New MOL Guidelines

As the city (Toronto) evolves and grows; tall buildings will continue to challenge the professional window washers and the Ministry of Labour (MOL).  In Toronto, (and throughout Ontario), buildings are becoming more complex and even taller.
 
These buildings are being designed with complex architectural features such as:

·       gardens, green roofs, and landscaping

·       glass railing balconies,

·       multiple roof levels,

·       podiums,

·       pools,

·       narrow roofs,

·       overhangs,

·       sloped roofs, and

·       terraces

 

features that make window washing and other suspended maintenance work challenging and hazardous.  These complex features have particularly interested the MOL.

 

The MOL has prepared new Guidelines for industry use (in the meantime until the Regulation is amended).   These guidelines are indented to make it easier for the industry to understand the Regulation and thereby facilitate compliance.   

 

However, the industry was hoping for clearer rules on how the MOL would address specific challenges such as:

 

·       using conventional ground rigged equipment, or

·       wind effects (on tall buildings). 

 

The new guidelines also failed to address what will be accepted by a MOL Inspector (though an Inspector is not obligated to apply these guidelines).

 

Please see the new window washing guidelines published on April 3, 2013 by the MOL: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/gl_windowcleaning.php

The Inspections Department

The Inspection/Testing/Engineering division of the Pro-Bel Group is an integral part of our company. Fall arrest anchors and other building access equipment are required to be inspected annually in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations and the Ministry of Labour Act and Regulations.

Our mission in this department is two-fold:

Ø  To develop first hand experience and maintain an expert team of inspectors in this highly specialized field; thereby ensuring smooth information exchange that may affect liability or safety on buildings.

Ø  Also, the division must report on safety issues that may affect safety of the professional high-rise worker and the public.

In order to meet this mission statement the division pro-actively  promotes annual inspection programs which include deficiency inspections, compliance inspections and rigging inspections; all supported by the Ministry of Labour's input through their site inspections and published guidelines. This collaborative involvement allows the agency (MOL) and all contractors using the equipment to work more harmoniously, in a safe manner. 

The Inspection/Testing/Engineering division consists of dozens of professionals including trained inspectors, compliance specialists, testing technicians and professional engineers. The division also upgrades existing systems if needed, working closely with system designers and the operational teams as needed.

The Inspection/Testing/Engineering division also calls on the expertise of almost 150 skilled members of various divisions which may include AutoCAD designers, manufacturing and installation as required on a job to job basis.

Besides the general staff listed above, the Inspection/Testing/Engineering division includes and relies on five other major components:

1) The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for formulating policy and providing the Inspection/Testing/Engineering division with first hand compliance information. This executive direction is derived from the CEO’s experience dealing with the MOL; personally guiding the removal of stop work orders on buildings issued by the Ministry of Labour.  In addition to direct supervision, the CEO provides overall executive direction and broad administrative supervision for this division.

2) The compliance specialist in the Inspection/Testing/Engineering division reviews, routes, and tracks hazardous or potentially hazardous safety and structural conditions. The compliance specialist’s staff is on call to respond to stop work orders or other safety and rigging issues or emergencies. The compliance specialist can flag system conditions normally sited by MOL inspectors or other sources, such as building inspectors or technical auditors. The compliance specialist evaluates all conditions; including review of site conditions, drawings, inspectors’ reports and photographs of the roof and conditions. Subsequently, a “flag report packet” may be created; describing the type of upgrade or repair that may be needed. (This may also include changes to the certified drawings or may need a response MOL report for removal, review and approval.)

3) The in-house maintenance technicians and skilled installation personnel of the Inspection/Testing division perform repairs to address flagged conditions. Flagged repairs may include structural or other safety issues such as the repair of roof anchors, davit arms, safety tethers or locks, or other components damaged by corrosion or accident impact.  The maintenance and installation staff will perform the required corrective repair that will help to rehabilitate worn or defective components whose failure could affect long term service (such as heat shrink, mastic, cap flashings or remedial rust repair work).

 

4) The Professional Engineering and Design group provides technical expertise related to normal engineering practices and principals; including reviewing the structure, preparing calculations and writing job specific test prescriptions. The team also supplies invaluable engineering declarations for unsafe conditions that may affect the system. The Professional Engineering group member will make recommendations for immediate remediation, thereby assisting the compliance specialist in facilitating a proper solution. The Professional Engineering group also provides technical expertise related to the procurement and development of system design and product development, supporting various areas of the division, including supervision of installation and inspection services.

5) The Administration Management and Invoicing group provides essential administrative and inspection process support, including tracking of each activity within the division. The Senior Administration and Finance group oversees and administers all administrative functions for the division, acting as liaison with the inspectors and technicians including, but not limited to:

Ø  reviewing reports for completeness to ensure compliance and functionality is clear

Ø  reviewing lists of equipment to ensure they match  drawings for quality control purposes

Ø  tracking documents and publishing control documents to our web-based customer portal

Ø  monitoring staff and supervising repairs flagged by inspectors or compliance specialists

Ø  scheduling work performed by Pro-Bel installers or other contractors and producing mandated modification and repair reports on all activities

Ø  managing the status of each warranty claim and ensuring products are tracked and replaced through our Pro-Bel case system

Ø  ensuring all on-site inspections are preformed on time and that the field conditions are recorded

The Inspection/Testing/Engineering division management takes a pro-active approach in the educating of building owners and property managers, as well as the training of workers and contractors in the use of equipment to work safely on roofs.

This professional Inspection/Testing/Engineering group will ensure a smooth yearly inspection process. Each highly-specialized area is designed to address the essential services that are necessary to provide the expert service that our clients and industry expect.

In order to provide critical safety measures and due diligence on your rooftop: contact Pro-Bel for annual inspections, testing, safety assessments, rigging inspections or site training.

Fall Assessments

Be Safe Working on Roofs

Everyone is responsible for preventing falls when working on a roof. The building owner/property manager, the self-employed contractor, any subcontractor and the worker are each responsible for safety considerations.

Health and safety on the roof starts when the decision is made to access the roof or work begins near the roof edge. All aspects of working safely at a height should be considered. The general rule is: A fall protection system is required when there is a fall hazard of more than 3 metres and where the roof parapet edge is less than 36 inches tall.

Preventing falls from heights is a priority for the Ministry of Labour (MOL). The MOL expects employers and contractors with staff working at a height to actively manage any significant hazard.

Control the Hazard 

Doing nothing to address safety is not an option. In order to stay safe when working at a height, you need to ensure effective controls are in place to prevent people being harmed.

To select the most effective controls, you must consider the following steps:

• Eliminate the chances of a fall by doing as much of the preparation work as possible before work begins. Normally this is done by doing a fall hazard roof assessment. The assessment report will review all aspects of safe access and egress for all work activities that may take place on the roof. The intent is to isolate the worker from the risk of a fall by using guard rails, scaffolds and roof edge protection as means of prevention. In some situations a combination of controls will be required to ensure safe work.
• Edge protection is imperative. Edge protection should be used as a means of isolating workers from a fall. This includes guard rails, horizontal life lines, localized tieback and lifeline anchors, access ladders and catwalks. Edge protection should be provided on all the exposed edges of a roof, including the perimeter of buildings, skylights or other fragile roof materials and for any openings in the roof. This also applies to openings and edges of floor areas.
• Where there is the risk of workers falling through openings in a roof, the openings should be identified and guarded. 

Check List for Working Safely on a Roof

• Are workers trained or supervised to work on a roof, near the roof edge or over the edge using suspended equipment safely?
• Has a full hazard assessment been completed before work starts?
• Is there safe access to all roof areas?
• Has the contractor provided a work plan to safely access the building edge or facade?
• Have the roof and fall arrest system been inspected, reviewed and tested if needed?
• Have all the access restrictions been identified and understood by the contractors?
• Are workers protected from falling off roof edges and do they have a rescue plan?
• Are workers protected from falling from incomplete roofs?
• Are workers protected from falling through skylights and penetrations or other brittle roofing?
• Are people below the work protected from the dangers of falling materials?
• Do roof workers have appropriate footwear to prevent them from slipping?
• Are the weather conditions suitable for working on a roof?
• Have lower electrical hazards and vehicle traffic hazards been identified?  

Other Possible Considerations

• Eliminate the hazard of a fall from a roof.
• Work from the ground.
• Work from inside where there is no possibility of a fall.
• Prefabricate components at ground level or prior to installation.
• Remove complete fixtures to ground level or shop for maintenance (e.g. air conditioning units).
• Pre-paint fixtures/roof prior to installation.
• When isolating the hazard of a fall from a roof you can consider some addition temporary protections.
• Scaffolding and mobile scaffolds/step platforms/working in an elevating work platform.

Temporary Edge Protection

Perimeter counter weighted guard railing physical barriers can be used; at least 2 metres from a fall hazard or to prevent access to a hazard. Safety nets on top of purlins may also be an option for temporary edge protection.

It’s the law – doing nothing is not an option!

Compliance with the legal requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is the responsibility of anyone associated with working at a height in a place of work. The law recognizes that the building owner/property manager has the necessary means to control, eliminate, isolate and minimize fall hazards. 

Preventing falls from heights starts with a professional fall assessment of your roof top. 

For more information call 1-800-461-0575 (www.pro-bel.ca).

Rigging Sleeve

Pro-Bel was recently faced with the problem of installing a rigging sleeve on an existing building where we had no access to the ceiling below the roof.

The interior atrium of the building could not be cleaned (or maintained) because there was no lift/platform that would reach the height required (and there was no other access point to install any other equipment).  The biggest problem though was that there was no access inside the ceiling and between the drywall and the roof there was a ten foot gap (which again complicated things even more).

 

What we did was add a large twelve foot extension bit to a drill and then (once we opened up the roof beside an I-beam) lowered the extended drill ten feet and drilled through the drywall below (to create a circular hole). 

 

Once that was completed we installed the pier of the rigging sleeve by wrapping its base plate around the I-beam and then offsetting the pier.

 

Once the pier was installed we lowered a cable through it and the drywall hole and eventually all of the way to the ground floor.  Once the cable was hung from the roof to the ground we were able to thread the cable through a PVC tube insert.  The insert had a cap on the bottom which would give it a nice looking finish with the ceiling.  We had to find a way to attach the cable to the insert prior to lifting it to the ceiling though so we secured an anchor to the end of the cable.

 

We then began to hoist the insert (along with the cap and anchor) up to the ceiling.

 

The insert eventually entered the pier and then screws were inserted into the side of each to secure it into place.

 

The rigging sleeve was then finished (like any other rigging sleeve) with a cap on top of the pier and the roofing around it was patched to a watertight condition.

 

 

This is the first time that we have ever completed an installation under these circumstances and it was an enormous success.  There really is a solution to every problem!

Occupational Health and Safety Act Violation

A local Toronto company was recently fined $100,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was killed.  The worker was walking backwards and tripped and fell through a skylight.  The worker fell approximately 5.5 metres (18 feet) on to the concrete ground below and the injuries proved to be fatal.  The Ministry of Labour determined that there was no means of fall protection provided (or used) which led to the death.

  

There are many solutions for protecting workers from falling through skylights.  These systems include:

• cables systems,
• guard rails, and
• localized anchors 

What Type Of Work Is Being Completed While Fall Protection Is A Concern?  

This can include:

• washing the windows from a ladder (on the ground)

Fixing/replacing/servicing:

• antennas
• cooling towers
• drains
• equipment located on the exterior of the building (from a ladder on the ground)
• lights
• mechanical units
• pipes
• roofing
• satellites
• surveillance cameras
  

Pro-Bel recently blogged about “Workers Falling Through Skylights” on 2/27/2013.  Please take a moment to read the blog (http://probelenterprises.blogspot.ca/2013/02/workers-falling-through-skylights.html) and more importantly the Ministry of Labour alert that was issued.

Working At Heights

The Ontario Ministry Of Labour (MOL) has issued a Working At Heights guideline that should be of interest to all architects, building owners, general contractors, and property managers.

Please take the time to review the following: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/liveperformance/gl_live_heights.php

Please contact us at (905) 427-0616 (and ask for Matt Geraghty at extension 5323) to discuss how this guideline will affect you.  Along with annual anchor inspections we can also complete hazard and risk assessments.

Spring Inspections

The Spring season is quickly approaching!  And that means window washing season is coming along with it.

Considering this and your busy Spring and Summer maintenance schedules; Pro-Bel has introduced the Customer Portal.  As a valued Inspections customer you get access to the Customer Portal completely free of charge.

Some of the key features include:

• View current and past inspection reports, test reports, and engineer stamped drawings
• Review invoices
• Share documents internally and externally

This video link will provide you with more information about what the Customer Portal has to offer.

As a reminder - all window washing systems in Ontario must be inspected once every year, (ideally prior to all window washing).   Please be sure to contact us to arrange an inspection or to confirm the last time your equipment/system was inspected.

Workers Falling Through Skylights

Check out this Ontario Ministry Of Labour (MOL) alert on Workers Falling Through Skylights >>> http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/ib_skylights.php

Pro-Bel specializes in more than window washing systems; we are also experts in fall protection systems.  These systems can include:

• cable systems, 
• guard rails, and
• localized anchors;

All of which would be excellent solutions for protecting workers from falling through skylights.