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NOVA SCOTIA CONTEMPLATES NEW TECHNICAL SAFETY ACT
September, 2007
Proposed legislation in Nova Scotia would update and harmonize five technical safety Acts and make it easier for rules to be revised in the future. The move follows calls from industry for more flexible legislation that recognizes technological change and allows for innovation.
"The Steam Boilers and Pressure Vessels Act dates back to the 1950s and it's in desperate need of updating," observes Lia Thibault, a Policy Analyst with the Nova Scotia Environment & Labour department. The Amusement Devices Safety Act, Crane Operators and Power Engineers Act, Electrical Installation & Inspection Act, and Elevators and Lifts Act are also under review.
The Public Safety Division of Nova Scotia Environment & Labour issued a discussion paper in late July to outline proposed changes and ask for further public feedback. British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Newfoundland & Labrador have similarly consolidated provincial safety legislation in recent years. A representative from the New Brunswick provincial government has also been a member of the advisory committee to Nova Scotia's technical safety review.
The new legislation is expected to introduce a "results-based" approach to compliance, replacing the traditional prescriptive approach that dictates specific protective procedures and/or mechanisms. Such mandatory requirements can become outmoded when new technology presents more effective ways of achieving the same result. For example, some of the Acts still require constant human vigilance in some scenarios even though advances in safety monitoring equipment have made this a redundant and costly operational practice.
The technical safety Acts have also become increasingly unwieldy because amendments have been necessary to address any emerging safety issue that was not envisioned when the legislation was first drafted. Proposed changes would streamline the Act and allow for future revisions to safety requirements via Regulations, which can be implemented at the provincial Cabinet's discretion, versus amendments, which require review and a vote by the full legislature.
"The new Act will set out the responsibilities under the Act and the powers of inspection, and it will give a better picture of accountability," Thibault explains. "It's in the Regulations that we would see a lot more of the results-based components since the Regulations spell out the details of the requirements. Some in-house committees have started already in looking at the Regs concurrently [with the review of the Acts]."
As proposed, licensing, auditing, compliance and enforcement procedures would be standardized across all the regulated industries. The department of Environment & Labour and the Nova Scotia Education department both play a role in training and certifying regulated occupations, so new legislation would clarify and coordinate those responsibilities to eliminate duplication of services. The discussion paper also proposes a single advisory body and a single appeal process for all disciplines coming under the auspices of the Act.
The initiative is part of the provincial government's overarching Better Regulation Initiative aimed at making legislation more accessible for users. "To people outside of government, the current legislation is a kind of mishmash of different things," notes Emmitt Kelly, who represented both the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia Public Works on the advisory committee to the technical safety review.
No change in Nova Scotia's existing governance and enforcement model has been contemplated. The Public Safety Division oversees all technical safety programs with the exception of responsibility for inspections of electrical installations. The Province's Chief Electrical Inspector oversees the general direction of the inspection process, while the inspection responsibility is delegated to seven electrical utilities.
"I think it makes sense that Government should retain the responsibility for public safety. One of the clear messages coming out of the advisory process is that there has to be a means to enforce safety rules," Kelly reflects. "The enforcement end of this proposed legislation is going to be pretty significant."
Comment on the discussion paper will be accepted until October 30, 2007. It can be found at www.gov.ns.ca/enla/publicsafety/TechnicalSafetyReview.asp.
Public Safety Division officials and advisory group members will review the public consultation outcome so that final recommendations can be submitted to the Minister of Environment and Labour later this year. A new Act is likely to be introduced in the Spring 2008 session of the legislature.
NEW STANDARDS FOR SECURITY GUARDS IN ONTARIO AND MANITOBA
Security staffing and administration costs are expected to increase as a result of recent legislation in Ontario and Manitoba. The two provincial Acts - effective as of January 8, 2007 in Manitoba, and as of August 23, 2007 in Ontario - set new training standards, require licenses for all security practitioners, and introduce new regulations for the employers of security guards and/or private investigators. Previously, employees of third-party companies providing security services were licensed in both provinces, but licenses were not required for in-house security employed by the owner/proprietor of a venue to operate solely in that venue.
The Private Security and Investigative Services Act gives in-house security personnel in Ontario a deadline of August 23, 2008 to obtain a license. Their employers must also register with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services by the same date.
New training and testing standards for the entire industry will go into effect on November 30, 2008, and all existing license holders will have to pass a test to renew their licenses. As a minimum, licensees will have to master: knowledge of relevant legislation and powers of arrest; first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; communications and diversity sensitivity; and on-the-job skills for observation and reporting.
"The central purpose of this legislation, first and foremost, is public safety," observes Richard Baranowski, National Sales Director for G4S Security Services (Canada) Ltd. "We like it. We're very much in favour of it, but it means that a lot of people may not be able to qualify as security guards. A lot of contract security companies and in-house employers will likely end up losing a number of their own guards who won't be able to pass the testing procedures."
The new Act will also introduce a two-tiered approach to licensing, with an associated requirement for additional training to carry out more advanced security tasks. Personnel with the extra training credentials may be able to command higher wages. "Costs for security guards will go up," Baranowski predicts.
Licenses will now be portable, meaning that employees will not have to renew their license when they change jobs. Portable licenses could allow guards to freelance outside their regular work hours, which is an issue of concern for security companies.
"The industry won't be able to control or monitor that whatsoever," Baranowski says. "If they work for us 40 hours a week, we won't know if they are also working 35 hours a week elsewhere - and that's problematic."
Employers will have to ensure that all permanent and occasional staff has the required licenses. Contract agencies and property owners with in-house security staff must follow a strict new protocol for reporting incidents to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.
"The liability now for those who operate an in-house security program is quite high," Baranowski says. He suggests those that employ Tier 2 licensed security guards, in particular, consider carrying insurance to cover the expenses of coroners' inquests.
The legislation also introduces new standards for private security uniforms, insignia and equipment, including standardized colours, markings and wording on vehicles. All security providers will have until August 23, 2009 to bring uniforms and vehicles into compliance with the legislation.
Under the Private Investigators and Security Guards Act, applicants for a security guard's license in Manitoba are now required to submit proof of completion of a recognized training course, in addition to a criminal record check and child abuse registry check. Training programs, which are approved through Manitoba's Ministry of the Attorney General, cover areas of concern such as security guards' legal authority, personal safety, professional conduct and communication with the public.
There are some exemptions for security staff with experience prior to the adoption of Manitoba's new legislation. Security guards with proof of at least 3,000 hours of security employment in the two years prior to January 2007 will not have to take the training course or write an exam. Applicants with a lesser amount of recent employment history as a security guard could also be granted an exemption in some situations.
As in Ontario, employers of in-house security staff must be registered. All licensed employers of security guards and/private investigators must have proof of adequate liability insurance.
BURN RATE OF INTERIOR MATERIALS AND FURNISHINGS AFFECTS ESCAPE TIME
A recent joint study from the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL investigated the characteristics of smoke and how materials used in modern residential settings have changed the way fires behave in homes. The $700,000, yearlong Smoke Characterization Project studied 27 synthetic and natural materials and various combinations of materials now more commonly found in homes.
Until recently, these different smoke characteristics couldn't be studied in such detail. In developing the Smoke Characterization Project, UL invested more than $500,000 to conduct the study and to secure the latest scientific measurement equipment. With this advanced analytical ability, UL's fire science experts were able to investigate the chemical and physical properties of smoke at a new level of sophistication.
"This review is the first of its kind to study such a wide range of materials now found in homes," says Kathleen Almand, Executive Director of FPRF. "What we are learning will enable public safety officials to further develop education and training programs regarding the use of smoke alarms in residential structures and provide valuable data to fire science engineers as they strive to develop new smoke detection technologies."
"The initial results of this project reflect that smoke can no longer be characterized just by colour or density, but that smoke is highly complex and chemically different based on each unique fire event," says John Drengenberg, UL's Manager of Consumer Affairs. "From the sheer amount of data we've gathered, we believe the results will change the way the fire community perceives smoke produced in home fires, which could further reduce the risk of injury or loss of life due to fires."
The study will also help material scientists better understand how materials decompose in residential fires. The Smoke Characterization Project follows a 2004 study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that indicated fires in modern homes smoulder longer, then burn hotter and faster than what was typical when smoke alarms were first introduced. The NIST study concluded that the time needed to escape some types of fires has been reduced from approximately 17 minutes to as little as three minutes in certain situations where fires could grow more rapidly.
"With this Smoke Characterization Project, UL and FPRF are helping move fire science to a whole new level," says Chief Jim Harmes, President, International Association of Fire Chiefs. "Home furnishings and products constructed from new synthetic materials and formulations are growing in popularity. This project has provided the data and measurement techniques needed to more fully assess a burning material's impact on detection."
Fire officials agree that smoke alarms play a vital role in reducing deaths and injuries from fires - an almost 50% decrease in fire deaths has been attributed to smoke alarms since the mid-1970s. Smoke alarms employing photoelectric sensors are generally more effective for detecting smouldering fires, whereas ionization sensors are more sensitive to open flames. Smoke alarm manufacturers now make alarms that combine both technologies.
STUDY ASSESSES EMERGENCY REDUNDANCY FOR WATER SYSTEM
An engineering study to be completed later this fall will make recommendations for maintaining Toronto and neighbouring York Region's water supply in the event of a prolonged power failure. Consultants are assessing the likely stresses on the water system during outages that last 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours or 96 hours, and the potential requirement for standby generators and/or increased water storage capacity.
Through an inter-municipal agreement, Toronto supplies water for the southern portion of York Region - including approximately 665,000 residents and the commercial/industrial base in the municipalities of Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill - since the Region has no direct access to Lake Ontario. Water travels through six different pumping pressure zones on the uphill route to Toronto's northern boundary with York.
The engineering study focuses on both water treatment and pumping needs. "This is the fallout from the blackout that occurred in August 2003," says Patrick Newland, Director of Water Treatment & Supply with the City of Toronto. "We are very lucky in the City of Toronto because we have such large reservoir capacity, but depending on how long a blackout may last, we could run into problems."
Toronto's reservoirs hold an approximate 24-hour supply of water, which is a marked surplus in comparison to the six- to nine-hour supply that is the norm for most municipalities. "It would depend on the scenario: the time of year, whether the whole city is out of power or just a specific area, and if there is something else happening at the same time such as a fire that could deplete the reservoirs. The 24 hours [of supply] could be used up with one major fire," Newland advises.
Unlike the sewage pumping stations, most water pumping stations in Toronto do not currently have emergency backup generators. The study will present Toronto City Council and York Regional Council with a range of options for investing in backup power supply at various treatment plants and pumping stations.
There could also be opportunities to form partnerships with other investors with a demand for power. For example, York Region has an agreement to sell power produced by backup generators at a regional sewage pumping station to PowerStream, the electrical utility that serves the municipalities of Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Aurora.
PowerStream is investing $524,000 in upgrades at the pumping station to install emission controls, sound attenuation measures and a synchronous switch that will make it easier to activate the generators while preventing the dimming of the lights and power sags when emergency power goes online. In return, the Region will make the generators available for up to 250 hours per year to augment power supply when soaring electricity demand creates the threat of blackouts.
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