LOCAL RULES

Newfoundland and Labrador site safety inspection report requirements

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

  • Regular inspections, with unsafe conditions remedied without delay
  • A written fall protection plan with a rescue procedure where fall arrest or nets are used
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In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012 require regular inspections of every workplace, including excavations and structures, and set the rules for fall protection and trenches on construction sites. Here is each rule with a link to the official version on the House of Assembly's site, and what a site inspection there should check.

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

Site safety inspectionNEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR / 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 Newfoundland and Labrador rules on your checklist, including regular inspections, with unsafe conditions remedied without delay.

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 Newfoundland and Labrador requires

  • The employer or the employer's representative makes regular inspections of all buildings, excavations, structures, machinery, equipment, work practices and places of employment at intervals that keep working conditions safe, and unsafe conditions found are remedied without delay; anyone who discovers an unsafe condition reports it to a supervisor as soon as practicableOccupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012, NLR 5/12, s. 18
  • Where a worker is exposed to the hazard of falling from a work area 3 metres or more above the nearest safe surface or water, above a surface or thing that could injure the worker, or above an open tank, pit or vat of hazardous material, the employer provides a fall arrest system, a guardrail, a personnel safety net, temporary flooring, or another means at least as safe as fall arrestOccupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012, ss. 140, 141
  • Where an employer uses a fall arrest system or a personnel safety net, it has a written fall protection plan with the procedure to assemble, maintain, inspect, use and take down the system and the procedure to rescue a worker who has fallen and cannot rescue themselvesOccupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012, s. 142 (10)
  • A worker may not use fall protection equipment unless the worker has completed a fall protection training program prescribed by the commission (WorkplaceNL)Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012, s. 139
  • Before excavating with power tools or equipment where underground conduits, cables or pipelines are likely, the employer accurately locates and marks them and tells the workers; a worker does not enter an excavation over 1.22 metres deep unless its sides are sloped to a safe angle and secured with sheet piling, shoring and bracing or a trench box, or the worker is protected by other effective meansOccupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012, s. 406 (1), (4)
  • Where a worker enters an excavation over 1.22 metres deep, a ladder is in the immediate work area and extends at least 0.91 metres above the top; excavated material stays at least 1.22 metres from the edge of a trench (1.52 metres for a pit); excavations are guarded by railings or barriers so workers cannot fall inOccupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2012, ss. 407 (1), 408 (1), 410 (1)
  • The employer consults the committee, the worker health and safety representative or the designate about scheduling the inspections the regulations require, and ensures they take part; the committee must participate in those inspectionsOccupational Health and Safety Act, RSNL 1990, c. O-3, ss. 5 (f.3), 39 (a.1)

Regular inspections

The employer or its representative inspects buildings, excavations, structures, machinery, equipment, work practices and the workplace often enough to keep conditions safe, and anything unsafe is fixed without delay. Anyone who finds an unsafe condition reports it to a supervisor, who acts on it right away.

Fall protection

Fall protection is needed where a worker could fall 3 metres or more, onto something that could injure them, or into an open tank, pit or vat of hazardous material: fall arrest, a guardrail, a safety net, temporary flooring or something equally safe. Where fall arrest or nets are used, a written plan covers how the system is set up, inspected and taken down and how a fallen worker is rescued. Workers complete the fall protection training program WorkplaceNL prescribes before using the equipment.

Excavations

Before digging with power equipment, buried conduits, cables and pipelines are located, marked and pointed out to the crew. No one enters an excavation over 1.22 metres deep unless the sides are sloped and secured with shoring, bracing, sheet piling or a trench box, or the worker is otherwise protected. A ladder is close by, spoil stays at least 1.22 metres back from a trench edge, and railings or barriers keep people from falling in.

Common mistakes

  • Using fall arrest with no written rescue procedure.
  • A worker on fall protection without the WorkplaceNL-approved training.
  • Entering a trench over 1.22 metres before it is shored or a trench box is in.
  • Spoil piled right at the trench edge.
  • No barrier around an open excavation next to a walkway.

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.