| Topic: Signallers | Issued by: V.P., WorkSafe Services |
| Statute: General Regulation 91-191 | Date Issued: April 12, 1999 |
| Section: 91(1) | Date Revised: |
91(1) Where construction is being carried out in an area where an employee’s safety may be endangered by vehicular traffic, an employer shall provide competent signallers to control the flow of traffic.
Question:
Are traffic signallers required to have a signaller’s certificate?
Answer:
The section does not require certification. It requires the signaller to be “competent”. The easiest way for an employer to prove that an employee is competent is to be able to show a certificate, but that is not the only way. An employee who does not have a certificate may very well be a competent signaller.
There are degrees of competence within signalling. The important issues are that the signaller and the receiver of the signals have a common understanding. The direction of traffic is at the simplest end of the spectrum and is within the understanding and scope of many people. It is always important to be aware of the hazards associated with each specific location (such as blind corners and hills). Signalling on a construction site is more complex as traffic patterns move in a less predictable way. More complex still is the system of hand signals used by crane operators. Each stage requires additional training. People assigning the task must satisfy themselves that the signaller is capable of carrying out the work.