📚 Guide by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety — Allstar Enviro Safety Offering Ossa Fall Protection Safety — a Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety guide for Canadian oil & gas, construction, and industrial workers. Written and reviewed by Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC, Calgary lead safety instructor.
🔗 Related Safety Mom courses & guides: Fall Protection Calgary · H2S Alive Calgary · Oil Sands Safety Certs · Instructor: Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC
Press release
For immediate release on February 2, 2016
Contact: Arliss T E Levine, CRSP, CHSC,BA, NEBOSH IOGC, COR Auditor
Company; Allstar Enviro Safety
Contact: 403-214-1558
239 – 4999 – 43 St SE, Calgary, Ab T2B 3N4
Contact email: info@safetyclasses.ca, allstar@safetymom.ca
Headline: Allstar Enviro Safety is offering the OSSA Fall Protection Safety program
Allstar Enviro Safety is excited to announce that their lead Safety Consultant, Arliss T.E. Levine, is running the Astec oriented OSSA Fall Protection course at her new facility, the Haysboro Community Association. An upcoming change to the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Part 9 of the code, will mean a number of changes to Fall Protection. The community that goes to height is waiting with anticipation to observe the new requirements. OSSA , the Oil Sands Safety Association, will likely review these amendments and update changes to this course, in due time.
Fall Protection regulations fall under Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act with the specific code being Part 9. It had the greatest amount of amendments from the 2006 regulation when the change occurred again in 2009.. Penalties, fines and liability are only some of the consequences of a lack of certification among staff that must go over 3 Meters (approximately 10 feet). Some worksites, including the Oil Sands Safety Association group: Syncrude, Suncor Energy, CNRL and Shell Albian Sands, require this OSSA Fall Protection training at 6 feet (1.8 meters) to set a higher standard.
Arliss T.E. Levine, CRSP, CHSC, BA, NEBOSH IOGC and COR Auditor has a background in Fall Protection end user and other safety programs. This has provided her with a good understanding of the dangers of slips and trips at workplaces. By becoming an OSSA Fall Protection instructor, she can advise clients on elimination, engineering, administrative controls and appropriate personal protective equipment choices, such as harness selection.
Recently, Alberta Labour has appointed a number of Occupational Health and Safety Inspectors with the role of peace officers. One of the most frequent infractions is the lack of fall protection, wearing personal protective equipment and not following administrative controls. Achieving this Fall Protection certification is one step to proving that your staff are competent at working at height and avoiding potential fines of $100 – $500 per offence. Should continued infractions occur, the inspectors could visit the worksite, put in a Stop Work Order and submit a $10000 per day administrative penalty. There is a lot at stake for worker safety, when going to height. In 2010, the disabilities and fatalities from falling actually increased, which instigated the need to begin the ticketing process for violations.
OSSA Fall Protection is a one day, quickly paced, classroom – based program. It provides successful applicants who achieve a 80 % pass with the opportunity to go to height on Oilsands sites and other companies that which to achieve the OSSA standard for certification.
More information is available at:
http://safetymom.ca/ossa-fall-protection/
Additional Safety Knowledge
Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Framework
Alberta’s workplace safety system is built on the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the OHS Regulation, and the OHS Code (which contains the detailed technical requirements). The three-legged framework applies to virtually all Alberta workplaces except federally regulated industries (which follow Canada Labour Code Part II). Workers have three fundamental rights: the right to know about hazards, the right to participate in safety decisions, and the right to refuse unsafe work without reprisal.
Employer, Supervisor, and Worker Responsibilities
- Employers must ensure the health and safety of workers, provide instruction and training, maintain equipment, and prepare a health and safety program (mandatory for workplaces with 20+ regular workers).
- Supervisors must take all reasonable steps to protect workers, ensure workers use required equipment and follow procedures, and advise workers of hazards.
- Workers must protect their own health and safety and that of co-workers, use required equipment, cooperate with the OHS system, and report hazards or incidents.
Failure to fulfill these duties can result in administrative penalties, orders, prosecution, and in severe cases criminal charges under the federal Criminal Code (Bill C-45).
Hazard Assessment — The Foundation of Workplace Safety
Every task should begin with a hazard assessment. Formal assessments identify hazards, evaluate risk (probability multiplied by severity), and prescribe controls following the hierarchy: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE. Field Level Hazard Assessments (FLHAs) are completed for each shift or task change. Job Safety Analyses (JSAs) document safe procedures for repetitive or non-routine work.
Allstar Enviro Safety Offering Ossa Fall Protection Safety — Ongoing Competency
Safety competency is not a one-time event. Workers require initial training before first exposure to a hazard, refresher training when procedures change, and periodic competency verification. Employer records must include worker names, training dates, course content, trainer identification, and assessment results. Alberta OHS inspectors routinely review training records during inspections and incident investigations.
Content reviewed by Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC — lead safety instructor at Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety Calgary, an Energy Safety Canada Authorized Training Provider.
