Working alone procedure in British Columbia
Reviewed by Julie Gunn, Head of Services, SALUS Safety
The question, as asked: Working alone procedure British Columbia
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Rosie's answer
Published by SALUSIn British Columbia, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation addresses the safety and compliance requirements for workers working alone or in isolation. "To work alone or in isolation" means working in circumstances where assistance would not be readily available to the worker in case of an emergency, or in case the worker is injured or in ill health. [1]
Key aspects of ensuring worker safety and regulatory compliance include:
- Hazard Identification and Control: Before assigning a worker to work alone or in isolation, employers must identify any hazards to that worker and take measures to eliminate the hazard, or minimize the risk from the hazard to the lowest level practicable using engineering controls, administrative controls, or a combination of both.
- Well-being Check Procedures: Employers are required to develop and implement a written procedure for checking the well-being of a worker assigned to work alone or in isolation, including the time interval between checks, the procedure to follow if the worker cannot be contacted, and provisions for emergency rescue. A person must be designated to establish contact with the worker at predetermined intervals, and the results must be recorded. In addition to checks at regular intervals, a check at the end of the work shift must be done. The procedure must be developed in consultation with the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable, and with the worker assigned to work alone or in isolation.
- Training: Workers assigned to work alone and any person assigned to check on the worker must be trained in the written procedure for checking the worker's well-being.
Sources used for this answer
[1] Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/97)
Page 48
Open source documentSource excerpt
# WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION (cont.) ## Hazard identification, elimination and control (cont.) B.C. Reg. 296/97 WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT # OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION Part 4 - General Conditions (2) Before a worker starts a work assignment with a hazard identified under subsection (1), the employer must take measures (a) to eliminate the hazard, and (b) if it is not practicable to eliminate the hazard, to minimize the risk from the hazard. (3) For purposes of subsection (2) (b), the employer must minimize the risk from the hazard to the lowest level practicable using engineering controls, administrative controls or a combination of engineering and administrative controls. [en. B.C. Reg. 318/2007, S. 1.] ## Procedures for checking well-being of worker - 4.21 (1) The employer must develop and implement a written procedure for checking the well-being of a worker assigned to work alone or in isolation. (2) The procedure for checking a worker's well-being must include the time interval between checks and the procedure to follow in case the worker cannot be contacted, including provisions for emergency rescue. (3) A person must be designated to establish contact with the worker at predeter- mined intervals and the results must be recorded by the person. (4) In addition to checks at regular intervals, a check at the end of the work shift must be done. (5) The procedure for checking a worker's well-being, including time intervals between the checks, must be developed in consultation with the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable. (6) Time intervals for checking a worker's well-being must be developed in consul- tation with the worker assigned to work alone or in isolation. [am. B.C. Reg. 318/2007, S. 2.] ## Training 4.22 A worker described in section 4.21 (1) and any person assigned to check on the worker must be trained in the written procedure for checking th…
[2] Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/97)
Page 47
Open source documentSource excerpt
# WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION B.C. Reg. 296/97 Part 4 - General Conditions ## Notification of utility service providers 4.18 If work activities conducted by or on behalf of an employer cause a utility service to be hit or damaged, the employer must notify the owner of the utility service without delay. [en. B.C. Reg. 312/2010, App. D, S. 2.] ## Impairment ## Physical or mental impairment - 4.19 (1) A worker with a physical or mental impairment which may affect the worker's ability to safely perform assigned work must inform the worker's supervisor or employer of the impairment, and must not knowingly do work where the impairment may create an undue risk to the worker or anyone else. (2) A worker must not be assigned to activities where a reported or observed impairment may create an undue risk to the worker or anyone else. [am. B.C. Regs. 185/99, S. 21; 116/2022, App. B, S. 3.] - Impairment by alcohol, drug or other substance - 4.20 (1) A person must not enter or remain at any workplace while the person's ability to work is affected by alcohol, a drug or other substance so as to endanger the person or anyone else. (2) The employer must not knowingly permit a person to remain at any workplace while the person's ability to work is affected by alcohol, a drug or other substance so as to endanger the person or anyone else. (3) A person must not remain at a workplace if the person's behaviour is affected by alcohol, a drug or other substance so as to create an undue risk to workers, except where such a workplace has as one of its purposes the treatment or confinement of such persons. ## Working Alone or in Isolation ## Definition 4.20.1 In sections 4.20.2 to 4.23, "to work alone or in isolation" means to work in circum- stances where assistance would not be readily available to the worker (a) in case of an emergency, or (b) in case the worker is injured or in ill health. [en. B.C. Reg. 318/2007, S. 1.] ## …
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