Permit Required Confined Spaces

At 2:00 p.m. on November 28, 2017, Employee #1 and a coworker were looking for drainage valves at a mine water treatment pond facility. Employee #1 went down a ladder into a manhole next to one of the ponds to look for the valve. Employee#1 fell off of the ladder as soon as his head…...

In 2014, Part XI – Confined Spaces was identified as a priority for review by the Labour Program’s Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee (OHSAC). The OHSAC made up of representatives from the Labour Program and employee and employer groups, conducted an in-depth review of Part XI between 2014 and 2017. The proposed changes are…...

OSHA has cited a container cleaning business for exposing employees to confined space hazards after two employees were fatally overcome by fumes while cleaning a tank trailer. The company faces $497,920 in penalties. OSHA investigators determined that one employee became unresponsive after entering the trailer’s confined space. After a non-entry retrieval system used to rescue…...

Over the past several years, I have attempted to convince the SAFTENG members that an Evaporative Condenser in an Ammonia refrigeration process is indeed a Permit-Required Confined Space.  Earlier this year, the IIAR published one of my articles on this topic, hoping to educate the industry about this life safety topic.  I think we have…...

Here is your scenario:  You are evaluating a city water tank/tower.  So you ask the following three questions… (1) Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; and (2) Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults,…...

One of the questions that we all seem to get about Confined Spaces is the “service bays” at vehicle repair shops like your quick oil change shops where you position your vehicle over an open pit.  Under the floor, there is a room where the technician enters via a set of stairs in order to…...

After an investigation by OSHA, a grain elevator business in Illinois was cited $205,106 and placed on the Severe Violator Enforcement Program for failing to provide safety protections to its employees. A worker suffered fatal injuries after falling into a grain bin at its Grant Park facility. OSHA cited the business for two willful and…...

OSHA cited a grain, lumber, and supply company for grain-handling safety violations after corn engulfed an employee clearing clumps in a grain storage bin. First responders were able to rescue the worker. The company faces $69,010 in penalties. OSHA cited the company for two willful and four serious violations for exposing employees to engulfment hazards…...

OSHA has cited a manufacturer of steel storage tanks for exposing employees to amputation, confined spaces, and other safety hazards. The company faces $234,528 in penalties. OSHA issued 10 repeated and 12 serious safety and health violations, including failing to implement lockout/tagout procedures to prevent machines from unintentional startup, provide required machine guarding, and control…...

One of the topics we have debated about 1910.146 is whether (c)(5) and (c)(7) entry methods could be used simultaneously on the same space.  I was a resounding “No” but since we could never get an official answer from OSHA, there were many in our profession who felt it was acceptable to use (c)(5) and…...