Ontario putting focus on falls from heights, struck-bys on construction sites in 2024-2025

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The Ontario government is putting a focus on falls from heights and struck-bys on construction sites across the province.

From April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, it will conduct two enforcement campaigns. One will focus on falls from heights and the other will focus on struck-bys.

Falls from heights in single family residential and multi-family residential

From April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, it will conduct a health and safety campaign focused on falls from heights in:

• single family residential construction, including residential re-roofing
• multi-family residential in urban areas

During these visits, it will focus on falls from heights in roofing and framing activities, it said.

Phase 1: Compliance assistance

Dates: April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025

The ministry will partner with the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association as well as industry experts to produce a series of podcasts on falls related topics and publish Falls from Heights compliance assistance resources and packages.

Phase 2: Focused inspections

Dates: April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025

Rationale for campaign

Between 2018 and 2022, there were 412 critical injuries and 45 fatalities in the Single family Residential construction sub-sector (RESS). Between 2018 and 2022 there were 333 critical injuries and 25 fatalities in the Multi-family Residential sub-sector (RESM).

The residential subsector stands out significantly as the primary source of critical injuries and fatalities resulting from falls compared to other subsectors.

The Construction Health and Safety Program (CHSP) worked with field staff, IHSA and stakeholders to identify the trade/occupation and likely root cause of these incidents to develop a multi-pronged approach to address this issue.

Campaign focus

The ministry’s CHSP, along with Prevention Division and the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA), will continue to collaborate to address the hazards associated with fall-from-height hazards in residential construction and re-roofing, it said.

Mandatory fall protection training for people working at heights was a priority recommendation of the Expert Advisory Panel on Occupational Health and Safety. In 2015, the ministry implemented a workplace training standard to prevent falls and improve safety for workers who work at heights. Certain workers must complete a working-at-heights training program approved by the Chief Prevention Officer, it said.

The training requirement is for workers on construction projects who use any of the following methods of fall protection:

• travel restraint systems
• fall restricting systems
• fall arrest systems
• safety nets

Employers are reminded that workers must also receive additional site-specific training related to the project hazards and the fall protection systems being used on site. The 2024–2025 Fall from Heights Campaign will address both the working at heights training and the site-specific training requirements.

Inspections

Inspectors will focus on:

• training related to:
  • working at heights training to meet requirements in Ontario Regulation 297/13 — Occupational Health and Safety Awareness Training, section 6
  • general and site-specific working at heights training to meet requirements in Ontario Regulation 213/91 — Construction Projects, section 26.2
  • worker and supervisor basic occupational health and safety awareness training to meet requirements in Ontario Regulation 297/13 — Occupational Health and Safety Awareness Training, sections 1 and 2
• fall protection pre-planning
• the use and condition of fall protection equipment and devices
• guardrail systems
• emergency response and fall rescue plans
• the internal responsibility system (IRS)

Struck-by material, equipment and vehicles

From April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) will conduct a health and safety campaign focused on activities where workers may be struck by material, equipment and vehicles.

Phase 1: Compliance assistance

Dates: April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025

The ministry will partner with the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association as well as industry experts to produce a series of podcasts on struck-by related topics and publish compliance assistance resources and packages.

Phase 2: Focused inspections

Dates: April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025

Rationale for campaign

Between 2018 and 2022 there have been 359 critical injuries and 38 fatalities resulting from equipment “struck-bys”. These struck-bys are pretty evenly spread amongst most construction subsectors. The CHSP will work with the field, IHSA and stakeholders to clearly identify the likely root cause of these incidents in an effort to develop a multi-pronged approach to address this issue.

Campaign focus

Inspectors will check:

• operation, maintenance of equipment
• storage or handling of material
• inspection of rigging equipment
• worker training for material handling activities
• signal person in place when required

Small businesses

Most businesses (97%) in the construction industry in Ontario have under 50 workers. In the residential building construction subsector, almost all (99%) are small businesses. Small business owners have limited time and resources to:

• know and understand the OHSA requirements and responsibilities
• identify hazards and how to control them
• find resources that they can use to develop and implement a health and safety program to keep their workers safe

The province said it is collaborating with Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) for the Falls from Heights and Struck-by campaigns to create health and safety resources. It will provide:

• short, easily accessible podcasts for each campaign to help workplace parties  understand the hazards in their workplaces
• QR codes during each of our field visits to help direct small businesses and their workers directly to IHSA’s resources