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Welding and fabrication · Canada

FLHA for steel beam installation

By Safety PaperworkBuilt from provincial OHS law and CCOHS guidance · How we write and check theseUpdated

Provincial OHS law requires hazards to be assessed and controlled before work starts. A field level hazard assessment (FLHA) for steel beam installation is done on site at the start of the shift and again whenever conditions change.

It lists the tasks, hazards and controls, and every worker signs on before starting and signs off at the end of the shift. The main hazards are lifting and carrying heavy loads, falling tools and materials, falling from a ladder and structural collapse during alterations.

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FLHA example: steel beam installation

This is a complete FLHA for steel beam installation, with 5 job steps. Open it in the builder to add your site, crew and signatures, change anything, and download a PDF. Or download the free Word template below and fill it in by hand.

Field Level Hazard Assessment (FLHA)
Steel beam installation · Welding and fabrication · Example
Document FLHA-001 · Rev 1

Job steps, hazards and controls

#Job stepHazardsRisk beforeControlsRisk after
1Prop the structure as the engineer designed
  • Structural collapse during alterations
High
  • Get an engineer to check before removing any wall, beam, post or bracing that may be load-bearing. Elimination
  • Keep everyone clear of the area under and next to the work. Engineering (guarding)
  • Install temporary props, needles or shoring as designed before removing any support. Engineering
  • Follow the engineer's sequence. Do not change it without approval. Administrative
  • Check props daily. Do not remove them until the permanent support is in and approved. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat and safety boots. PPE
Medium
2Lift the beam with plant, never by hand above head height
  • Crane and lifting failure
  • Lifting and carrying heavy loads
High
  • Barricade the lift zone and keep everyone out from under the load. Engineering (guarding)
  • Use a crane rated for the load at the radius, set up on firm ground with outrigger pads. Engineering
  • Check slings, chains, shackles and hooks before use. Remove anything damaged or not tagged. Engineering
  • Plan the lift: weight, radius, ground, path and landing area. Use a written lift plan for complex lifts. Administrative
  • Use certified crane operators and trained riggers and signallers, as your province requires. Administrative
  • Use tag lines to control loads and agree on clear radio or hand signals. Administrative
  • Stop lifting in high wind or when the operator cannot see the signaller. Administrative
  • Never ride on a load or hook. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat, hi-vis, gloves and safety boots. PPE
  • Plan to avoid carrying: have materials delivered, and old items picked up, as close as possible to where they are used. Elimination
  • Use lighter or smaller loads: order smaller bags and shorter lengths, and drain or break down old items before moving them. Substitution
  • Use trolleys, pallet jacks, hoists, vacuum lifters or equipment instead of carrying by hand. Engineering
  • Use a two-person lift for anything heavy, long or awkward. Plan the route first and clear it. Administrative
  • Keep the load close, back straight and no twisting. Turn with your feet. Administrative
  • Rotate tasks and take breaks on long lifting jobs. Administrative
  • Wear gloves for grip and safety boots to protect your feet. PPE
Medium
3Guide with tag lines, never under the load
  • Falling tools and materials
High
  • Barricade and sign the drop zone under overhead work so nobody walks beneath. Engineering (guarding)
  • Fit toe boards, kick plates and mesh screens on scaffolds and edges. Engineering
  • Use catch fans, debris netting or covered walkways where people pass below. Engineering
  • Tether hand tools when working at height. Engineering
  • Keep platforms tidy. Do not stack materials near edges or above toe board height. Administrative
  • Lower materials with a hoist, chute or rope. Never throw or drop anything down. Administrative
  • Wear a hard hat anywhere objects could fall. PPE
Medium
4Seat and fix the beam on padstones or brackets
  • Structural collapse during alterations
  • Falling from a ladder
High
  • Structural collapse during alterations: see step 1 for the full controls Administrative
  • Use a platform ladder, mobile scaffold or aerial work platform for longer jobs instead of a straight ladder. Substitution
  • Use CSA Grade 1, 1A or 1AA ladders in good condition. Remove any damaged ladder from site. Engineering
  • Set extension ladders at a 4 to 1 angle on firm, level ground, tied or footed, and reaching 1 metre above the landing. Engineering
  • Use ladders only for short, light work. Do not carry heavy or awkward loads up a ladder. Administrative
  • Keep three points of contact and your belt buckle between the side rails. Do not overreach. Administrative
  • Do not stand on the top three rungs of an extension ladder or the top step of a stepladder. Administrative
  • Check the ladder before each use: feet, rungs, side rails and locks. Administrative
  • Wear non-slip safety boots with clean soles. PPE
Medium
5Remove props once approved and clean up
  • Poor housekeeping and waste
Medium
  • Order materials to size and send packaging back where you can. Elimination
  • Put waste bins and chutes close to the work. Engineering
  • Clean as you go, and do a full clean up at the end of each day. Administrative
  • Keep exits, stairs and walkways clear at all times. Administrative
  • Stack materials neatly on level ground, away from edges. Administrative
  • Wear gloves when handling waste. PPE
Low

PPE

CSA green triangle safety boots (CSA Z195)Hard hat (CSA Z94.1)Work glovesSafety glasses (CSA Z94.3)High-visibility vest (CSA Z96)

Plant and equipment

Mobile crane: Provincial crane operator certification, qualified riggerTelehandler: Provincial lift truck or telehandler operator trainingHand toolsPower drill

Permits and plans

Lift plan

Emergency

Call 911. Add the nearest hospital, the muster point and the first aid attendant for your site.

Sign-off

Supervisor and every worker sign to confirm they have read and understood this FLHA, then sign off at the end of the shift.

Free FLHA template for steel beam installation

Word (.docx) and PDF, Letter landscape, no email needed. Fill in your site details, then print or send it.

Word template (.docx)PDF template

Make yours in 2 minutes

Same document, filled in for your job. Answer a few yes or no questions, the crew signs on the phone, and you send the PDF.

Start this FLHA

Pre-start checklist for steel beam installation

Tick these off before work starts. They come from the hazards, permits and equipment in this job.

The safe sequence of work

  1. Prop the structure as the engineer designed
  2. Lift the beam with plant, never by hand above head height
  3. Guide with tag lines, never under the load
  4. Seat and fix the beam on padstones or brackets
  5. Remove props once approved and clean up

Hazards to watch on steel beam installation

The hazards most specific to this job, and the step where each one comes up.

Step 2Crane and lifting failureA load falls or swings, or the crane tips, crushing workers under or near the lift.
Step 1, 4Structural collapse during alterationsRemoving a wall, beam, post or bracing makes part of the building fall on workers.
Step 4Falling from a ladderThe ladder slips or tips, or the worker overreaches, and they fall onto a hard surface.
Step 3Falling tools and materialsTools, materials or debris fall from above and hit someone working or walking below.
Step 2Lifting and carrying heavy loadsLifting, carrying, pushing or twisting with heavy or awkward loads strains the back, shoulders or knees.
Step 5Poor housekeeping and wasteGarbage, offcuts and materials left lying around cause trips, cuts and fires, and block exits.
Almost certainLikelyPossibleUnlikelyRareHow bad it could be: First aid only to FatalityBA
Highest risk on steel beam installation: High before controls (B), down to Medium after controls (A), on the Canada 5 by 5 risk matrix (likely and lost time injury becomes unlikely and serious injury).

What changes on your site

This example covers the job itself. Your site may add more. Add controls for any of these that apply (the builder asks you these as yes or no questions):

  • Could anyone fall 3 metres or more, or fall any distance into machinery, water, a hazardous substance or through an opening?
  • Will anyone work on a roof?
  • Is there a fragile roof, skylight or clear roof sheet?
  • Will you use a scaffold or mobile tower?
  • Will you use an aerial work platform (scissor lift or boom lift)?

Licences and legal requirements in Canada

Equipment on this job that needs a licence, ticket or training:

  • Mobile crane: Provincial crane operator certification, qualified rigger
  • Telehandler: Provincial lift truck or telehandler operator training

Employers must identify hazards before work starts and control them, and workers must be told about them. A field level hazard assessment is done on site, at the start of each shift or task, and reviewed again when conditions change.

Rules that apply: Provincial OHS regulation, cranes and hoisting.

Why FLHAs get rejected

Prime contractors and COR auditors send documents back for these reasons. This example avoids them, but check yours too.

  • End of shift boxes already say "None" when the form was signed at the start of the shift.
  • One FLHA reused for days or weeks, or a "review by" date a month away, when the work and conditions change daily.
  • No time of assessment and no record of any revision, which Alberta s.7(3) requires.
  • Workers signed that they "read" it, but nothing shows they took part, which Alberta s.8(1) requires.
  • Work at height with no fall protection plan where the province requires one, or no written rescue procedure for workers using fall arrest.
  • Permits or locates required on site but no permit or ticket numbers recorded.
  • No re-assessment entry after an obvious change such as weather, a new task or a new crew member.

Rules by province for steel beam installation

Province or territoryKey local ruleRegulator
OntarioFall protection (O. Reg. 213/91 s.26) applies at a fall of more than 3 m, more than 1.2 m where the work area is used as a path for a wheelbarrow or similar equipment, and at any height into operating machinery, water or other liquid, a hazardous substance, or through an opening.Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development
British ColumbiaFall protection is required where a fall of 3 m or more may occur (s.11.2). A written fall protection plan is required at 7.5 m or more where there are no permanent guardrails (s.11.3).WorkSafeBC
AlbertaA hazard assessment must be done before work begins, and before a new work site is built (OHS Code s.7(1)). The results must be written down with the controls (s.7(2)).Alberta Occupational Health and Safety
QuebecGuardrails (Safety Code s.2.9.1, as amended by Decret 63-2025) are needed where a worker could fall into liquid or a hazardous substance, onto moving parts or dangerous equipment, 1.2 m or more when using a vehicle, 1.5 m or more when handling a load, and more than 3 m in all other cases.CNESST (Commission des normes, de l'equite, de la sante et de la securite du travail)
ManitobaA prime contractor is required whenever more than one employer or self employed person works on the site at the same time (Act s.7).Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Branch
SaskatchewanAn occupational health committee is required at 10 or more workers of one employer (Act s.3-22).Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, OHS Division
Nova ScotiaWorkers must be trained in fall protection before using it or working in, supervising or planning work in a fall protection area, with a refresher at least every 3 years (WHSR s.21.19).Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, Safety Branch (OHS)
New BrunswickFall protection is needed from 3 m above water or the nearest permanent safe level (Reg 91-191 s.49(1)(a)(i)).WorkSafeNB
Newfoundland and LabradorGive written notice to the minister before starting a construction project that will last 30 days or more, with the site, location, type of work and number of workers (Regs s.8).Government Services, Occupational Health and Safety Division
Prince Edward IslandFall protection is needed from 3 m above the nearest safe surface or water (Fall Protection Regulations s.2(1)(a)).Workers Compensation Board of PEI, OHS Division
YukonEvery employer must do hazard assessments with the committee, representative or workers, and redo them after significant changes or incidents (Regs s.1.03.01).Yukon Workers' Safety and Compensation Board
Northwest TerritoriesFall protection is needed from 3 m, or lower if there is a risk of injury (s.119(1)). Guardrails are needed for falls of 1.2 m to 3 m at permanent work sites (s.119(2)).Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC)
NunavutNo 911. To reach the RCMP in an emergency, dial your community's first three digits then 1111 (Iqaluit: 979-1111). Put the local fire, ambulance and RCMP numbers on every FLHA.Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC)

Questions

Do I need an FLHA for steel beam installation?

Provincial OHS law requires hazards to be assessed and controlled before work starts. A field level hazard assessment (FLHA) for steel beam installation is done on site at the start of the shift and again whenever conditions change.

Who signs the FLHA?

The supervisor and every worker take part in the assessment and sign on before work starts, then sign off at the end of the shift. Review it and re-sign whenever the task or conditions change.

How long do I keep it?

Keep completed hazard assessments for at least 3 years (COR auditors sample the last 12 months). Review this FLHA and re-sign whenever the task, crew or conditions change.

What PPE is needed for steel beam installation?

Usually CSA green triangle safety boots (CSA Z195), Hard hat (CSA Z94.1), Work gloves, Safety glasses (CSA Z94.3), High-visibility vest (CSA Z96). The site rules may add more, so check with the general contractor.

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Blank FLHA template: free FLHA templates. Also for other countries: Australia (SWMS) · United Kingdom (RAMS) · United States (JHA)

Sources