LOCAL RULES

New Brunswick site safety inspection report requirements

Your New Brunswick site safety inspection report has 2 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • The monthly inspection, shared with the committee or representative
  • A fall-protection code of practice for work at 7.5 m or more
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In New Brunswick, the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every employer to inspect the workplace at least once a month, and the General Regulation (91-191) sets the fall protection and excavation rules a construction site inspection checks. Here is each rule with a link to the official text on laws.gnb.ca.

Last reviewed October 12, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Site safety inspectionNEW BRUNSWICK / SAMPLE

Sample notes, 241 words

Project: Riverside Commons Building B
412 Mill Street
GC: Hartwell Builders
Date: 10/08/2026, 7:15am
Inspected by: Marco Diaz, site superintendent (competent person)
...
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88%of your draft is ready from these notes

We sorted 25 items into 11 sections and flagged 1 to fix first.

  • Fix firstFall protection and openings

    3rd floor east slab edge: guardrail missing a 12 ft section, framers working nearby.

  • Fix soonScaffolds and aerial lifts

    Scaffold north elevation: tag not signed today, one plank missing at top lift.

  • Fix soonLadders

    Stepladder with cracked side rail in the plumbing gang box, tagged Do Not Use

2 New Brunswick rules on your checklist, including the monthly inspection, shared with the committee or representative.

Still to add

  • RecommendedNotes for site access, housekeeping and storage
  • RecommendedNotes for corrective actions

Filled in for you

Project nameRiverside Commons Building B
Site address412 Mill Street
General contractor or employerHartwell Builders
Inspection dateOct 8, 2026
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What New Brunswick requires

  • Every employer makes sure the place of employment is inspected at least once a month to identify risks to its employees' health and safety, develops the inspection program with the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative, if any, and shares the results of each inspection with themOccupational Health and Safety Act, S.N.B. 1983, c. O-0.2, s. 9 (2) (a.1), (3)
  • The employer provides, and the employee continually uses, a fall-protection system when working from an unguarded work area 3 m or more above water or the nearest permanent safe level, above any surface or object that could injure the employee on contact, or above an open-top tank, bin, hopper or vat, or from a work area 3 m or more up that could tip or failGeneral Regulation, N.B. Reg. 91-191, s. 49 (1)
  • Fall protection is used in order of precedence: a guardrail, travel restraint or fall restricting system first, then a fall-arresting system; where no fall-protection system is practical, a control zone is used (not on slopes over 3 in 12 or on scaffolds); before entering an area with a risk of falling, employees are instructed in its fall-protection system and the post-fall rescue procedureGeneral Regulation, ss. 50, 50.1
  • A written fall-protection code of practice is required where employees work from 7.5 m or more, do rope access work, use a safety monitor while weatherproofing, or an officer requires it; it is developed with the committee, representative or affected employees, readily available at the place of employment before work begins, and employees are instructed in itGeneral Regulation, s. 50.2 (1) to (3)
  • Before an excavation or trench begins, the location of underground utility lines and piping is determined; walls are supported by shoring, bracing or caging unless the excavation is less than 1.2 m deep, cut in solid rock, sloped or benched no steeper than 1 to 1 to within 1.2 m of the bottom, or not entered; shoring, bracing or caging is certified as adequate by an engineer, with proof available to an officerGeneral Regulation, ss. 180 (1), 181 (1), (4)
  • No one enters an excavation or trench 1.2 m or more deep unless its walls are supported, in solid rock or properly sloped, loose material is removed, and a ladder extending at least 1 m above the top is within 15 m of the work (or another safe way in and out); excavated material is kept at least 1.2 m from the edge; while anyone works in it, another employee on the surface can observe themGeneral Regulation, ss. 182 (1), 183 (1), 185

A monthly inspection

Every employer makes sure the workplace is inspected at least once a month for risks to employees' health and safety. The inspection program is built with the joint health and safety committee or the health and safety representative, and the results of each inspection are shared with them.

Fall protection

A fall-protection system is needed when working from an unguarded area 3 m or more above water or the nearest permanent safe level, or above anything that could injure on contact or an open tank, bin, hopper or vat. Guardrails, travel restraint or fall restricting systems come first, fall arrest second, and a control zone only where no system is practical.

Workers are told about the area's fall-protection system and rescue procedure before they go in. From 7.5 m, for rope access, or when a safety monitor is used for weatherproofing, a written fall-protection code of practice is at the site before work starts.

Excavations and trenches

Underground utilities are located before digging. Walls of excavations 1.2 m or deeper are shored, braced or caged, unless in solid rock or sloped back 1 to 1 to within 1.2 m of the bottom, and an engineer certifies the shoring. Before anyone goes in, loose material is cleared and a ladder reaching 1 m above the top is within 15 m. Spoil stays 1.2 m from the edge, and someone on the surface keeps the workers below in sight.

Common mistakes

  • Letting more than a month pass between workplace inspections.
  • Not sharing inspection results with the committee or representative.
  • Working above 7.5 m without a fall-protection code of practice on site.
  • Using a trench box without the engineer's certification on hand.
  • No one on the surface while a worker is in the trench.

Sources

Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Next review due January 12, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.