Work Safety Ordinance [New Version], 5730-1970

A factory shall be deemed to be overcrowded to the extent mentioned in section 21 if the number of persons employed at one time in a workroom is such that the air space per worker in that room is less than eleven cubic metres, and in a factory or part thereof that did not exist on the date of commencement of the Work Safety Ordinance (Amendment) Law, 5734-1974 – less than eleven and a half cubic metres.

If the Chief Inspector is satisfied that, by reason of the special circumstances in which work is carried on in a workroom, it is not appropriate or necessary to apply the provisions of section 22 to that room, he may by certificate exempt that room therefrom subject to the conditions set out in that certificate.

The Minister may by Regulations prescribe an increase in the air space per worker to be provided under section 22; such Regulations may be made for a class or description of factory or part of a factory or for a process.

In calculating the air space for the purposes of this Section, no account shall be taken of any space more than 4.25 metres above the floor, and in a factory or part thereof that did not exist on the date of commencement of the Work Safety Ordinance (Amendment) Law, 5734-1974 – more than three metres above the floor, and if there is a gallery in a room, the gallery shall be treated as if it were a separate room.

At the request of the regional inspector, a notice of the number of persons who may be employed in a workroom in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall be displayed in that workroom.

Effective and suitable measures shall be taken to secure and maintain, by the circulation of fresh air, adequate ventilation in every workroom, and to render harmless, so far as is practicable, all fumes, dust and other impurities generated in the course of any process or work carried on in the factory that may be injurious to health.

Effective measures shall be taken to secure and maintain sufficient and suitable lighting, whether natural or artificial, in every part of a factory in which persons work or pass.

Glazed windows and skylights used for lighting a workroom shall, so far as is practicable, be kept clean on both the inner and outer surfaces and free from obstruction to the admission of light, but this provision shall not prevent their being whitewashed or shaded for protection against heat or glare.

Effective measures shall be taken to secure and maintain a reasonable temperature in every workroom, but no method shall be used which causes the emission into the air of the room of fumes of such a nature and quantity as to be likely to injure or cause discomfort to the workers in the room.

In a workroom in which work is carried on for a substantial part of the time in a seated posture and does not involve substantial physical effort, a temperature of less than 16 degrees Celsius, after the first hour, shall not be deemed a reasonable temperature while persons are working, and at the request of the regional inspector a thermometer shall be provided and maintained in a suitable position therein.

Where a process causes the floor to become so wet that liquids can be drained off, effective measures shall be taken and maintained to drain them off.

The Minister may by Regulations prescribe what constitutes suitable and sufficient sanitary conveniences for factories or for a class or description of factories.

Each of the following parts shall be securely fenced:

unless it is a part mentioned in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5) or (7) and it is so positioned or constructed as to be as safe to every person working on the premises as if it were securely fenced.

"competent person" – a person who has attained the age of eighteen years and in whom both of the following conditions are fulfilled:

"operation on machinery in motion" – the examination of a part of machinery, or lubrication or adjustment found to be immediately necessary in the course of the examination, which must be carried out while the part is in motion;

"operation on a transmission in motion" – lubrication of a transmission used in a continuous process, or the mounting or transfer of a transmission belt on such a transmission, if the Chief Inspector has certified in a certificate issued to the factory that he is satisfied that, by reason of the continuity of the process, stopping the transmission is likely to cause serious harm to the carrying out of the process, and the operation is performed by the method and in the circumstances specified in that certificate and in accordance with the conditions set out therein.

A dangerous part of machinery as mentioned in section 37(4) in respect of which, by reason of the nature of the operation, safety cannot be achieved by means of a fixed guard, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of section 37 if a device is provided that automatically prevents the operator from coming into contact with that part.

Where the Minister is satisfied that, owing to special circumstances, it is unnecessary or impracticable to comply with a requirement of section 41, he may direct that that requirement shall not apply in those circumstances.

The Minister may, in respect of a particular machine or a particular process for which a machine is used, make Regulations requiring the fencing of materials or articles that are dangerous while in motion in the machine.

Every fence or other safety device installed in accordance with the preceding provisions of this Section shall be of substantial construction, shall be constantly maintained and shall be kept in position for as long as the parts requiring fencing or another safety device are in motion or in use, except where it is necessary for them to be exposed for examination, or for lubrication or adjustment found to be immediately necessary during the examination, and all the requirements of section 38 have been complied with.

In a machine intended to be driven by mechanical power –

A machine intended to be driven by mechanical power that does not comply with the requirements of section 45 shall not be sold by any person or hired for use in a factory in Israel, and no person acting as agent of a seller or hirer shall cause or bring about its sale or hiring for use in a factory in Israel.

The Minister may extend the provisions of section 46 to machines, installations or equipment that do not comply with requirements of this Ordinance or of a regulation made thereunder, all as he shall specify in Regulations; Regulations under this section may relate to machines, installations or equipment in a specified process.

The provisions of this Section shall not apply to a machine the construction of which was commenced before the 27th day of Shevat 5706 (29 January 1946), and Regulations under section 47 shall not apply to machines, installations or equipment the construction of which was commenced before the making of those Regulations.

Safe means of access to every place at which a person is at any time required to work shall be provided and maintained so far as is reasonably practicable; without prejudice to the generality of this provision –

Where a person is required to work at a place from which he is liable to fall more than two metres, and the place does not afford a safe foothold and, where necessary, a safe handhold, means for his safety shall be provided, so far as is reasonably practicable, by fencing or otherwise.

Where a traversing part of an automatic machine, or any material carried thereon, moves within a space through which a person is liable to pass in the course of his work or in other circumstances, it shall not be permitted for that part or material to reach, in its outward or inward movement, a point less than fifty centimetres from a fixed structure that is not part of the machine.

In relation to a spinning machine with an automatic carriage, every practicable measure shall be taken, by instructions to the person in charge of the machine and otherwise, to ensure that no worker is present in the space between the traversing part of the machine and a fixed part of the machine towards which the traversing part moves on its inward run, unless the machine has been stopped with the traversing part on its outward run.