Alec Caldwell
Ontario's new standards for Working at Heights training. If you aren't aware of them, you risk fines, injury or death
Canadian ContractorThere are two modules to the training. Not only will you avoid MoL fines if you take these courses, you will possibly save your life - or the lives of the workers you are legally required to protect.
The Ontario Ministry of Labour’s chief prevention officer has established a new standard for working at heights training. It applies to all Ontario workers. This standard lays out what each worker needs to learn when taking mandatory working at heights training. All course have to be completed by July 1, 2014.
This means that, even if you are presently in compliance of MOL laws and currently carrying the required Fall Protection course completion card, after July 1, you could cease to be compliant if you fail to upgrade to the new, required two module system.
The new standard seems to be arriving without fanfare or advertisement to those affected: self-employed sole proprietors, partners in partnerships, officers of companies, sub trades, trades and everyone else who enters any job site in Ontario.
The new standard has two modules: Working at Heights Basic Theory and Working at Heights Practical Equipment. These modules will be valid for a period of three years from the date of successful completion.
The first module covers: Rights and responsibilities related to working at heights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, general hazard recognition for working at heights, hierarchy of controls, safety procedures for warning methods and physical barriers, safety procedures for ladders and similar equipment; and an introduction to personal fall protection equipment.
The second modul covers: The working at heights practical equipment which includes hands-on demonstration of learning outcomes covering barriers and safety nets, personal fall protection equipment, anchor points, work positioning systems, work access and platforms; and rescue planning.
The minimum hours for training delivery of each module are 3.0 hours for the working at heights basic theory and 3.5 hours for working at heights practical equipment. This new system will disqualify those trainers who, in my opinion, in the past have gone onto job sites to complete prior courses within a single hour. I believe that is far too little time to train someone correctly on safety.
Online e-learning is an acceptable delivery method for the basic theory module, I believe, if it includes provisions for interactivity with a qualified instructor. E-Learning is not an acceptable delivery method for the working at heights practical equipment module.
CARAHS was founded as a non profit Association to help educate, inform and mentor the Self Employed Renovators, Builders, Trades and Home Services
CARAHS has over 130 online Health & Safety e-courses at www.carahs.org
Toll free 1-866-366-2930
1-866-366-2930
Advertisement
Print this page
CORRECTION TO ARTICLE:
THIS NEW STANDARD IS EXPECTED TO COME INTO LAW ON JULY 1, 2014. AFTER THIS DATE ITS EXPECTED A SHORT PERIOD of ALLOWABLE TIME WILL BE GIVEN BY THE MINISTRY FOR COMPLIANCE PURPOSES. THANK YOU CARAHS
CARAHS IS NOW running these NEW course Standards at their office is the Toronto GTA area. Our fist one on March 22, 2014 if sold out, as class sizes on part two of this NEW STANDARD is limited by law to 12 people only.
ONLINE E-Courses – CARAHS has always indicated online at its Knowledge Center (www.carahs.org) that its FALL courses may not be acceptable in your Province of residence.
CARAHS announces that it will shortly remove its two Fall courses online well ahead of the July date and will not accept anyone from todays date forward. Anyone using this within the period of removal will receive full refund.
Online courses will NOW have to include instructor interaction, which could make this course mere impossible to delivery, as all students have to be able to try on harnesses, fall arrest systems, ladder tie downs and more.
Thank you
Alec Caldwell (CARAHS)
And I book my time and costs for this to…
Hi Joe…I’m not sure of your comment…Don’t know if you mean you want to book a course through us, or you’ve already done this. so call me toll free 1-866-266-366-2930
Our first course on Saturday 22 March is sold out. It was announced yesterday and we got swamped, as the government has regulated only 12 people for module 2. So a ask everyone where ever you are to get on to this as it may become hard to get a seat anywhere shortly.
CARAHS decided to help contractors in the Toronto GTA area and get this two course pain in their butt over in a one day event, we made it available to everyone on SATURDAY’S. Meaning no loss of work between Mondays to Fridays.
I personally expect from this day forward, the trainers who used to show up at construction work sites and complete the prior Fall Protection course in 1 to 1.1/2 hours and low ball the cost, this procedure will now become unacceptable under investigation by the Ministry of Labour. Since the Ministry has announced this huge change on January 1, 2014, its assumed this new law will go into place very shortly and well before this coming July.
Its huge changed was due to the 4 or 5 guys falling to their deaths from that swing stage accident in Toronto a few winters ago .this caused all these drastic changes today.
The MOL are serious about what they are now introducing and if you choose to ignore this, fines between range from $25,000 to $500,000 and up to 1 year in jail if you are found in violation of the Act.
Alec can you clarify,
There is only 12 registered trainers for the entire province????
Is there a central online registry and standardized certificate?
That is a huge deal, I turnover 100’s of tradespeople, on each new hire we take copies of their certificates but in the past there has been no standards for them, they have safety tickets from rental companies, union offices, private safety companies in all shapes and sizes. The problem is a lot of market sectors don’t have a framework to pay tradesmen for the time invested in these programs and they get tired of doing these courses for good guy awards. As such I have noted a frighteningly common tendency lately to cheat – they forge these at home, you can find lots of official looking certificates online, put a chicken scratch on it and get a cheap laminator at home depot – then they make them up for their friends – this is widespread in my experience.
For contractors this is a big dilemma, field supervisors have no way of vetting these cards but God forbid someone falls and it proves to be a forgery – on some level your likely to be found complicit and fined. Many large union contractors have been dealing with this by simply doing the quick minimum requirement but effectively now every hire on a job site could require a full day just for this. That is a massive impact on costs.
Just to be clear I am not against safety but I don’t think these kinds of approaches are effective but more of a liability ass covering mechanism.
Hi Joe,
I don’t know the exact number, but its low and even CARAHS has been working hard behind the scenes since the January 1, 2014 announcement.
I personally are a working at heights trainer and CARAHS Founder. This week my training will be update to address these two news is our members who had already took our extensive (3 hour in class) Fall Awareness course, can use this as module one of the new standard. They now will complete Standard 2 course and that’s them compliant.
The problems I see is, trainers who ran course an our on sites to hand our completion cards, these will not up to the new standards. They’ll have to complete both sections now.
Again if cards are over 3 year old, they have to be renewed. The new 2 course Standard are renewable ever 3 years under law.
The class size of module 2 can be no more the 12 people. So the government has limited this. The total time for both courses is 6 1/2 hours.
We announced our first course covering both modules for Saturday 22 March at our Pickering office and it was sold out in the first day off the announcement. We have others scheduled.
I believe the industry will not have enough trainers in time and this change was to also to eradicate the so called trainers who would show up at a job site and complete a course in 1 hour. These card will not be acceptable or valid now.
If you need more info on our courses, please call Monica at CARAHS Toll free at 1-866-366-2930
CARAHS is a non profit association
http://www.carahs.org
Who is responsible for paying for training of working at heights
The person that needs the credentials or his or her employer can pay for it IF they are so kind… but if they don’t have it and the MoL nails them, the GC is responsible and liable for their non-compliance