person referred to in subsection (3) enters a materials handling area, the employer shall cause the materials handling operations in the immediate vicinity of the unauthorized person to be immediately discontinued and to remain discontinued until the person has left that materials handling area.

Hazard Areas

• 14.39 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no motorized or manual materials handling equipment shall be used in an area in which it may contact an electrical cable, a pipeline containing a hazardous substance or any other hazard known to the employer, unless the employer has informed the operator of the presence and location of the hazard and of the safety clearance that the operator must maintain with respect to the hazard.

• (2) Where an employer is unable to determine with reasonable certainty the location of an electrical cable or a pipeline containing a hazardous substance, the electrical cable shall be de-energized or the pipeline shut down and drained before any activity involving the use of motorized materials handling equipment commences within the area of possible contact with the electrical cable or the pipeline.

Rear Dumping

14.40 If rear-dumping motorized materials handling equipment is used to discharge a load at the edge of a sudden drop in grade level that may cause the equipment to tip and in order to prevent the motorized materials handling equipment from tipping,

• (a) a bumping block shall be used; or

• (b) a signaller shall give directions to the operator of the equipment.

Fuelling

14.41 Where motorized materials handling equipment is fuelled in a work place, a qualified person shall do the fuelling in accordance with procedures referred to in subsection 14.23(1) in a place that is well ventilated so that the vapours from the fuel will be dissipated quickly.

Ropes, Slings and Chains

• 14.42 (1) The employer shall, with respect to the use and maintenance of any rope, sling or chain or any attachment or fitting thereon used by an employee, adopt and implement the recommendations set out in Chapter 10 of the Accident Prevention Manual for Business and Industry, 10th edition, published by the National Safety Council of the United States, dated 1992.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to ropes, slings or chains or to any attachments or fittings thereon that comply with the requirements of the Tackle Regulations.

Safe Working Loads

• 14.43 (1) Motorized or manual materials handling equipment shall be legibly marked with sufficient information so as to enable the operator to determine its safe working load.

• (2) No motorized or manual materials handling equipment shall be used with a load that exceeds its safe working load.

Aisles and Corridors

• 14.44 (1) An employer shall provide a clearly marked pathway for the exclusive use of pedestrians and persons using wheelchairs and other similar devices that is not less than 750 mm wide along one side of an aisle, corridor or other course of travel that is found in a work place and that

  • (a) is a principal traffic route for mobile equipment, pedestrians and persons using wheelchairs and other similar devices; and

  • (b) exceeds 15 m in length.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply where a signaller or traffic lights are provided for the purpose of controlling traffic and protecting persons.

• (3) Where an aisle, corridor or other course of travel that is a principal traffic route in a work place intersects with another route, an employer shall cause warning signs marked with the words “DANGEROUS INTERSECTION — CROISEMENT DANGEREUX”, in letters not less than 50 mm in height on a contrasting background, to be posted along the approaches to the intersection.

• (4) At blind corners, mirrors shall be installed that permit a mobile equipment operator to see a pedestrian, a person using a wheelchair or other similar device, a vehicle or mobile equipment approaching the blind corner.

Clearances

• 14.45 (1) In any passageway that is regularly travelled by motorized or manual materials handling equipment, the employer shall ensure that

  • (a) an overhead clearance is at least 150 mm above

    • (i) that part of the materials handling equipment or its load that is the highest when the materials handling equipment is in its highest normal operating position at the point of clearance, and

    • (ii) the top of the head of the operator or any other employee required to ride on the materials handling equipment when occupying the highest normal position for the operator or employee at the point of clearance; and

  • (b) a side clearance is sufficiently wide to permit the motorized or manual materials handling equipment and its load to be manoeuvred safely by an operator, but in no case less than 150 mm on each side measured from the furthest projecting part of the equipment or its load, when the equipment is being operated in a normal manner.

• (2) Where an overhead clearance measured in accordance with subparagraph (l)(a)(i) or (ii) is less than 300 mm, the employer shall cause

  • (a) the top of the doorway or object that restricts the clearance to be marked with a distinguishing colour or mark; and

  • (b) the height of the passageway in metres to be shown near the top of the passageway in letters that are not less than 50 mm in height and are on a contrasting background.

• (3) Subparagraph (l)(a)(i) and subsection (2) do not apply in respect of

  • (a) motorized materials handling equipment whose course of travel is controlled by fixed rails or guides;

  • (b) that portion of the route of any motorized or manual materials handling equipment that is inside a railway car, truck or trailer truck, including the warehouse doorway leading directly to it; or

  • (c) a load the nature of which precludes compliance with that subparagraph or subsection if precautions are taken to prevent contact with objects that may restrict the movement of the equipment.