Permit Required Confined Spaces

Since our presentation at ASSP Safety2019! I have been getting the strangest request for clarification on how OSHA views “limited means of egress” and for the life of me, I just can’t understand why.  Yes, the GI standard for PRCS’s (1910.146) does not define the phrase; however, since 2015 OSHA’s Construction Standard for PRCS has…...

Since our presentation at ASSP Safety2019! I have been getting the strangest request for clarification on how OSHA views “limited means of egress” and for the life of me, I just can’t understand why.  Yes, the GI standard for PRCS’s (1910.146) does not define the phrase; however, since 2015 OSHA’s Construction Standard for PRCS has…...

At 10 p.m. on 3/19/18, an employee and coworker were performing preventative maintenance on a chlorine gas system used in a water filtration process. The employee and coworker were removing and reinstalling, a flange with a black Teflon rubber gasket. They were working in a 48-foot long, 24-foot wide, and 6-foot tall crawl space under…...

At 10 p.m. on 3/19/18, an employee and coworker were performing preventative maintenance on a chlorine gas system used in a water filtration process. The employee and coworker were removing and reinstalling, a flange with a black Teflon rubber gasket. They were working in a 48-foot long, 24-foot wide, and 6-foot tall crawl space under…...

A 47-year-old male employee was fatally injured when he became engulfed by sawdust after entering a dust collection silo.  The company is a hardwood flooring manufacturer.  On the day of the incident, the victim was cleaning the inside of a dust collection silo containing wood dust. The fire department had been called on to extinguish…...

A 47-year-old male employee was fatally injured when he became engulfed by sawdust after entering a dust collection silo.  The company is a hardwood flooring manufacturer.  On the day of the incident, the victim was cleaning the inside of a dust collection silo containing wood dust. The fire department had been called on to extinguish…...

I have an on going debate with a new food client on their “spiral freezers” being a Permit-Required Confined Space(s).  In my professional opinion, a spiral freezer, at least all the ones I have been around, are without a doubt a PRCS.  This company, including their brand manufacturer, are claiming they are not – based…...

I have written about the differences between a CS vs. PRCS many times, but one situation that we must NEVER loose sight of is that many PRCS today are caused by the work taking place within them and NOT the normal PRCS hazards.  What do I mean by this?  The entry supervisor checks the atmosphere…...

One of the weakness of OSHA’s PRCS standard(s) (1910.146 and 1926.1200) is that when the space is evaluated and it is determined to only be a Confined Space (CS).  Too often we let down our guard and assumed the space will pose no hazards to the workers entering the space.  Recently I was made aware…...

We debated this topic a couple of years back and although I am not sure we came to an agreement, I was, still am, set on the idea that 1910.146(c)(5) and (c)(7) can NOT be used simultaneously on the same PRCS.  In other words, the PRCS either qualifies for (c)(5) entry or (c)(7) entry; or…...

As it usually goes, the vast majority of challenges and questions I have received thus far from yesterdays ASSP2019! presentation center around the most controversial characteristic of 1910.146… 4. Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard I could have spent a half day talking on this single characteristic, but I had only 35…...