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Regulation Review Part 25

Workers in Manitoba have legislated regulations to help keep us safe, day in and day out – no matter what job we do. These regulations are a part of the framework for building safe workplaces in Manitoba.

The Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act and associated regulations are in place to protect you – the worker – from workplace hazards and the risks they present. Manitoba Regulation 217/2006 is a 44-part document containing requirements and guidelines for workplaces, including site-specific rules and other valuable information to prevent harm from coming to workers.

Safety Check is profiling one part of the Regulation in each issue to help remind you of the Regulation’s specifics and to help keep safety top-of-mind for all Manitobans.

This issue, it’s Regulation Part 25: Working in the Vicinity of Overhead Electrical Lines.

Regulation Part 25 applies to workplaces where a worker or any part of equipment or machinery is capable of coming within three metres of an overhead electrical line. It states employers must develop, implement and train workers in SAFE Work procedures.

First and foremost, work around overhead electrical lines must be done in a manner that prevents contact with the overhead electrical line or electricity arching from the line to the equipment or machinery.

 

Employers must notify appropriate electrical authorities before permitting a worker to work within three metres of the line or use equipment or machinery from a location from which it is capable of coming within three metres of an overhead electrical line.

Upon receiving notification, and before any work proceeds, the electrical company must provide written confirmation that contacting the line won’t endanger the worker. If contacting the line would endanger the worker, the electrical authority must de-energize the line, guard against contact or reroute and displace the electricity from the worksite. Written confirmation must be kept on-site and include location, the employer’s name and when safeguarding steps will be taken.

The employer must also designate a signal person who must:

  • Have an unobstructed view of the operator
  • Signal the operator when the equipment may come into contact with the electrical line
  • Make all reasonable efforts to notify persons who are not required to be engaged in the work that they are prohibited from entering the worksite
  • Prevent persons, other than the operator, from touching the equipment until it is safe to do so.

 

When it is impossible for the signal person and the operator of the equipment or machinery to have an unobstructed view of each other, a suitable means of communication must be provided and a third person posted in a location where he or she can see both the operator and the signal person.

 

If equipment comes into contact with the energized electrical lines, workers on the equipment must remain on it, or if required to leave, jump clear so that no part of the worker’s body touches the equipment or machinery and the ground at the same time.

Immediate precautions must be made to prevent other workers from coming close to or in contact with the electrical line or the equipment or machinery.

A machine, tool or piece of equipment that has contacted an energized overhead electrical line must be inspected to ensure there is no risk before it is used again.

This is only a summary of the Regulation. For more information, view the Regulation in full.