FLHA rules in Alberta

• A hazard assessment must be done before work begins, and before a new work site is built (OHS Code s.7(1)). The results must be written down with the controls (s.7(2)).
• Record the date the assessment was prepared or revised (s.7(3)). Repeat it at reasonable intervals, when a new work process starts, when a process changes and before major site changes (s.7(4)).
• Affected workers must take part in the hazard assessment and in controlling the hazards (s.8). Controls follow the order: eliminate, engineering, administrative, then PPE (s.9).
• A written fall protection plan is needed where a worker may fall 3 m or more and there are no guardrails (s.140).
• Trench and excavation walls must be protected at depths of 1.5 m or more (s.450(1)), deeper than the 1.2 m used in Ontario and BC.
• Working alone needs a hazard assessment and an effective way to check in with the worker at set intervals (s.393, s.394).
• A prime contractor is needed on a work site with 2 or more employers (OHS Act s.10).
• A joint health and safety committee is needed at 20 or more workers and a health and safety representative at 5 to 19 workers (OHS Act s.13, s.14). Employers with 20 or more workers need a written health and safety program (s.16).

• Occupational Health and Safety Act (Alberta)
• OHS Code Part 2: Hazard Assessment, Elimination and Control
• OHS Code Part 9: Fall Protection
• OHS Code Part 32: Excavating and Tunnelling

Regulator: Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, phone 1-866-415-8690 (OHS Contact Centre).

• Serious injuries and incidents: the prime contractor (or the employer if there is none) phones Alberta OHS as soon as possible for a death, a worker admitted to hospital, an unplanned explosion, fire or flood that caused or could cause serious injury, a crane, derrick or hoist collapse or upset, or the collapse or failure of a building or structure component. Preserve the scene (OHS Act s.33(2)).
• The prime contractor investigates serious incidents and keeps the written report for at least 2 years.
• Potentially serious incidents (near misses that could have caused serious injury) are reported to Alberta OHS online after the investigation.
• Asbestos: notify Alberta OHS at least 72 hours before work that may release asbestos, using the online Asbestos Project Notification form. A new form is needed for each project.

Alberta OHS sample site specific hazard assessment form (TMP001-2). Our builder covers the same fields and adds the hazards and controls for your job.