Permit Required Confined Spaces

I have written repeatedly about Confined Space rescue requirements and the problems with using off-site rescue teams, specifically referencing the requirement of 1910.146(j)(4)…  Duties of entry supervisors. The employer shall ensure that each entry supervisor: … 1910.146(j)(4) Verifies that rescue services are available and that the means for summoning them are operable; Now it seems that…...

In both their General Industry and Construction Confined Space Standards, one of OSHA’s criteria for a “Confined Space” is that the space is “not designed for continuous employee occupancy.” These six (6) words seem to cause much confusion on both ends of the CS debate. I have seen it misused to claim a space is…...

OSHA opened an inspection of the mill on Dec. 27, 2016, in response to a complaint alleging unsafe working conditions. Inspectors discovered employees exposed to serious safety hazards, including permit-required confined space hazards and LOTO failures, which I have summarized below:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a...

In my experience, I have found most older built cooling towers to be Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS); however, some of the newer designs have addressed the hazards which make these units PRCS (e.g., guarding the fan and shaft within the unit) or these spaces may be eligible for reclassification using 1910.146(c)(7).  But this OSHA fatality inspection…...

OSHA cited a South Florida utility company and related contracting company after the agency’s investigation into the deaths of three workers who succumbed to toxic gases in a manhole on Jan. 16, 2017.  A 34-year-old pipe layer entered the manhole – a confined space – and quickly became unresponsive. A 49-year-old laborer entered the hole…...

On May 4, 2015, OSHA issued a new standard for CONSTRUCTION WORK IN CONFINED SPACES, which became effective August 3, 2015. This is a summary of OSHA activity for this new standard during the period October 2015 through September 2016. Penalties shown reflect current rather than initial amounts. For more information, see definitions. 1926.1203 – General…...

PLEASE NOTE: This article may contain grammar errors, as this is my response to the more than 60 messages I received in the past seven days regarding last week’s article, When contractors enter a host’s PRCSs (1910.146(c)(8)(iii).   I have put this together tonight so as to not keep any of those who contacted me…...