WORKING AT HEIGHTS: DEADLINE EXTENSION

MARCH 29, 2017: The Ministry of Labour has extended the deadline for Working at Heights training to October 1, 2017. ​You must meet the following conditions in order to qualify for this extension:
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1. The worker(s) in question must have completed fall protection training that met the requirements of section 26.2(1) of O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects) before April 1, 2015, and 
2. the worker must be enrolled in a WAH training program that will be completed before October 1, 2017. 
3. The employer must have written proof of enrolment, which must be made available to an inspector upon request.
4. The proof of enrollment must include the name of the worker, the name of the approved training provider, the date on which the approved training is scheduled to be complete, and the name of the approved training program. 

This new extension may offer some relief to companies who have been unable to complete WAH training before the April 1 deadline. We know from many of our students that construction season is enjoying a boom this year and phone calls this month have certainly contained more than stress than usual. We certainly feel for you, the thought of postponing or losing contracts due to the lack of WAH compliance could be devastating to many small businesses.

This extension, though welcome by many, should still be taken very seriously and should not be viewed as a window to buy some time. After the April 1 deadline, Ministry of Labour inspectors may issue compliance orders asking workers and companies to supply Proof of Enrolment in an approved Working at Heights training program. This means that you should register as soon as possible.

We are anticipating that supplying "Proof of Enrolment" to our clients will make our job at Safety Guys slightly trickier. We have always tried to be very flexible and accommodating with our clients and have never minded the occasional substitution on a class list. Moving forward past April 1, we hope you understand that once a final invoice is issued (which must contain the names of all participants), we will not be able to make substitutions in order for that "Proof of Enrolment" to stay current and valid. We can however,  reschedule your employees to a different available date that will work with their schedule.

An important piece of this extension is the ability to supply Ministry of Labout inspectors with your proof or enrolment. Take the time now to devise a system to store your documents. It may seem obvious but a crumpled piece of paper in your back pocket will just not suffice. Maintain a binder in the truck or trailer on mobile sites or store documents electronically on phones or iPads. We are available by phone as well to verify your attendance with the inspector if all else fails.

We will continue to monitor the demand for this training and add public dates when necessary in order to provide the best service to our students.  You can register online for Kingston, Belleville and for members of the Quinte Home Builder's Association. Private training may also be available for groups of 8 or more. We are currently taking reservations for May as the extremely high demand for Working at Heights training is dominating the schedule.

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