Preface
This is the sixth edition of CSA Z91, Health and safety code for suspended equipment operations. It supersedes the previous edition published in 2002 under the same title and the 1990, 1980, 1959, and 1949 editions published under the title Safety Code for Window Cleaning Operations.
Key changes in this edition include
a) updated requirements for davits;
b) clarification of requirements for portable equipment;
c) updated training requirements;
d) updated figures throughout the document to enhance readability;
e) requirements for rigging over building guards (particularly glass railings); and
f) inclusion of a new informative annex on the relationship between this Standard and rope access methods.
This Standard was prepared by the Technical Committee on Suspended Equipment Operations, under the jurisdiction of the Strategic Steering Committee on Occupational Health and Safety, and has been formally approved by the Technical Committee.
Scope
1.1
This Standard includes requirements for the safe operation of various types of suspended equipment (see Figure 1) used to gain access to interior or exterior, or both, sides, ceilings and soffits of buildings or structures. Much of the equipment referred to in this Standard is designed, installed, inspected, and tested in accordance with CAN/CSA-Z271 and other referenced standards. This Standard does not apply to crane-suspended platforms or baskets (see CSA Z150), multi-point bridge platforms, or hanging scaffolds.
Note: While this Standard is not intended to cover equipment design and building provisions, both CAN/CSA-Z271 and this Standard contain necessary information for design and operation of suspended equipment.
1.2
This Standard specifies the safety requirements for suspended equipment that is normally used for, but whose use is not limited to, window cleaning, exterior building cleaning, painting, application of sealants and insulation, brickwork, repointing, renovations, inspection, and related building/structure maintenance.
1.3
This Standard is not intended to prevent the development of new equipment or practices or to prescribe specifically how innovations should be handled.
Notes:
1) The use of practices, equipment, or safety devices that are different from those described in this Standard may be deemed to meet the requirements of this Standard, provided that it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the authority having jurisdiction, or the certification agency acting on its behalf, that these differences will not impair the suitability of the equipment or safety devices, or their intended use.
2) Information on the relationship between rope access and the equipment covered in this Standard and CAN/CSA-Z271 can be found in Annex C.
1.4
Where the requirements of this Standard are at variance with the requirements of other standards or codes referred to in this Standard, the requirements of this Standard take precedence.
Note: Refer to applicable jurisdictional building codes for information relevant to requirements for installations on buildings.
1.5
In this Standard, shall is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the standard; should is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and may is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the standard.
Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material.
Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements.
Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application.
1.6
The values given in SI units are the units of record for the purposes of this Standard. The values given in parentheses are for information and comparison only.
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