Fall Protection Requirements in Ontario

QUESTION

When is it mandatory to provide fall protection for workers who work on ladders or other high surfaces?  

Thanks

— Ontario Company, Name withheld

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Whether vertical fall protection is required varies slightly depending on which OHS Regulation you’re subject to. Keep in mind that in Ontario, work involving vertical fall hazards is often deemed “construction” work regulated under the Ontario OHS Construction Projects Regulation. This is true even if the work takes place at a non-construction site, like a warehouse or factory.  In other words, it’s the type of work done rather than the site that determines which OHS rules apply.

3 Fall Protection Factors

Under the Ontario OHS Construction Project Reg., the need for fall protection depends on 3 sets of factors:

  1. How High Up the Worker Is—the 3-Metre Rule

Employers must provide fall protection to workers at risk of falling a vertical distance of more than 3 metres (9.84 feet).

  1. Where the Falling Worker Might Land

Fall protection is required for workers at risk of falling 1.25 metres (4.1 feet) or more if the work area is used as a path for wheelbarrows or similar equipment and at any vertical distance if the worker is at risk of falling:

  • Into operating machinery;
  • Into water or another liquid; or
  • Into or onto a hazardous substance or object;
  • Through an opening on a work surface; or
  • When getting on or off
  1. What the Worker May Off or Through

Fall protection is also required for workers at risk of falling any vertical distance if the worker is at risk of falling:

  • Through an opening on a work surface; or
  • When getting on or off a suspended platform, suspended scaffold or boatswain’s chair.

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I hope this helps.

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