The Health, Safety and Environment branch is looking for volunteers to participate in the review and update of the NRC Directive on confined space entry.
A recent update to the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (Part XI) introduced new requirements for confined spaces. These updates are to be reflected in the revised Directive.
New requirements require the employer to:
- Perform a survey of the workplace to identify all confined spaces
- Establish and maintain a record of confined spaces, which would be accessible to those entering those spaces
- Appoint a qualified person to determine whether the confined space is a hazardous confined space
- Monitor a person entering a hazardous confined space
- Maintain records of all employees who received instruction and training on emergency procedures and obligations when working in confined spaces
These amendments align with industry best practices and standards and current provincial regulations.
Working group participants will receive a draft copy of the Directive and attend two group consultation meetings over MS Teams. They will also receive a revised copy based on the group’s comments and suggestions and have the opportunity to provide final comments via email. HSE anticipates a time commitment of about 6 hours. Working group meetings are to be held either in December prior to shut-down, or in mid-January. A timecode is available for working group members.
Members interested in participating or who have any questions should contact the RCEA office.