Government agencies like the US Department of Occupational Safety and Health regulate working conditions in confined spaces to prevent accidents. Confined spaces are defined as areas with limited entry and exit and potential hazards. Employers must comply with regulations, including written authorization, standby personnel, and adequate training for workers. Confined space regulations prioritize safety and emergency preparedness. Uniform standards protect workers and help companies avoid developing their own programs or complying with different state regulations.
Confined space regulations are promulgated by government agencies such as the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) in the United States to regulate the conditions under which workers can work in confined spaces, such as storage tanks, grain silos and elevator pits. These regulations have developed over the years in response to a national average of more than 90 people killed each year in what are called indoor accidents. Persons working in confined spaces and employers must follow the regulations specifically.
Confined spaces themselves are generally defined by DOSH as spaces large enough for a person to work, but not designed for continuous occupation, that have limited means of entry and exit. The volume of a confined space is not as important as the means and ease of entry and exit. Grain and storage silos are considered confined spaces, for example, due to limited access, even if they are very large.
A confined space that requires a permit to enter, called a permit required confined space, is a confined space that also poses a potential hazard to a worker. Potential hazards may include the possibility of trapping the worker with converging walls or a tapering configuration, the presence of materials that could engulf the worker, such as sawdust or grain, or other possible hazards. Confined space regulations make the employer responsible for certifying the confined spaces required by the permit and complying with the regulations regarding their access, which usually include written authorization, standby personnel and adequate training of any designated workers to enter the space.
Confined space regulations are a necessary element of industrial policy because without them too many employers and employees are unaware or unaware of the dangers posed by working in a confined space. Horror stories abound of workers suffering calamitous injury or even death as a result of their work in confined spaces. Confined space regulations are heavily safety oriented, emphasizing injury prevention alongside emergency preparedness. For example, once it is determined that a confined space is a permit-required confined space, the employer must develop a comprehensive plan to comply with DOSH standards. Workers entering the space must be authorized to do so, in writing, and before actually entering the space, the air quality must be tested, following which it must be monitored while the worker is in the space. Confined space regulations also deal extensively with emergencies and rescue operations.
The rationale for confined space regulations is to establish uniform standards of safety in an area where safety is too often overlooked, rather than simply alerting employers of the risk and expecting them to develop procedures themselves. The existence of such uniform standards not only protects workers and facilitates the enforcement of regulations, but also helps companies keep costs down by avoiding having to develop their own programs or comply with the various regulations of the different states in which they operate.
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