JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS
WEATHER AND WIND
Thunder is striking distance. A crane is a rod. The first 30 of 30/30 is not a reason to keep lifting.
- DOCUMENT
- GOSPEL-JHA-015
- REVISION
- 01 CURRENT
- EFFECTIVE
- 2026-09-01
- OWNER
- GOSPEL Safety
- APPROVED BY
- GOSPEL
- REVIEW
- 2027-09-01
THE JOB
Outdoor crane and rigging when wind, lightning, ice or visibility can take the plan. Method: GOSPEL-SWP-023. Environment Canada: when thunder roars, go indoors. Wait 30 minutes after the last rumble.
WHO IS EXPOSED
- Operator
- Rigger and tag-line hands
- Signalperson
- Anyone who can touch the crane or the load
- Anyone under the boom
A JHA names what can hurt someone and how that risk is controlled. It is not the procedure. Do the work to the matching SWP. WorkSafeBC does not prescribe a JHA form — the Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(b) requires workers to be made aware of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards. This is how GOSPEL does that for this job.
HAZARDS AND RISK
Task is the work being analysed — not a procedure to follow. Controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, PPE last. The badge is how bad this task going wrong is in this job. Extreme is the killer with no recovery. High is serious injury or a dropped load you still have a chance to stop. Moderate is lost time or a plan that failed. Low is first aid.
LOWMODERATEHIGHEXTREME
| TASK | HAZARD | RISK | CONTROL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watch the sky | Forecast ignored. Dark cell treated as rain. | HIGHStorm arrives with a load in the air and no time to land. | Forecast before the shift. Named abort. Leave time to land and get down. Act s. 21. |
| Thunder / lightning | Crane as a rod. People on the machine, on the load, or counting to 30. | EXTREMEDirect strike, side flash, ground current. Fatal. | Thunder = stop. Land. Manufacturer shutdown. Shelter in a building or hard-top vehicle. ECCC and CCOHS. Do not wait for 30 seconds of flash-to-bang. |
| Touching the crane | Hands on the crane, the line or the load during thunder | EXTREMECurrent through the person. Fatal. | Nobody touches it. If the operator cannot get down: stay in the cab, hands off metal. Ground crew clear. |
| Wind | Sail load, gust over the number, no anemometer | HIGHSide-load, overturn, lost load. Tower: 14.92. | Lower number wins. Tower: 50 km/h if the OEM is silent, or less if the load cannot be handled safely. |
| Resume | Back on the hook when the rain stops. Struck crane restarted to check the LMI. | HIGHSecond cell. Hidden damage. Collapse or control failure. | 30 minutes after last rumble. Then inspect. Strike: 14.16.1 engineer. Electrical hit: owner / Technical Safety BC electrical — not a restart under this procedure. |
RESIDUAL RISK
Lightning still strikes after the rain stops. Residual is a second cell, a crane used as a rod, or a restart after a hit. Held by the 30-minute clock and by 14.16.1 — not by blue sky.
THE JOB DOES NOT PROCEED IF
- Thunder heard or lightning seen
- Wind at or above the lower of manufacturer and plan
- Tower anemometer unread or dead (14.92)
- Visibility gone and no radio protocol (14.48)
- Anyone treating 30-second flash-to-bang as permission to finish the pick
- Strike or suspected strike without an engineer
PPE — LAST LINE
- Hard hat
- CSA-grade footwear
- High-visibility clothing
- Eye protection
- Task-rated gloves
- Hearing protection where required
- Fall protection where the work exposes a fall
REFERENCES
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(b) — workers made aware of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(e) — information, instruction, training and supervision
- OHS Regulation B.C. Reg. 296/97 (in force 15 Apr 1998) Part 3 — program, instruction, inspections (ss. 3.1–3.12)
- CCOHS Job Safety Analysis — JSA and JHA are the same method: break the job, name the hazards, select controls
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21 — known or reasonably foreseeable hazards; instruction and supervision
- OHS Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/97, in force 15 Apr 1998) Part 3 — OHS program, instruction, inspections
- OHS Regulation Part 4 s. 4.13 — risk assessment where rescue or evacuation may arise
- OHS Regulation Part 8 — PPE; headwear CSA Z94.1-05 or Z94.1-15
- OHS Regulation Part 11 — fall protection
- OHS Regulation Part 14 — Cranes and Hoists
- 14.2(5) — CSA Z150-1998, or ASME B30.5-2004, or ASME B30.22-2005 (articulating boom)
- 14.2(6) — CSA Z248-2004 for tower, hammerhead and self-erecting tower cranes
- 14.35 pre-use inspection · 14.36 load weight · 14.42.1 critical lift · 14.44 loads over work areas · 14.45 unattended loads · 14.47–14.49 signals
- OHS Regulation Part 15 — Rigging
- Manufacturer load chart, manual and configuration limits
- Site lift plan, FLHA and site rules where stricter
- Environment and Climate Change Canada — When thunder roars, go indoors. If you hear thunder you are within striking distance. Wait at least 30 minutes after the last rumble.
- ECCC dropped the first 30 of the 30/30 rule in 2010. People waited until a 30-second flash-to-bang. That is too late. Do not count to 30 before stopping.
- CCOHS Weather — Lightning. ~300 m per second flash-to-bang. No safe place outdoors. Fully enclosed building with wiring and plumbing, or a hard-top metal vehicle.
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21 — known or reasonably foreseeable hazards. Lightning on a crane is foreseeable.
- OHS Regulation 14.2 — operate as specified by the manufacturer or a professional engineer.
- 14.12 — manufacturer’s manual reasonably accessible. Weather shutdown as that manual.
- 14.16.1 — misadventure includes any circumstance that may impair safe operation. A lightning strike is that. Crane down until a professional engineer certifies it.
- 14.34(2) — operator familiar with operating instructions. 14.37.1 — full control while the equipment is in use.
- 14.48 — atmospheric conditions that make hand signals hazardous. Radios or stop.
- 14.92 — tower anemometer, stop for wind, 50 km/h if the manufacturer is silent. 14.93 — stop below −18 °C unless the manufacturer or engineer says otherwise.
- 14.2(5) CSA Z150-1998 / ASME B30.5-2004. 14.2(6) CSA Z248-2004 for tower, hammerhead and self-erect.
- Technical Safety BC — Electrical Safety Regulation and BC Electrical Code. Power supply, earthing and lightning-protection hardware on the electrical installation belong to the owner. TSBC does not publish a 30/30 crane rule.
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