[Chapter 4] Section 2 Relevant Clauses in Laws, Ordinances and Safety and Health Regulations③

[Ministerial Ordinance] Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health①

Article 35 (Education at the Time of Employment)

When having employed a new worker or changed the content of work assigned to a worker, the employer must educate the worker on matters which are necessary as regards safety and health among the following matters without delay;provided, however, that for a worker employed at a workplace falling under the type of business listed in Article 2, item (iii) of the Order, the education on matters listed in items (i) through (iv) may be omitted:

(i)matters related to danger or harmful effect of machines, etc., or raw materials, etc., and those related to methods of handling thereof;

(ii)matters related to performance of safety devices, harmful substance control devices, or personal protective equipment and matters related to methods of handling thereof;

(iii)matters related to operation procedures;

(iv)matters related to inspection at the time of commencement of work;

(v)matters related to the causes and prevention of diseases which workers are susceptible regarding the work;

(vi)matters related to keeping the workplace in order and maintenance of its sanitary conditions;

(vii)matters related to emergency measures and evacuation at the time of an accident;

(viii)beyond what is set forth in each of the preceding item, matters necessary for maintaining safety and health related to the work.

(2)As regards the workers who are found to have sufficient knowledger and skill related to all or part of the matters listed in each item of the preceding paragraph, the employer may omit education on those matters.

Article 36 (Work Necessitating Special Education)

Dangerous or harmful work prescribed by the Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare set forth in Article 59, paragraph (3) of the Act is as follows: (* 1 to 38 and 40 and 41 are omitted.)

39 Work pertaining to the assembly, dismantling or alteration of scaffold (Excluding auxiliary work on the ground or on solid floors.)

Article 518 (Installation of the Work Floor)

(1)In carrying out a work at a place having a height of 2 m or higher (excluding the end, an opening, etc., of a work floor), when there is a risk of endangering workers due to falling, the employer must provide a work floor by installing scaffolding or by other methods.

(2)When it is difficult to provide a work floor pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the employer must take measures such as setting a protective net or having workers use safety belts, etc., to prevent workers from dangers due to falling.

Article 519 (Enclosure, etc. of Openings, etc.)

(1)The employer must provide enclosures, handrails, covers, etc., (hereinafter referred to as “enclosures, etc.” in this Article), to places at the end or an opening of a work floor having a height of 2 m or higher that have the risk of endangering workers due to falling.

(2)When it is considerably difficult to provide enclosures, etc., pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, or when removing enclosures, etc., temporarily due to necessity for work, the employer must take measures such as setting a protective net or having workers use safety belts, etc., to prevent the workers from dangers due to falling.

Article 520 (Use of fall prevention equipment)

A worker, when having been instructed to use a safety belt, etc., in the case referred to in Article 518, paragraph (2), and paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, must use the safety belt, etc

Article 521 Equipment etc. for fixing fall prevention equipment meeting the required performance)

(1)When carrying out the work at a place having a height of 2 m or higher, and having workers use safety belts, etc., the the employer must provide equipment, etc., for safely fixing safety belts, etc.

(2)When having workers use safety belts, etc., the employer must inspect the safety belts, etc., and equipment, etc., for fixing them as needed for existence of abnormality.

Article 522 (Prohibition of Work in Bad Weather)

When work is carried out at a place having a height of 2 m or higher, and when dangers in carrying out the work are expected due to bad weather conditions such as strong wind, heavy rain, heavy snow, the employer must not have workers engage in the work.

Article 523 (Maintenance of Illumination)

When carrying out work at a place having a height of 2 m or higher, the employer must maintain necessary illumination for safely in carrying out the work.

Article 524 (Prevention of Dangers on a Roof Made of Slates)

In carrying out work on a roof made of such materials as slate or wood wool boards, when there is a risk of endangering workers due to stepping through the roof, the employer must take measures such as providing foot boards having a width of 30 cm or wider and setting a protective net to prevent the workers from dangers due to stepping through the roof.

Article 526 (Installation of Facilities for Ascending and Descending)

(1)When carrying out work at a place having a height or a depth exceeding 1.5 m, the employer must provide facilities that enable the worker engaging in the work to safely ascend and descend the workplace; provided, however, that this does not apply when providing facilities for safely ascending or descending is considerably difficult due to the nature of the work.

(2) The workers engaging in the work set forth in the preceding paragraph must use the facilities for safely ascending and descending when the facilities have been provided pursuant to the provisions of the main clause of the same paragraph.

Article 527 (Movable Ladders)

The employer must not use a movable ladder unless it conforms to the following requirements:

(i)to have a strong structure;

(ii)to be made of materials without marked damage, corrosion, etc.;

(iii)to have the width of 30 cm or wider; and

(iv)to fasten a non-slip device or to take other necessary measures to prevent displacement.

Article 528 (Stepladders)

The employer must not use a stepladder unless it conforms to the following requirements:

(i)to have a strong structure;

(ii)to be made of materials without marked damage, corrosion, etc.;

(iii)to have the angle made by the foot and the floor of 75 degrees or less, and for folding stepladders, to be equipped with fittings, etc., to keep the angle made by the foot and the floor secure; and

(iv)to be equipped with steps having an area sufficient for safe operation.

Article 529 (Work of Assembling, Dismantling or Altering Buildings)

In carrying out the work of assembling, dismantling or altering buildings, bridges, scaffoldings, etc., (excluding work requiring the appointment of an operations chief), when there is a risk of endangering workers due to falling, the employer must take the following measures:

(i)to appoint a person that supervises the work, and have the person directly supervise the work; and

(ii)to inform the workers engaged in the work the method and procedures of the work in advance.

Article 530 (Prohibition of Entry)

The employer must not have workers other than those concerned enter the place where there is a risk of endangering workers due to falling

Article 536 (Prevention of Dangers Due to Throwing an Object from a High Place)

(1)When throwing objects from a high place of 3 m or higher, the employer must take measures such as providing appropriate throwing facilities and placing a watcher to prevent the dangers to workers.

(2)A worker, when measures pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph have not been taken, must not throw objects from a high place with a height of 3 m or higher.

Article 537 (Prevention of Dangers Due to Objects Falling)

When there is a risk of endangering workers due to objects for work falling, the employer must take measures such as providing protective nets or establishing a prohibited entry area to prevent the danger.

Article 538 (Prevention of Dangers Due to Objects that Come Flying)

When there is a risk of endangering workers due to objects that come flying, the employer must take measures such as providing facilities for preventing objects to come flying or have workers wear personal protective equipment, to prevent the dangers.

Article 540 (Passage)

(1)The employer must provide places leading to a workshop and inside the workshop with safe passages for workers, and effectively maintain the passages at all times.

(2)The main passage of the passages prescribed in the preceding paragraph must have a sign indicating they are passages in order to maintain their effectiveness.

Article 541 (Illumination for Passages)

The employer must provide passages with measures of lighting or illumination to the extent that they do not hinder the normal passage of workers;provided, however, that this does not apply to tunnels, basements normally not used for passage, etc., when workers that pass through them are provided with an appropriate illumination tool.

Article 552 (Temporary Passages)

(1)The employer must not use temporary passages unless they conform to the following requirements:

(i)to have a sound structure;

(ii)to make the gradient 30 degrees or less;provided, however, that this does not apply to those that are equipped with stairs or those that are equipped with handrails with the height lower than 2 m;

(iii)for those having a gradient exceeding 15 degrees, to provide step pieces or other anti-slide devices;

(iv)to provide the following equipment (limited to equipment that is sturdy in construction, not likely to deflect, and not severely damaged, deformed, or corroded) in areas where there is a risk of workers falling;

a. Handrails that are 85 centimeters or more in height or equipment having a function equivalent thereto or higher (hereinafter referred to as “handrails, etc.”)

b. Rails with a height of not less than 35 centimeters and not more than 50 centimeters or equipment having a function equivalent or superior to such rails (hereinafter referred to as “middle rails, etc.”)

(v)for a temporary passage inside a vertical shaft having a length of 15 m or longer, to provide a landing at an interval of 10 m or less; and

(vi)for an ascending pier for construction work having a height of 8 m or higher, to provide a landing at an interval of 7 m or less.

(2)The provision of item (iv) of the preceding paragraph shall not apply when the following measures are taken in the case of removing handrails, etc., or middle rails, etc., temporarily for the necessity of work:.

(i)To provide facilities, etc., for safely installing fall prevention equipment that meet performance requirements and take measures to have workers use these fall prevention equipment or measures having equivalent or better effects.

(ii) Not to allow workers other than those concerned to enter the place where the measures set forth in the preceding item are taken.

(3)The employer shall, when having removed handrails, etc., or middle rails, etc., temporarily for the necessity of the work pursuant to the provision of the preceding paragraph, immediately restore the said facilities to their original state after it is no longer necessary.

(4)A worker shall, when having been instructed to use a fall prevention equipment meeting performance requirements in the case set forth in paragraph (2), use it.

Article 559 (Materials)

(1)As regards the materials of scaffoldings, the employer must not use those that have marked damage, deformation or corrosion.

(2)As regards the lumbers used for scaffoldings, the employer must not use them unless they are free from cracks, worm-eaten spots, knars, slant fibers or other defects that significantly affect the strength of the lumber, and whose bark is removed.

Article 560 (Steel Pipes Used for Steel Pipe Scaffoldings)

As regards the steel pipes used for steel pipe scaffoldings, the employer must not use them unless they conform to the standards for steel pipes of the Japanese Industrial Standard A 895l, (Steel Pipe Scaffoldings) (hereinafter referred to as the “steel pipe standards”), or conform to the following requirements:

(i)the material is to have the tensile strength of 370 N/mm2 or more and have the value of elongation listed in the right column of the following Table in accordance with the value of tensile strength listed in the left column of the same Table; (Table)

(ii)and the thickness is to be 1/31 or more of the outer diameter.

Article 561 (Structure)

As regards scaffoldings, the employer must not use them unless they have a strong structure.

Article 562 (Maximum Loading Capacity)

(1)The employer must determine the maximum loading capacity of a work floor of scaffolding in accordance with its structure and materials, and must not apply a load exceeding the maximum loading capacity.

(2)As regards hanging scaffoldings (excluding hanging scaffoldings of gondolas; hereinafter the same applies in this Section), the maximum loading capacity of the work floor set forth in the preceding paragraph must be so determined as to ensure the safety coefficient of 10 or more for hanging wire ropes and hanging steel wires, the safety coefficient of 5 or more for hanging chains and hanging hooks, and the safety coefficient of hanging steel bands and of fulcrums at the bottom and top of the hanging scaffoldings of 2.5 for steels and 5 or more for logs.

(3)The employer must make the maximum loading capacity set forth in paragraph (1) known to workers.