First Aid Regulations

First Aid Regulations:
New legislation governing First Aid Regulations was recently passed in Alberta. The law comes into effect March 31, 2000 but employers have until December 31, 2000 to make their workplace fully compliant.

Changes included:

  • new terms to describe the level of training achieved
  • new standards for agencies providing first aid training
  • consideration of the distance from jobsite to a health care facility in determining the kind of first aid services offered by the employer
  • changes in contents of the first aid kits (mainly over concerns to protect first aiders from blood-borne pathogens
  • protection of individuals privacy in terms of information required when filling out an accident report and
  • restricted access to an individuals records.

View the Alberta Code (2009) on First Aid
(pdf format; look at Part 11 on the menu on left side of page)

Kit Requirements by Work Location:

In determining the type and number of first aid kits and trained first aiders, the regulations consider:

  1. the proximity of the worksite to a medical facility
  2. the risks involved at the worksite
  3. the number of worker

1. Working on Campus:

  • offices with up to 49 people - one #1 kit
  • machine shop with up to 19 people - one #2 kit for
  • labs with up to 9 people - one #1 kit
  • for labs with up to 19 people - one #2 kit
  • for labs with over 20 people - two #2 kits or one #3 kit should suffice

Research labs are expected to provide their own kits and check regularly to ensure they are fully supplied.

Teaching lab kits are the responsibility of the lab coordinators or technicians.

Offices (main and student services) have departmentally supplied #3 kits to accommodate all office staff and people not in covered by teaching or research lab kit.

Machine shops supply and restock their own kits.

Kits that meet the Alberta requirements are available from Fisher Scientific or other safety supply company but check the contents to ensure they meet the new regulations. A few additional items like extra gloves, a waterproof waste bag and a barrier device for rescue breathing may be required.

Working off Campus:

Definitions relating to location and hazard level:
Worksite Location: Time to reach a medical facility:
"close" < 20 minutes
"distant" 20 to 40 minutes
"isolated" > 40 minutes
Hazard Level of Work Type of Work
"Low" administrative and clerical (office work)
"Medium" anything that isn't High or Low hazard (most laboratory work)
"High"

construction/demolition site, sawmills, machine shops, woodland operations, mining, factory site (basically working with large equipment, chainsaws)

Most field work would probably fall into the Medium Hazard but some might be in the High Hazard class. The site will probably be distant or isolated.

First Aid Training Type of Training
Standard First Aider see the Training page for course offerings
Emergency First Aider
Wilderness First Aid see the FRO website for announcements

Requirements for the kits and training are shown in First Aid Requirements. These are based on the hazard level, location and number of people at the worksite

Kit content lists are presented below
Alberta #1 Kit:
adequate for 49 office workers or 9 Lab workers.		 Contents of Alberta #1 Kit
Alberta #2 Kit:
adequate for 99 office workers or 19 Lab workers or 19 machine shop workers		 Contents of Alberta #2 Kit
Alberta #3 Kit:
adequate for 200 office workers or 200 Lab workers or 49 machine shop workers		 Contents of Alberta #3 Kit
Type P Kit (Personal):
for an individual worker		 Contents of Alberta P Kit

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