We came across this space while performing other safety and health work for a client. The client we were working for is not the owner of the equipment, but a recent near-miss occurred and the host and client wanted to ask us about this space and the near-miss. This piece of equipment is very large and fast-moving and this new design has placed all the power transmission devices inside an enclosure for “1-stop shopping”, as stated by the maintenance manager. We were all in agreement that LOTO was certainly applicable to enter the space, but in the near-miss, a manufacturer’s rep was overcome by a cleaning product while working inside. Before we knew of this near-miss, it took me all of 3 seconds to declare this space a Permit-Required Confined Space…
NOTE: use the 36″ barrier height for a comparison of the door size…
