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Here is a detailed explanation on the Pre-Start Health & Safety Review required by Ministry of Labour, Ontario on equipment and processes that involve risk of any kind of hazard or danger. For more information please contact our engineering team.
1- Flammable liquids are stored or dispensed in a building, room, or area.
A PSR is required when flammable liquids are located or dispensed in a building, room or area.
The following standards may be used by an engineer doing a PSR to determine compliance or measures to be taken to achieve compliance: NFC Part 4; NFPA-30; NFPA-68 and 69; NFPA-505; Factory Mutual Systems Industrial Loss Prevention.
Our engineers are able to assist you on defining if your equipment or process requires inspection and assessment for safety application.
2- Safeguarding devices that signal the apparatus to stop, or barrier guards that use interlocking safeguarding devices
A pre-start health and safety review (PSR) is required when any one of the following is used as a protective element in connection with an apparatus:
– Safeguarding devices that signal the apparatus to stop, including but not limited to safety light curtains and screens, area scanning safeguarding systems, radio frequency systems and capacitance safeguarding systems, safety mat systems, two-hand control systems, two-hand tripping systems and single or multiple beam systems.
– Barrier guards that use interlocking mechanical or electrical safeguarding devices.
Based on the Occupational Health & Safety Act and Regulations, when it comes to machine guarding; ‘If it can hurt a worker it must be guarded.’
For guarding purposes, protective elements can be designed/suggested. From those are: light curtains and screens, area scanning systems, radio frequency systems and capacitance systems, safety mat systems, two hand controls. And barrier guards using interlocked electrical or mechanical safeguards, etc.
Machine guarding audits are very important and definitely worth every penny spent!
Reports we provide, identify specific issues and detailed measures to achieve compliance. Also we will check if your equipment/system is exempt for safety report per the legislations. In contrast to competitors which too often provide generic reports, our experts provide you with a detailed report that not only recite the legislation, but also propose specific, practical solutions to the problems.
3- A rack or stacking structure
When materials, articles or things are to be placed or stored on a structure that is a rack or stacking structure a pre-start health and safety review is required unless the rack or stacking structure is designed and tested for use in accordance with current applicable standards.
Stacking structures include Single Selective Pallet Racks, Cantilever Racks, Push-Back Racks, Flow-Through Racks and many other types of racking/storage structures typically seen in industrial facilities.
We do:
– Thorough on-site reviews of the racking structures
– Detailed damage assessment and reporting with clear recommendations regarding corrective
– Structural capacities of racking structures in accordance with applicable codes and regulations
– Provision of layout and elevations drawings
4- A process that has a risk of ignition or explosion
A PSR is required if a process involves the risk of ignition or explosion that creates a condition of imminent hazard to a person’s health or safety.
Manufacturers that handle or dispense flammable liquids, highly ignitable sprays including molten aluminum dusts and painting operations, or chemical and material interactions with molten and solid metals need to ensure that their operations are safe.
Ignition and explosion events can cause serious injury and death to workers, significant downtime and financial cost for your company for a situation that is generally foreseeable and preventable. We make sure to provide you with practical solutions to eliminate the hazard and ensure that you are in compliance with regulations and industry standards.
5- A dust collector with an inherent risk of ignition or explosion
A PSR would be required when the use of a dust collector involves a risk of ignition or explosion that creates a condition of imminent hazard to a person’s health or safety.
There are a number of NFPA standards that relate to dust collectors that involve a risk of ignition or explosion that creates a condition of imminent hazard to a person’s health or safety. Some of these include:
– NFPA 652 Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust
– NFPA 654 Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing, and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids
– NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals
– NFPA 68 Standard on Explosion Protection by Deflagration Venting
– The Aluminum Association “Guidelines for Handling Aluminum Fines Generated During Various Aluminum Fabricating Operations” designated F-1
6- An aluminum or steel factory or a foundry or other molten material handling
A PSR would be required when a factory produces aluminum or steel or is a foundry that melts material or handles molten material.
With heavy equipment, loud noises, and complex machinery, steel mills can pose many different work hazards. With decades of experience on our side, we have seen nearly type of accident including:
– Burns
– Slips and falls
– Chemical exposure
– crushing injuries
– Faulty equipment
– back injuries
– head injuries
– falling debris
A PSR would be required when a factory produces aluminum or steel or is a foundry that melts material or handles molten material.
7- A lifting device, traveling crane, or automobile hoist
A PSR is required when the construction, addition, installation or modification relates to a lifting device, travelling crane or automobile hoist.
The provisions and circumstances listed in the Section 7 Table of Industrial Establishments Regulation act as a trigger to determine when a PSR is required for a lifting device. Sections 51 and 53 are the applicable provisions of the Industrial Establishments Regulation that deal with lifting devices.
We will make sure that your lifting device is operating safely and in compliance with the requirements of OHSA and/or NBC and other applicable codes and regulations. we will review your lifting devices’ structural capacity and ensure the device has been installed in accordance with the strict erection tolerances and is safe for application.
We review your existing hoist, or design of a custom lifting device and do an annual inspection program if required.
8- Worker exposure to a designated substance in excess of legislated occupational limits
A PSR is required when a process uses or produces a substance that may result in the exposure of a worker in excess of any occupational exposure limit set out in R.R.O. 1990, Regulation 833, O. Reg. 490/09, and O. Reg. 278/05 under the OHSA.
Designated substances include:
Asbestos, Lead, Silica, Mercury, Arsenic, Benzene, Coke Oven Emissions, Ethylene Oxides, Isocyanates, Vinyl Chloride, and Acrylonitrile.
Exposure to designated substances can cause cancer, strong allergic reactions, liver and lung disorders, and damage to the nervous system.
However, the signs are not always immediate or obvious. Sometimes it can take years or even decades before the symptoms of a disease or disorder appear. And keep in mind that some people are more sensitive to chemicals than others. Factors such as genetics, allergies, pre-existing conditions, lifestyle, and age can affect how quickly the effects of exposure can be seen or felt.