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Newfoundland Legislation

 

Newfoundland and Labrador Manual Material Handling

This material has been extracted from the Acts and Regulations of the Province to help students understand the subject. It is not an official source of information and must not be used for any other purpose.

Copyright © 2009: Queen's Printer, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2009

under the

Occupational Health and Safety Act

(O.C. 2009-233)

 

General duties of employers

14. (1) An employer shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that all buildings, structures, whether permanent or temporary, excavation, machinery, workstations, places of employment and equipment are capable of withstanding the stresses likely to be imposed upon them and of safely performing the functions for which they are used or intended.

(2) An employer shall ensure that necessary protective clothing and devices are used for the health and safety of his or her workers.

(3) The employer shall ensure that safe work procedures are followed at all workplaces.

(4) An employer shall ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that work procedures promote the safe interaction of workers and their work environment to minimize the potential for injury.

Musculoskeletal injury prevention

50. (1) For the purpose of this section and sections 51 to 54 , "musculoskeletal injury ( MSI )" means an injury or disorder of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, nerves, blood vessels or related soft tissue, including a sprain, strain and inflammation, that may be caused or aggravated by work.

(2) An employer shall

(a) recognize factors in the workplace that may expose workers to a risk of musculoskeletal injury; and

(b) evaluate the risk to workers presented by the factors that have been recognized under paragraph (a).

MSI : risk control

51. (1) An employer shall eliminate, or where elimination is not practicable, minimize the risk of musculoskeletal injury to a worker through the implementation of a control measure that may include one or more of the following:

(a) providing, positioning and maintaining equipment that is designed and constructed to reduce or eliminate the risk of musculoskeletal injury;

(b) developing and implementing safe work procedures to eliminate or reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury;

(c) implementing work schedules that incorporate rest and recovery periods, changes to workload or other arrangements for alternating work; and

(d) providing personal protective equipment in accordance with Part VII .

(2) Personal protective equipment may only be used as a substitute for engineering or administrative controls where it is used in circumstances in which those controls are not practicable.

(3) An employer shall, without delay, implement interim control measures when the introduction of permanent control measures are delayed.

MSI : education and training

52. An employer shall ensure that a worker who is or may be exposed to a risk of musculoskeletal injury is

(a) educated in risk identification related to work, including the recognition of early signs and symptoms of musculoskeletal injury and its potential health effects; and

(b) trained in the use of specific control measures, including, where applicable, work procedures, mechanical aids and personal protective equipment.

MSI : evaluation

53. An employer shall

(a) monitor the effectiveness of a control measure implemented to eliminate or reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury; and

(b) where the monitoring referred to in paragraph (a) identifies a risk of musculoskeletal injury that is not or has not been eliminated or reduced, implement additional control measures, where reasonably practicable. MSI : consultation

54. (1) An employer shall consult with the occupational health and safety committee, the worker health and safety representative or the workplace health and safety designate, as applicable.

(2) An employer shall, when performing a risk assessment, consult with

(a) workers with signs or symptoms of musculoskeletal injury; and

(b) a representative sample of the workers who are required to carry out the work being assessed.

Seating or standing work

55. (1) Where a worker in the course of his or her work has a reasonable opportunity to sit without detriment to his or her work, an employer shall provide and maintain suitable seating for the worker's use to enable him or her to take advantage of that opportunity.

(2) Where a substantial proportion of work can be done while seated, an employer shall provide and maintain for a worker a seat suitably designed, constructed, dimensioned and supported for the worker to do the work, including, where necessary, a footrest that can readily and comfortably support the feet.

(3) Where a worker is required to stand for long periods in the course of his or her work, an employer or contractor shall provide an antifatigue mat, footrest or other suitable device to provide relief. Lifting and handling

56. (1) An employer or contractor shall ensure, where reasonably practicable, that suitable equipment is provided and used for the handling of heavy or awkward loads.

(2) Where use of equipment is not reasonably practicable, an employer or contractor shall take all practicable means to adapt heavy or awkward loads to facilitate lifting, holding or transporting by workers, or to otherwise minimize the manual handling required.

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