Safety Update

Safety Update: Ice Safety Best Practices

Recently the Alberta Government released the Best Practice for Building and Working Safely on Ice Covers in Alberta. The Best Practice was developed to assist employers and contractors in meeting their obligations under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Code.

The focus of the Best Practice is to provide advice on effective over ice operations while ensuring worker safety. A summary of the current practices which covers basic steps for planning, design, construction, operation and closure of an over-ice project is presented in the document.

In addition to the release of the Best Practice the Alberta Government will be launching an e-learning program on Working Safely on Ice by the end of this month. For more information on the program and to download the Best Practice please click here.

A few facts about ice from the Canadian Red Cross:

Ice Factors: Many factors affect ice thickness including: type of water, location, the time of year and other environmental factors such as:

• Water depth and size of body of water.
• Currents, tides and other moving water.
• Chemicals including salt.
• Fluctuations in water levels.
• Logs, rocks and docks absorbing heat from the sun.
• Changing air temperature.
• Shock waves from vehicles traveling on the ice.

Ice Factors: The colour of ice may be an indication of its strength

• Clear blue ice is strongest.
• White opaque or snow ice is half as strong as blue ice.
• Opaque ice is formed by wet snow freezing on the ice.
• Grey ice is unsafe. The grayness indicates the presence of water.

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