Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995

2 Interpretation

  • In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

    advanced scaffolding includes—

    • (a) basic scaffolding:

    • (b) suspended scaffolding:

    • (c) a barrow ramp:

    • (d) a bracket scaffold for tank work and formwork:

    • (e) a cantilevered scaffold:

    • (f) a catch net:

    • (g) a hoist that is cantilevered from a scaffold, has a load limit not exceeding 250 kilograms, and is used for no purpose other than the support of material:

    • (h) hung scaffolding, including scaffolding hung from a chain, tube, or wire rope:

    • (i) a load platform cantilevered from a scaffold:

    • (j) a mast climber:

    • (k) a safety net for public protection:

    • (l) scaffolding associated with a perimeter safety screen or shutter:

    • (m) a sloping platform:

    • (n) a spurred scaffold:

    • (o) tube and coupler scaffolding, including a covered way or gantry made of tube and coupler scaffolding

    agricultural work—

    • (a) means work on any farm, being work directly related to the operation of the farm; and

    • (b) includes—

      • (i) horticultural work; and

      • (ii) shearing work; and

    • (c) includes cooking for any person carrying out any agricultural work; but

    • (d) does not include any work on any marine or freshwater farm

    basic scaffolding includes—

    • (a) a fall arrest system:

    • (b) a free-standing modular scaffolding system:

    • (c) a gin wheel:

    • (d) a rope:

    • (e) a static line

    breast bench means a machine that is—

    • (a) fitted with a circular saw; and

    • (b) used to reduce flitches from the log breakdown to smaller dimension timber when the flitches are fed manually past the saw with or without the assistance of horizontal live feed and return rollers

    certificate of competence means a certificate of one of the kinds referred to in regulation 27

    chief executive means the chief executive of an organisation recognised under regulation 28

    construction work—

    • (a) means any work in connection with the alteration, cleaning, construction, demolition, dismantling, erection, installation, maintenance, painting, removal, renewal, or repair, of—

      • (i) any building, chimney, edifice, erection, fence, structure, or wall, whether constructed wholly above or below, or partly above and partly below, ground level:

      • (ii) any aerodrome, cableway, canal, harbour works, motorway, railway, road, or tramway:

      • (iii) any thing having the purpose of drainage, flood control, irrigation, or river control:

      • (iv) any distribution system or network having the purpose of carrying electricity, gas, telecommunications, or water:

      • (v) any aqueduct, bridge, culvert, dam, earthwork, pipeline, reclamation, reservoir, or viaduct:

      • (vi) any scaffolding; and

    • (b) includes any work in connection with any excavation, preparatory work, or site preparation carried out for the purposes of any work referred to in paragraph (a); and

    • (c) includes any work referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) carried out underwater, including work on buoys, obstructions to navigation, rafts, ships, and wrecks; and

    • (d) includes the use of any materials or plant for the purposes of any work referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c); and

    • (e) includes any inspection or other work carried out for the purposes of ascertaining whether any work referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (c) should be carried out; but

    • (f) does not include any work in any mine, quarry, or tunnel

    current, in relation to a certificate of competence, means a certificate of competence that has been issued under regulation 38 and has not expired or been cancelled or suspended under regulation 41

    diving means diving under water where the diver breathes gases at greater than atmospheric pressure; and diver has a corresponding meaning

    logging—

    • (a) means felling trees by manual or mechanical means for the purpose of extracting logs, poles, and posts; and

    • (b) includes extracting logs to an area within a forest for processing and loading out

    noise includes sound energy of any frequency, whether or not capable of being perceived by the unaided human ear

    notifiable work means—

    • (a) any restricted work, as that term is defined in regulation 2(1) of the Health and Safety in Employment (Asbestos) Regulations 1998:

    • (b) any logging operation or tree-felling operation, being an operation that is undertaken for commercial purposes:

    • (c) any construction work of 1 or more of the following kinds:

      • (i) work in which a risk arises that any person may fall 5 metres or more, other than—

        • (A) work in connection with a residential building up to and including 2 full storeys:

        • (B) work on overhead telecommunications lines and overhead electric power lines:

        • (C) work carried out from a ladder only:

        • (D) maintenance and repair work of a minor or routine nature:

      • (ii) the erection or dismantling of scaffolding from which any person may fall 5 metres or more:

      • (iii) work using a lifting appliance where the appliance has to lift a mass of 500 kilograms or more a vertical distance of 5 metres or more, other than work using an excavator, a fork-lift, or a self-propelled mobile crane:

      • (iv) work in any pit, shaft, trench, or other excavation in which any person is required to work in a space more than 1.5 metres deep and having a depth greater than the horizontal width at the top:

      • (v) work in any drive, excavation, or heading in which any person is required to work with a ground cover overhead:

      • (vi) work in any excavation in which any face has a vertical height of more than 5 metres and an average slope steeper than a ratio of 1 horizontal to 2 vertical:

      • (vii) work in which any explosive is used or in which any explosive is kept on the site for the purpose of being used:

      • (viii) work in which any person breathes air that is or has been compressed or a respiratory medium other than air

    overhand planing machine means a machine for planing or smoothing the surface of material by passing it over cutters

    plant means plant that is to be used or is used in a place of work

    protective clothing means protective clothing that is to be used or is used in a place of work

    protective equipment means protective equipment that is to be used or is used in a place of work

    scaffolding—

    • (a) means any advanced scaffolding, basic scaffolding, or suspended scaffolding or any framework or structure, of a temporary nature, used or intended to be used—

      • (i) for the support or protection of persons carrying out construction work or work connected with construction work, for the purpose of carrying out that work; or

      • (ii) for the support of materials used in connection with any such work; and

    • (b) includes any scaffolding constructed as such and not dismantled, whether or not it is being used as scaffolding; and

    • (c) includes any coupling, device, fastening, fitting, or plank used in connection with the construction, erection, or use of scaffolding

    shoring means any material that is or can be used to provide effective support for the exposed face of an excavation; and shored has a corresponding meaning

    supplier,—

    • (a) in relation to plant, includes any person who sells or hires any plant or offers any plant for sale or hire:

    • (b) in relation to protective clothing or protective equipment, includes any person who sells or hires any protective clothing or protective equipment or offers any protective clothing or protective equipment for sale or hire

    suspended scaffolding includes—

    • (a) a boatswain's chair, whether hand-hauled or mechanical:

    • (b) a swinging stage, whether hand-hauled or mechanical

    tree-felling means felling trees by manual or mechanical means for any purpose—

    • (a) other than extracting logs, poles, and posts; but

    • (b) including the purposes of—

      • (i) harvesting firewood commercially:

      • (ii) land clearance:

      • (iii) maintaining shelter belts for horticulture:

      • (iv) maintaining or removing trees in the vicinity of overhead power lines:

      • (v) managing and caring for trees in the general community:

      • (vi) silviculture:

      • (vii) willow layering and any other work in catchment or soil erosion operations

    wholesome, in relation to water, means complying with the drinking-water standards issued or adopted under section 69O of the Health Act 1956.

    Regulation 2 mine: substituted, on 12 September 1996, by regulation 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety in Employment (Mining Administration) Regulations 1996 (SR 1996/220).

    Regulation 2 notifiable work paragraph (a): amended, on 14 January 1999, by regulation 37 of the Health and Safety in Employment (Asbestos) Regulations 1998 (SR 1998/443).

    Regulation 2 quarry: substituted, on 12 September 1996, by regulation 33(1)(b) of the Health and Safety in Employment (Mining Administration) Regulations 1996 (SR 1996/220).

    Regulation 2 registered engineer: revoked, on 1 January 2004, by section 76 of the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act 2002 (2002 No 17).

    Regulation 2 tunnel: substituted, on 12 September 1996, by regulation 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety in Employment (Mining Administration) Regulations 1996 (SR 1996/220).

    Regulation 2 wholesome: substituted, on 1 July 2008, by section 19 of the Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2007 (2007 No 92).