CSA Safety Standard
CSA First Aid Kits are required to be in accordance with the newly developed Canadian Standards Association (CSA), CSA Z1220-17 (R2021) – First aid kits for the workplace.
Background
In order to standardize first aid competencies across Canada, a joint workshop was held in October, 2014 between CSA Group’s Occupational Health and Safety Standards Program and the Canadian Red Cross’ Workplace Injury Reduction Collaborative Forum.
The aim for the workshop was to provide a standard that could serve as part of a national system for first aid training and assessment of training organizations. A CSA Technical Committee was formed to develop CSA Z1210, Workplace first aid. The group also identified the need to establish national guidance regarding the contents of workplace first aid kits to provide clarification and consistency to organizations as part of a national system for workplace first aid.
Classification System
The standard has defined a new workplace first aid kit classification system. It follows a scalability approach that allows organizations to meet the unique requirements of their specific worksites while also giving them improved flexibility. Minimum requirements for first aid kits have been defined based on the risk level of the organization and the number of workers they have on each shift.
There are three main classifications of workplace first aid kits:
- Type 1: Personal (for isolated workers)
- Type 2: Basic (for low risk environments)
- Type 3: Intermediate (for moderate-risk and high-risk environments)
To allow for additional flexibility, the Type 2 and Type 3 kits have been further classified into small, medium and large. The kit sizes are dependant on the size of the organization and in particular, the number of employees working in each shift.
CSA Type 1 Personal First Aid Kits (Lone/Isolated Worker)
CSA Type 1 Personal First Aid Kits meets the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Z1220-2017 (R2021) standard for workplace first aid kits. These kits are a requirement for all isolated workers or workers who do not have access to a workplace first aid kit.
CSA Type 2 Basic First Aid Kits (Low Risk Workplace Environment)
CSA Type 2 Basic First Aid Kits are a requirement for low-risk environments. These kits have been further classified into small, medium and large kits to accommodate the number of employees in an organization per work shift. The CSA Type 2 Basic First Aid Kits meet the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Z1220-2017 (R2021) standard for workplace first aid kits.
CSA Type 3 Intermediate First Aid Kits (High Risk Workplace Environment)
CSA Type 3 Intermediate First Aid Kits are a requirement for moderate-risk and high-risk environments. These kits have been further classified into small, medium and large kits to accommodate the number of employees in an organization per work shift. The CSA Type 3 Intermediate First Aid Kits meet the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Z1220-2017 (R2021) standard for workplace first aid kits.