Hoists for Material Handling

A hoist should be strong and stable, and equipped with suitable ropes and fittings, to ensure the safety of employees using it and of those working in the vicinity. Like any other piece of equipment, there are a number of safety hazards associated with their use. Some examples are:

• Being struck by items being hoisted
• Contact with electrical cables
• Collapse of unstable hoists

Incidents can be prevented by using basic hoisting safety practices and by following proper procedures.

As an employer, you must:

• Ensure that a competent person thoroughly inspects and tests a hoisting apparatus, including any safety devices, before it is first put into use and after any incident that may have damaged any part of the hoisting apparatus.
• When working from a roof:
  • Ensure the weights used to counterbalance the hoisting apparatus are adequate for the equipment used and secured to the hoisting apparatus to prevent removal.
  • Guardrails, or safety fences manufactured as part of the hoisting apparatus, are to be installed marking a safety perimeter around the hoisting apparatus and the dumping areas.
• Read the hoisting apparatus' manufacturer’s operating manual and maintenance instructions and follow them.
• Ensure that any hoisting apparatus that is installed, erected, assembled, started, used, handled, stored, stopped, serviced, tested, cleaned, adjusted, repaired, inspected, operated, dismantled and maintained according to the CSA standards specified in the regulation and instructions provided by the manufacturer if there is no corresponding CSA standard for your hoists.
• Get a statement about the safe working load of the hoisting apparatus from the manufacturer, or from an engineer. This statement must be posted where the hoisting apparatus operator can see it. If the hoisting apparatus is modified in any way, the employer must get a new statement of the revised safe work load.
• Ensure inspection of hoisting apparatus every 12 months by a competent person who will certify that it meets the manufacturer’s specifications. Mobile cranes need to be inspected every 12 months by an engineer who must certify that the equipment is safe for use.
• Ensure that any hoisting apparatus operator is competent or is under the direct supervision of a competent person.
• Ensure all hoisting apparatus operators and signallers are trained and familiar with the operating controls, procedures and warnings.
• Designate a competent employee to be a signaller - to direct, by means of visual or auditory signals, the safe movement and operation of a hoisting apparatus by an operator.
• Ensure any repairs or maintenance is done according to manufacturer’s specifications.
• Ensure proper equipment is used during lifts.
• Ensure a hoisting apparatus that is raised from the ground by using another hoisting apparatus is adequately blocked.
• Ensure a hoisting apparatus is not subjected to loads exceeding its safe working load.
• Ensure the safe working load is legibly posted on the hoisting apparatus.
• Ensure that no one positions any part of their body under a suspended load.

While the employer is ultimately responsible for all the provisions mentioned above, the supervisor has a vital role to play in the safety of their teams. As a supervisor, you must:

• Acquaint your employees with the hazards and control measures associated with their work
• Provide the information and instruction necessary to ensure their health and safety
• Enforce company safety rules, programs, codes of practice and procedures, including ensuring employees comply with the requirements below.

As an operator of a hoisting apparatus, you must:

• Be competent to operate the hoisting apparatus.
• Visually inspect it before use , and report any issues to your supervisor/employer.
• Use a signaller when your vision is restricted, including restricted vision of electrical lines.
• Raise a load vertically (straight up) unless it is necessary to raise a load obliquely (at an angle or on a slope).
• If you must raise a load at an angle, ensure that the hoisting apparatus is suitable for lifting the load at an angle and that any pendulum effect (swinging of the load) does not create a hazard to other people in the vicinity.
• Use guide ropes when a pendulum effect may occur.
• Not carry a load over a person.
• Not leave a suspended load unattended if anyone may be in the area under the load.
• If you must leave a mobile crane unattended:
1. Secure it against movement.
2. Set the brake.
3. Never leave a load suspended.
4. Engage the swing lock and swing brake.
5. Leave the controls in neutral.
6. Disengage the master clutch.
7. Stop the engine.
8. Remove the key.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT
S.N.B. 1983, c. O-0.2

DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS, OWNERS, CONTRACTORS, SUB-CONTRACTORS, SUPERVISORS, EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS

Section 12 Duties of employee

12. Every employee shall

(a) comply with this Act, the regulations and any order made in accordance with this Act or the regulations;

(b) conduct themselves to ensure their own health and safety and that of other persons at, in or near the employee’s place of employment;

(c) report to the employer or supervisor the existence of any hazard of which the employee is aware;

(d) wear or use such protective equipment as is required by regulation;

(e) consult and co-operate with the committee where one has been established or with the health and safety representative where one has been elected or designated; and

(f) co-operate with any person responsible for the enforcement of this Act and the regulations.

[S.N.B. 2001, c. 35, s. 6; 2007, c. 12, s. 3; 2019, c. 38, s. 7; 2022, c. 32, s. 7]

General Regulation - Occupational Health and Safety Act
N.B. Reg. 91-191

Part X CONSTRUCTION, TRAFFIC AND BUILDING SAFETY

Section 109 Hoisting apparatus used to raise materials to roof

109. (1) Repealed. [N.B. Reg. 2022-79, s. 16]

(2) An employer shall ensure that the weights used to counterbalance a hoisting apparatus used to raise materials to a roof are

(a) adequate for the equipment used, and

(b) secured to the hoisting apparatus to prevent their premature removal.

[N.B. Reg. 2022-79, ss. 16, 17]

Section 110 Hoisting apparatus used to raise materials to roof

110. An employer shall ensure that guardrails, or a safety fence manufactured as part of a hoisting apparatus, are installed in perimeter travel areas on a roof near the hoist areas and the dumping areas.

[N.B. Reg. 96-60, s. 6; 2022-79, ss. 18, 19]

Openings

Part XV MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL CARRYING EQUIPMENT

Section 207 Hoisting Apparatus

207. (1) An employer shall ensure that a hoisting apparatus is

(a) sufficiently strong and stable for the intended lift, and

(b) equipped with suitable ropes, chains, slings, hooks and other fittings,

so as to ensure the safety of a person who uses the apparatus or works in its vicinity.

(1.1) An employer shall ensure that a competent person carries out the rigging of materials that are to be hoisted by a hoisting apparatus.

(2) An employer and an operator of a hoisting apparatus shall each ensure that the hoisting apparatus is erected, installed, assembled, started, operated, used, handled, stored, stopped, serviced, tested, cleaned, adjusted, maintained, repaired, inspected and dismantled in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications and the following CSA standards, if applicable:

(a) B167-08 (R2015), "Overhead travelling cranes - Design, inspection, testing, maintenance, and safe operation" or a standard offering equivalent or better protection;

(b) C22.2 No. 33-M1984 (R2014), "Construction and Test of Electric Cranes and Hoists" or a standard offering equivalent or better protection;

(c) Z248-04 (R2014), "Code for Tower Cranes" or a standard offering equivalent or better protection; and

(d) Z150-20 , "Safety code on mobile cranes" or a standard offering equivalent or better protection.

(3) Subsection (2) applies with the necessary modifications to a person who owns a hoisting apparatus.

[N.B. Reg. 98-78, s. 2; 2001-33, s. 61; 2022-79, s. 22]

Section 207.01 Precautions when hoisted by hoisting apparatus

207.01(1) When an employee is performing maintenance or repairs on a hoisting apparatus that is raised from the ground by means of another hoisting apparatus, other than outriggers or stabilizers, an employer shall ensure that the hoisting apparatus is adequately blocked.

(2) An employer shall ensure that an employee does not work under or go under the raised parts of a hoisting apparatus unless the parts are adequately blocked, or the hoisting apparatus is raised by its outriggers or stabilizers, and no employee shall work under or go under the raised parts unless the parts are adequately blocked or the hoisting apparatus is raised by its outriggers or stabilizers.

[N.B. Reg. 2022-79, s. 23]

207.1 Repealed. [N.B. Reg. 2022-79, s. 25]

[N.B. Reg. 2022-79, ss. 24, 25]

207.2 Repealed. [N.B. Reg. 2022-79, s. 27]

[N.B. Reg. 2022-79, ss. 26, 27]

Section 208

208. (1) Subject to subsection (2), an employer shall obtain a statement of the safe working load of a hoisting apparatus from the manufacturer of the hoisting apparatus.

(2) Where an employer is unable to obtain the statement referred to in subsection (1), the employer shall obtain a statement of the safe working load of the hoisting apparatus from an engineer.

(3) An employer shall ensure that the statement of the safe working load referred to in subsection (1) or (2) is posted legibly on the hoisting apparatus so that the operator of the apparatus is able to see it when operating the apparatus.

(4) An employer shall ensure that an operator of a hoisting apparatus has sufficient information to enable the operator to determine the load that the hoisting apparatus is capable of hoisting safely under any operating condition.

(5) If the boom, counterweight or another part of a hoisting apparatus is modified, extended, altered or repaired so as to affect the safe working load of the hoisting apparatus, an employer shall obtain a statement of the revised safe working load of the hoisting apparatus from an engineer and post it in accordance with subsection (3).

(6) Subsections (1) to (4) do not apply to mobile cranes.

[N.B. Reg. 2001-33, s. 63]

Section 209

209. (1) An employer shall ensure that a hoisting apparatus is not subjected to a load in excess of its safe working load.

(2) An operator of a hoisting apparatus shall not subject the hoisting apparatus to a load in excess of its safe working load.

Section 210

210. (1) An employer shall ensure that a hoisting apparatus is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.

(2) An employer shall ensure that a competent person thoroughly inspects and repairs a hoisting apparatus, including any safety devices or rigging equipment,

(a) before it is first put into use, and

(b) after any incident that may have damaged some part of the hoisting apparatus.

(3) An employer shall ensure that a log book recording inspections and repairs to a hoisting apparatus is maintained and made available to an officer on request.

(4) Subsection (3)

(a) applies only to hoisting apparatus with a lifting capacity of 1815 kg or greater, and

(b) does not apply to a mobile crane.

(5) Subsections (1) and (2) apply with the necessary modifications to a person who owns a hoisting apparatus.

[N.B. Reg. 2001-33, s. 64; 2022-79, s. 28]

Section 210.01

210.01 (1) An employer shall ensure that a hoisting apparatus is inspected every twelve months by a competent person to ensure that the apparatus meets the manufacturer's specifications.

(2) A person who inspects a hoisting apparatus under this section shall certify in writing that the apparatus meets the manufacturer's specifications.

(3) A certificate referred to in subsection (2) shall provide details on the conditions under which the hoisting apparatus was inspected.

(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a mobile crane.

(5) Subsection (1) applies with the necessary modifications to an owner of a hoisting apparatus.

[N.B. Reg. 2001-33, s. 65]

Section 210.1

210.1 (1) An employer shall ensure that a person who operates a hoisting apparatus is competent or is under the direct supervision of a competent person.

(2) No person shall operate a hoisting apparatus unless the person is competent or is under the direct supervision of a competent person.

[N.B. Reg. 98-78, s. 3]

Section 211

211. (1) An employer shall ensure that an operator of a hoisting apparatus follows the procedures prescribed in subsection (2).

(2) An operator of a hoisting apparatus shall

(a) visually inspect the hoisting apparatus before use to verify that it is in safe working order,

(b) where the operator has restricted vision, including restricted vision of electrical utility lines, move a load only on a signal from a signaller designated under section 212,

(c) raise a load vertically unless it is necessary to raise a load obliquely,

(d) when raising a load obliquely, ensure that the hoisting apparatus is suitable for lifting a load at an oblique angle and that any pendulum effect does not constitute a hazard to persons working in the vicinity,

(e) not carry a load over any person,

(f) not leave a suspended load unattended if a person may be in the area under the load, and

(g) ensure that where a pendulum effect may constitute a hazard to persons working in the vicinity, one or more guide ropes are used to control the load.

[N.B. Reg. 2001-33, s. 66]

Section 212

212. An employer shall designate a competent employee to be a signaller to direct, by means of visual or auditory signals, the safe movement and operation of a hoisting apparatus by an operator, and shall ensure that the signaller

(a) is readily identifiable by the operator,

(b) governs the movement of a load by a well understood distinctive code of signals or another effective communication system,

(c) obtains the assistance of another signaller if part of the view of the load is obstructed from both the signaller and the operator, and

(d) verifies that all ropes, chains, slings or other attachments are properly applied to the load and secured to the hooks of the hoisting apparatus and that the area is clear before signalling to move the load.

Section 213.2

213.2 (1) An operator of a mobile crane shall

(a) ensure that a person does not ride on any part of the crane not designed to carry passengers,

(b) not set a crane in motion until all air and hydraulic pressures are fully built up to specified operating pressures,

(c) follow a safe refueling procedure,

(d) not store containers of gasoline, diesel oil or other flammable substances in the cab,

(e) not carry loose articles in the cab that would pose a hazard to the safe operation of the crane, and

(f) keep the crane in gear when going downhill.

(2) An operator of a mobile crane shall, when leaving the crane unattended,

(a) secure it against movement,

(b) set the brake,

(c) not leave a load suspended,

(d) engage the swing lock and swing brake,

(e) leave the controls in neutral,

(f) disengage the master clutch,

(g) stop the engine, and

(h) remove the key.

[N.B. Reg. 2001-33, s. 68]

Section 213.21

213.21 (1) An employer shall ensure that a mobile crane is inspected every twelve months by an engineer or a competent person who is supervised by an engineer.

(2) An engineer referred to in subsection (1) shall certify in writing that the inspection complies with the requirements of subsection (4) and that the crane is in safe working order.

(3) A certification under subsection (2) shall provide details on the conditions under which the mobile crane was inspected.

(4) An engineer referred to in subsection (1) shall ensure that the inspection under subsection (1), including a visual weld inspection, is conducted in accordance with the requirements of clause 5.3.5.2.1 of CSA standard Z150-20 , "Safety code on mobile cranes" or a standard offering equivalent or better protection.

(5) An employer may accept a certification from an engineer in another jurisdiction with respect to a mobile crane if the crane has been inspected and certified in that jurisdiction in accordance with subsection (2) and the certification would otherwise be valid under this section.

(6) An employer shall ensure that a copy of the certification provided under this section is accessible to the operator when in the cab and is available to an officer on request.

(7) An employer shall ensure that a mobile crane that

(a) does not have a certification that meets the requirements of subsection (2), is inspected and certified under this section no later than twelve months after the commencement of this provision, and

(b) has a certification that meets the requirements of subsection (2), is inspected and certified no later than twelve months after the date of the certification.

[N.B. Reg. 2001-33, s. 68; 2022-79, s. 32]