Permit-Required Confined Space

A Confined Space is an area or the inside of a piece of equipment that, while not necessarily designed for people, are large enough for workers to enter and perform certain jobs. 

A Confined Space also has limited or restricted means of entry or exit and is not designed for continuous occupancy. Confined Spaces can be, but are not limited to vessels, silos, tanks, storage containers, hoppers, vaults, pits, manholes, tunnels, pipelines etc. and also may be required on the RAVS® for your ISN® account.

Numerous job sites contain areas that are considered “confined spaces”. Confined Spaces can be exceptionally dangerous environments to work in, because a lot of the time confined spaces are underground, they are more susceptible to chemicals that are heavier than air and sink into low lying areas like H2S(hydrogen sulfide) and benzene. 

Normal tasks become more dangerous when engaging in the same tasks in a confined space. For example, welding is a dangerous task, but welding in confined spaces is extremely dangerous. The gas from welding fuels become more dangerous because it can fill up a small, enclosed area, making the air more toxic and flammable. 

OSHA uses the term “Permit-Required Confined Space” for a confined space with one or more of the following characteristics: 

• Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere
• Contains material that has the potential to engulf an entrant
• Has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area that could trap or asphyxiate an entrant
• Contains any other recognized safety or health hazard 

Permit-Required Confined Spaces must be identified by the employer who must inform exposed employees of the existence and location of such spaces and their hazards.

Confined spaces are a potential hazard in just about every occupation; therefore, the recognition of a confined space is the first step in preventing serious injury or death. Since deaths in confined spaces often occur because the atmosphere is oxygen-deficient, toxic or combustible, confined spaces that contain or have the potential to contain a serious atmospheric hazard should be classified as Permit-required confined spaces and should be tested prior to entry and continually monitored. 

Because of all of this, it’s really important to have an exceptional confined space safety program in place for your company.

Requirements and best practices are different between general industry and construction. A few things you’ll absolutely want to keep in mind. 

• If the confined space is being worked on by multiple companies, the hosting employer is responsible for the safety of all others on site.
• The work site must be evaluated by a competent person including permit required confined spaces prior to anyone being allowed to enter.
• Atmospheric testing must be conducted prior to entry and be continuous
• Monitoring of engulfment hazards continuously if possible
• Suspension of Permits

What to Do if Exposed to Permit-Required Confined Space

• Do not enter permit-required confined space without being trained and without having a permit to enter.
• Review, understand and follow employer’s procedures before entering permit-required confined spaces and know how and when to exit.
• Before entry, identify any physical hazards.
• Before and during entry, test and monitor for oxygen content, flammability, toxicity or explosive hazards as necessary.
• Use employer’s fall protection, rescue, air-monitoring, ventilation, lighting and communication equipment according to entry procedures.
• Maintain contact at all times with a radio trained attendant either visually, via phone, or by two-way radio. This monitoring system enables the attendant and entry supervisor to order you to evacuate and to alert appropriately trained rescue personnel to rescue entrants when needed.

Is the confined space opening elevated or non-elevated? Elevated openings would be an opening that is higher than 4ft above the ground or working level and usually requires knowledge of high angle rescue procedures because of difficulty in transporting a patient to the ground from the opening. 

Is the opening restricted or unrestricted? Restricted openings are anything less than 24 inches in dimension because it is too small to allow a rescuer to simply enter the space while using a SCBA or to allow normal spinal immobilization of an injured employee. 

Is the space access horizontal or vertical? Horizontal being on the side of a permit space and makes retrieval lines a little more difficult to work with. Vertical is when the opening is at the top, like a manhole and may require knowledge of rope techniques or special procedures to safely retrieve a downed entrant. 

Permit-Required Confined Space team members include Attendants, Entrants, Supervisors, Controlling Contractors and Rescue and Emergency.

 The attendant must remain outside the permit space during operations until relieved by another attendant or operations cease. The attendant must be trained and certified in CPR and First Aid.

The Entrant is an employee authorized by the employer to enter the permit required confined space. The Entrant will be performing the operations inside the confined space. The Entrant must also be trained and certified in CPR and First Aid.

The Supervisor is responsible for determining if a confined space is acceptable for entry, authorizing and overseeing operations, terminating entry. 

The Controlling Contractor is the employer who is responsible for everyone on the work site.

Rescuers and Emergency Service are personnel who are designated to rescue employees from permit-required confined spaces. Rescuers are also required to be trained and certified in CPR and First Aid. All team members must receive safety training in confined spaces annually. And then depending on your role, you should receive specialized training as well. 

These are just a few things to keep in mind when developing your confined spaces safety program. For a more comprehensive training check out our in-house training kit or check out our online training platform. If you need to develop a written program, we can help with that as well. Give us a call and we’ll answer any questions you have. We are here to help and happy to assist. 

Call 866-627-3850 or email us at sales@jjsafetyllc.com to learn more.