Legislation changes: Ontario updating crane-related provisions of O. Reg. 213/91

Ontario is updating various crane-related provisions of O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to improve crane safety on construction sites. These changes will include clarifying or adding new design, installation, maintenance, inspection, and record-keeping requirements; requiring comprehensive inspections of tower cranes, introducing new references to relevant national and international standards relating to the design and operation of tower cranes, and more.

Most of these changes will come into force on January 1, 2024. Other requirements, including those that may require equipment upgrades, will come into force on January 1, 2025, to provide stakeholders with additional time to comply.

Changes to O. Reg. 420/21 (Notices and Reports Under Sections 51 to 53.1 of the Act - Fatalities, Critical Injuries, Occupational Illnesses and Other Incidents) under the OHSA have also been approved. The amendments will add a new requirement for the ministry to be notified of a failure to control a crane or a load, including any rigging failure, and for an engineer’s report on the cause of the incident.

For more information on the amendments, please see the amending regulations O. Reg. 241/23 and O. Reg. 242/23. The amendments have been consolidated into the e-Laws version of O. Reg. 213/91 and O. Reg. 420/21.