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CCG/6102 National Standard Operating Procedure (NSOP)
530 Safe and healthy workplace procedures

Original: 2023-06-13 Revised: n/a Approved by David Musseau, Director General, Coast Guard Personnel, on June 13, 2023.

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530 Safe and healthy workplace procedures
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Purpose

This national standard operating procedure (NSOP) is to focus on the promotion of safe and healthy workplaces.

General guidance is provided to help limit the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace, including COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and the common cold, to ensure the continued delivery of services. This NSOP applies to all Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) personnel, supernumeraries, and visitors to all CCG controlled facilities, vessels, helicopters and vehicles (herein after referred to as CCG facilities).

This NSOP sets a minimum standard for procedures with respect to the maintenance of safe and healthy workplaces. To maintain operational readiness and/or align with local public health advice, regions or programs may prescribe additional measures for staff or visitors based on operational needs.

Procedure

It is expected that all personnel exercise fair and reasonable judgement in evaluating health and safety risks in the workplace. In this context, it is important to demonstrate respect for the choices made by others regarding matters of personal health and risk tolerance.

All personnel, supernumeraries and visitors must follow best practices with regard to preventing the spread of infectious diseases, including regular hand washing, vessel sanitation, as well as sneezing and coughing etiquette.

This NSOP does not supersede or nullify existing policies regarding employee sick leave. In the event an employee is sick and unable to work, existing sick leave procedures apply and/or appropriate isolation measures should be used.

Specific procedures are provided below for personnel and supernumeraries, employees hosting visitors to CCG facilities, and employees engaging with contractors. As this procedure is intended to cover a wide variety of situations, it is not possible to cover all scenarios comprehensively. For specific circumstances not covered by this procedure, the employee should discuss with their manager.

CCG employees and supernumeraries
Step Procedure
1.
  1. Prior to entering a CCG facility, employees and supernumeraries must self‑screen for new or worsening symptoms of infectious diseases, as follows:
    • sore throat
    • runny nose
    • sneezing
    • new or worsening cough
    • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
    • temperature equal to or more than 38˚C
    • feeling feverish
    • chills
    • fatigue or weakness
    • muscle or body aches
    • new loss of smell or taste
    • headache
    • abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting
    • feeling very unwell
    • loss of appetite
  2. If the symptoms are related to a known medical condition, the employee may consider themselves non-symptomatic for the purposes of this procedure.
2. If an employee is sick and unable to work, existing sick leave procedures apply. Fleet employees and supernumeraries aboard vessels who are sick and unable to work should be isolated until symptoms resolve, or until they can return to shore.
3.
  1. If an employee or supernumerary has symptoms that are less severe, it is recommended that the employee/supernumerary would:
    1. 1.1. discuss with their supervisor/manager whether their work can be done virtually
    2. 1.2. wear a mask or, in situations where wearing a mask is not feasible (for example, eating/drinking), would work separately in a room apart from others
    3. 1.3. return to CCG facilities without a mask once the symptoms identified in Step 1 have resolved, and 24 hours after any fever is gone
CCG employees hosting visitors at CCG facilities
Step Procedure
1.
  1. Employees who are hosting one or more visitors must ask the visitor(s) to self-screen for new or worsening symptoms of infectious diseases, as follows:
    • sore throat
    • runny nose
    • sneezing
    • new or worsening cough
    • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
    • temperature equal to or more than 38˚C
    • feeling feverish
    • chills
    • fatigue or weakness
    • muscle or body aches
    • new loss of smell or taste
    • headache
    • abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting
    • feeling very unwell
    • loss of appetite
  2. If the symptoms are related to a known medical condition, the potential visitor may consider themselves non-symptomatic for the purposes of this procedure.
2. If the potential visitor is symptomatic, the employee should consider whether the visit can be postponed or conducted in virtual manner. The preference is to not have symptomatic visitors at CCG facilities unless operationally necessary.
3.
  1. If the visitor has symptoms that are less severe and it is not possible to postpone the visit or conduct the visit virtually, it is recommended that the visitor would:
    1. 1.1. wear a mask
    2. 1.2. limit contact with CCG employees and only access sites that are deemed operationally necessary
Contractors entering CCG facilities
Step Procedure
1.
  1. Prior to entering CCG facilities, contractors are recommended to self-screen for new and worsening symptoms of infectious diseases as follows:
    • sore throat
    • runny nose
    • sneezing
    • new or worsening cough
    • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
    • temperature equal to or more than 38˚C
    • feeling feverish
    • chills
    • fatigue or weakness
    • muscle or body aches
    • new loss of smell or taste
    • headache
    • abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting
    • feeling very unwell
    • loss of appetite
  2. If the symptoms are related to a known medical condition, the contractor may consider themselves non-symptomatic for the purposes of this procedure.
2.
  1. It is recommended that symptomatic contractors:
    1. 1.1. wear a mask or, in situations where wearing a mask is not feasible (for example, eating/drinking), isolate in a room apart from others
    2. 1.2. limit contact with CCG employees and only access sites that are deemed operationally necessary to conduct assigned work
    3. 1.3. return to CCG facilities without a mask once the symptoms identified in Step 1 have resolved, and 24 hours after any fever is gone
3. When establishing new contracts that will involve contractors entering CCG facilities, consideration should be given to incorporating appropriate public health measures into the contract language to promote a safe and healthy workplace.

Enquiries

Enquiries regarding this procedure should be directed to:

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