Fourteen questions about special operations

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1. On August 25, 2020, the Safety Foundation Department of the Ministry of Emergency Management issued a letter seeking opinions on the \"Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)\\", in order to gather public feedback. Has the new version of the catalog been officially released and taken effect? The \"Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)\\" has not yet been officially implemented. Currently, the scope of special operations is still determined in accordance with the existing \"Regulations on the Safety Technology Training and Assessment of Personnel Engaged in Special Operations\" (formerly Order No. 30 issued by the State Administration of Work Safety). Specifically, these regulations are applied in line with the \"Orders of the State Administration of Work Safety\" (Order No. 30, revised in Order No. 63 and Order No. 80). Order No. 30 had been amended twice previously, namely the \"Regulations on the Management of Safety Technology Training and Assessment for Special Operations Personnel\" (issued by the State Administration of Work Safety as Order No. 30 on May 24, 2010, and came into effect on July 1, 2010 ； As amended for the first time by Order No. 63 of the State Administration of Work Safety dated August 29, 2013, and for the second time by Order No. 80 of the State Administration of Work Safety dated May 29, 2015). These two revisions focus on amending the regulatory requirements regarding the safety and technical training of personnel engaged in special types of work, and further clarify the division of responsibilities between the **State Administration of Work Safety** and the **Coal Mine Safety Supervision Bureau** in terms of guiding, supervising, and managing the safety and technical training, assessment, certification, and reevaluation of such personnel (including those who work with special equipment in coal mines). Q:2. Regarding electrical work, what is currently included in the list of special-type electrical workers? What is the relationship between different electrical work certificates? For example, can someone who holds a high-voltage electrician certificate work on low-voltage electrical tasks? ； Is it necessary to obtain a low-voltage electrician’s certificate or a high-voltage electrician’s certificate in addition to the special operation certificate for relay protection? Is it also required to have a certificate for electrical testing work? In accordance with the Notice issued by the General Administration of Work Safety in January 2018, titled \"Notice on Matters Concerning the Integration of Special Operations (Electrical Work)\" (An Jian Zong Ren Shi [2018] No. 18), the list of electrical work tasks has been adjusted to include six categories: low-voltage electrical work, high-voltage electrical work, power cable work, relay protection work, electrical testing work, and explosion-proof electrical work. The electrician’s work permit is assessed separately according to the list of electrician tasks; electricians must carry out their work based on the specific tasks assigned to them, with no substitution allowed between different tasks. Q:3. Is it currently required to hold a special operations qualification certificate to work in confined spaces? According to the \"Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)\", the revised catalogue includes 12 categories of operations and 66 specific tasks. It is planned to add categories for safe operations in confined spaces as well as emergency rescue operations; however, this \"Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)\」has not yet been put into official use. The current “Catalogue of Special Operations” does not cover work in confined spaces. Q:4. Does holding a welding operation certificate for special equipment issued by the quality and technical supervision department allow one to carry out ordinary fusion welding tasks (i.e., those specified in the professional certificate for welding and thermal cutting issued by the emergency management department)? For example, if one has obtained a certificate for operating special equipment from the quality inspection department by working on the welding of pressure vessels, is it still necessary to get a welding operator’s license from the local emergency management agency? According to the List of Special Operations, welding and thermal cutting operations do not include the types of work specified in the Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Special Equipment. To carry out welding and thermal cutting tasks, it is necessary to obtain a special operation certificate for welding and thermal cutting in accordance with the Provisions on the Management of Safety Technical Training and Assessment for Special Operation Workers (formerly Order No. 30 issued by the State Administration for Work Safety) before one can start working. Article 30 of the Work Safety Law stipulates that special operation personnel in production and business operations must receive specialized safety training in accordance with **relevant regulations and obtain the corresponding qualifications before they can take up their posts. The scope of personnel engaged in special operations is determined by the emergency management department of the State Council in conjunction with relevant departments of the State Council. Q: Is a license required for work at heights of 5.2M or more? Is it necessary to have a high-altitude work certification to carry out fitting and welding tasks on a qualified scaffold that is more than 2 meters above the ground? Workers use a lifting platform that rises more than 2 meters high for inspections, repairs, or other installation tasks; this platform is equipped with compliant safety guards, providing workers with a large working area. Is it necessary to have a certification for working at heights for such tasks? According to the \"Catalogue of Special Operations,\" work at heights is divided into work involving climbing on scaffolds and work involving installation, maintenance, and demolition at heights. Among them, work involving height access mainly includes: carrying out the erection or dismantling of scaffolds and bridging structures at heights ； Tasks involving installation, maintenance, and demolition at heights mainly include: interior and exterior decoration and cleaning of buildings, installation of electrical and telecommunications lines, installation of pipelines at heights, installation and repair of small air conditioners at heights, installation, inspection, and maintenance of various equipment and facilities as well as outdoor advertising systems, as well as the demolition of buildings and equipment at heights. If work is carried out specifically or regularly at heights of 2 meters or more above the reference level for falling, it is necessary to apply for a special permit for working at heights in accordance with relevant regulations. According to GB/T3608-2008 \"Classification of Work at Heights\", the reference level for falling height refers to the horizontal plane passing through the lowest point within the possible falling area. Q:6. Can those with a permit for work at heights – installation, maintenance, and demolition – carry out scaffolding erection and dismantling tasks? In accordance with the Regulations on the Catalogue of Special Operations, those engaged in the erection and dismantling of scaffolding must obtain a special operation permit for working at heights as required. The special operation certificate for working at heights and the special operation certificate for installation, maintenance, and demolition work at heights cannot replace each other. Q:7. Due to the impact of the pandemic, the special operations worker only attended training at a training institution and did not take any exams; can this person continue to work in special operations? The official website of the Ministry of Emergency Management states in the feedback section that policies regarding the extension of the renewal period for special operation permits vary from place to place during the pandemic prevention and control period; it is recommended to consult the local emergency management authorities. Q:8. Can special operation permits be applied for, renewed, or replaced in a different location? The special operation permit is valid nationwide. Those applying for a special operations permit can submit an application for assessment to the licensing authority at the city (prefecture) level or above where they work, or to any examination institution appointed by such authority, in order to obtain the permit, have it renewed, or exchange it. To enable everyone to take the exam in a location close to where they are, you can visit the \"Institution Search\" section on the official website of the Ministry of Emergency Management, on the \"Query Platform for Information on Qualification Certificates for Special Operations and Assessments of Knowledge and Management Skills in Work Safety\", or use the WeChat official account \"**Work Safety Exams\" to find the examination institutions (testing sites). Q:9. How to query information on special operation permits? Log in to the platform for querying special operation certificates, namely the “Platform for Querying Information on Qualification Certificates for Special Operations as Well as Results of Assessments on Safety Production Knowledge and Management Skills” (http://cx.mem.gov.cn/), or use the WeChat official account “**Safety Production Exams” to make the query. Q:10. Do the four operational tasks of “new coal chemical processing operations”, “calcium carbide production processes”, “azotization processes”, and “storage operations for hazardous chemicals under strict supervision” fall under the category of safe handling of hazardous chemicals as listed in the “Catalogue of Special Operations”? The “Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)” includes the operations mentioned above. Reason: First, in accordance with the original notice issued by the General Administration titled \"Notice on Publishing the List of the Second Batch of Hazardous Chemical Processes Subject to Intensive Supervision and Adjusting Some Typical Processes Among the First Batch of Such Processes\" (An Jian Zong Guan San [2013] No. 3), three operational tasks such as \"New coal chemical processing tasks\" were included in the list for management. Together with the operational tasks related to hazardous chemicals subject to intensive supervision, as well as the 15 hazardous chemical processing tasks listed in the original catalog, these cover the main characteristics of current hazardous chemical processes ； Secondly, the storage of hazardous chemicals, which is under close supervision, requires high levels of professionalism and poses significant safety risks; it demands a lot from the workers, who need to possess knowledge and skills in health and safety protection, awareness of chemical hazards, and emergency response. Drawing on lessons from major incidents such as the severe fire and explosion that occurred at the Ruihai Company’s hazardous chemicals warehouse in Tianjin Port on August 12, it is necessary to include hazardous chemicals storage operations in the relevant regulatory framework in order to further strengthen safety management. At present, the \"Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)\\" has not been officially implemented, and the current \"Catalogue of Special Operations\" does not cover the operations mentioned above. Q:11. Upon reaching retirement age, if the special operations worker’s certification has not expired, can they continue to work in special operations? In accordance with Article 4 of the \"Regulations on the Management of Safety Technology Training and Assessment for Special Operators\" (formerly Order No. 30 issued by the **State Administration for Work Safety), \"Special operators must meet the following conditions: (1) Be at least 18 years old and not exceed the **legal retirement age.\" ”Q:12. Currently, both the emergency management department and the construction department issue special operation certificates. Are the requirements set by the emergency management department for special operations suitable for the construction industry? In accordance with Article 2 of the “Regulations on the Management of Safety Technology Training and Assessment for Special-Type Workers”, “if relevant laws, administrative regulations, or decisions issued by the State Council provide separate provisions regarding the management of such special-type workers, those provisions shall apply”” ； In accordance with Article 3 of the \"Regulations on the Management of Safety Technology Training and Assessment for Special-Type Workers\" and Articles 3 and 5 of the \"Notice on Issuing the ‹Regulations on the Management of Special-Type Workers in Construction›\", for those tasks in the construction industry that are indeed listed as special-type tasks, such as welding and thermal cutting operations, work at heights, etc., it is \"mandatory to undergo specialized safety technology training and pass the assessment in order to obtain a ‹Special-Type Worker Operation Certificate of the People’s Republic of China› before starting work.\" Q:13. Can special operation certificates issued by some safety associations be used? Article 18 of the “Regulations on the Administration of Safety Technology Training and Assessment for Special Operators” (formerly Order No. 30 of the **State Administration for Work Safety**) stipulates that for applications that have been accepted, the authority responsible for assessment and certification shall complete the review process within 20 working days. If the requirements are met, a special operation permit will be issued ； If it does not meet the requirements, the reasons shall be stated. Safety associations are not certification authorities and have no right to issue special operation permits. Q:14. How are large and medium-sized refrigeration and air conditioning equipment defined, and which document serves as the basis? Currently, many refrigeration units are of the automatic control type. Do the personnel working on such units still need to obtain a \"Special Operations Permit\"? Currently, there are indeed no regulations or standards defined for large and medium-sized refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment in the industry. The Ministry of Emergency Management sought the opinions of relevant experts during the revision of the \"Catalogue of Special Operations\" in an attempt to establish criteria for defining such equipment. The “Catalogue of Special Operations (Draft for Comment)” has not yet been officially released or put into effect. END Source: China Chemical Safety Association