12.6: Employer Responsibilities

All employers engaged in construction work must (1) identify any confined spaces in which their workers will be working, and (2) determine whether any such spaces are permit spaces. When workers work in permit spaces, they must be protected against the hazards in those spaces. To ensure such protection, the Confined Spaces standard imposes duties on “entry employers,” “host employers,” and “controlling contractors.” If an employer knows that a permit space is present at its worksite, it must inform its workers of the location and danger posed by each space. It may do this by making sure that warning signs are posted. In addition, where an employer’s workers have no work to do in the space, that employer must ensure that its workers stay out. One way to do this is for employers to make sure that workers recognize permit space warning signs and understand their significance.

Most deaths and injuries in confined spaces result from atmospheric hazards. Such hazards include insufficient oxygen and toxic or flammable chemicals. The competent person must evaluate, including testing as necessary, whether the following hazards are or may be present, before workers enter the space:

■ Oxygen deficiency (concentration less than 19.5 percent) or excess (concentration above 23.5 percent).

■ Concentration of any flammable gas, vapor, or mist in excess of 10 percent of its lower explosive limit:

■ Airborne combustible dust at a concentration equal to or greater than its lower explosive limit.

■ Atmospheric concentration of any substance that can cause death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue, injury or acute illness.

Asphyxiation due to insufficient oxygen is one of the leading causes of death during construction work in confined spaces. An oxygen-deficient atmosphere endangers both the workers assigned to enter space and others who may attempt a rescue without proper equipment and training. Therefore, in evaluating a confined space to determine whether it is a permit space, particular consideration should be given to whether it contains or has the potential to contain an oxygen concentration of less than 19.5 percent.

Any space that is to be entered after being isolated from the atmosphere for a period of time could be oxygen-deficient, and the oxygen concentration should be measured to determine whether the space must be classified as a permit space. Direct reading instruments that measure the concentration of oxygen in the air are available for this purpose. Such instruments must be properly calibrated and used to give reliable results.

Engulfment means the surrounding and effective capture of a person by a liquid or finely divided (flowable) solid substance that can be aspirated to cause death by filling or plugging the respiratory system or that can exert enough force on the body to cause death by strangulation, constriction, or crushing, or the substance suffocates the individual. The competent person must consider whether any liquid or flowable solid (such as sand) could enter space. Any pipe or manhole in an operating water or sewer system in which a worker works is a confined space that could potentially engulf an entrant and must be treated as a permit space.

Hazards that the competent person should consider include fire and explosion hazards, the presence of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic energy, temperature extremes, radiation, noise, corrosive chemicals, and biological hazards (such as venomous animals or insects).

If a workplace contains a permit space or spaces, the employer must inform workers in the vicinity of the location of the danger posed by each space. This can be done by posting warning signs like that to the right at each possible point of entry, or by other equally effective means.

In addition to posting warning signs, an employer who learns about a permit space must also notify its employees’ authorized representative and the controlling contractor of the location and danger of the space. The controlling contractor must then notify other employers on the site, whose activities could create a hazard in the permit space, of the presence and location of such spaces and the hazards associated with them before workers enter the space.

Worker Training

Before the initial work assignment begins, the employer must provide proper training for all workers who are required to work in permit spaces. After the training, employers must ensure that the employees have acquired the understanding, knowledge and skills necessary to safely perform their duties. Additional training is required when:

■ The job duties change;

■ A change occurs in the permit space program or the permit space operation presents any new hazard; and

■ An employee’s job performance shows deficiencies.

In addition to this training, rescue team members also require training in CPR and first aid. Employers must certify that this training has been provided.

After completion of training, the employer must keep a record of employee training and make it available for inspection by employees and their authorized representatives. The record must include the employee’s name, the trainer’s signature or initials and dates of the training.

Safety Entry Requirements

Preparation: Before workers can enter a confined space, employers must provide pre-entry planning. This includes:

■ Having a competent person evaluate the work site for the presence of confined spaces, including permit-required confined spaces.

■ Once the space is classified as a permit-required confined space, identifying the means of entry and exit, proper ventilation methods, and elimination or control of all potential hazards in the space.

■ Ensuring that the air in a confined space is tested, before workers enter, for oxygen levels, flammable and toxic substances, and stratified atmospheres.

■ If a permit is required for the space, removing or controlling hazards in the space and determining rescue procedures and necessary equipment.

■ If the air in a space is not safe for workers, ventilating or using whatever controls or protections are necessary so that employees can safely work in the space.

Authorized entrant

Authorized entrants are required to:

■ Know space hazards, including information on the means of exposure such as inhalation or dermal absorption, signs of symptoms and consequences of the exposure;

■ Use appropriate personal protective equipment properly;

■ Maintain communication with attendants as necessary to enable them to monitor the entrant’s status and alert the entrant to evacuate when necessary;

■ Exit from the permit space as soon as possible when: Ordered by the authorized person; He or she recognizes the warning signs or symptoms of exposure; A prohibited condition exists; or An automatic alarm is activated.

■ Alert the attendant when a prohibited condition exists or when warning signs or symptoms of exposure exist.

Attendant

The attendant is required to:

■ Remain outside the permit space during entry operations unless relieved by another authorized attendant;

■ Perform non-entry rescues when specified by the employer’s rescue procedure;

■ Know existing and potential hazards, including information on the mode of exposure, signs or symptoms, consequences and physiological effects;

■ Maintain communication with and keep an accurate account of those workers entering the permit space;

■ Order evacuation of the permit space when: A prohibited condition exists; A worker shows signs of physiological effects of hazard exposure; An emergency outside the confined space exists; and The attendant cannot effectively and safely perform required duties.

■ Summon rescue and other services during an emergency;

■ Ensure that unauthorized people stay away from permit spaces or exit immediately if they have entered the permit space;

■ Inform authorized entrants and the entry supervisor if any unauthorized person enters the permit space; and

■ Perform no other duties that interfere with the attendant’s primary duties.

Entry supervisor

Entry supervisors are required to:

■ Know space hazards including information on the mode of exposure, signs or symptoms and consequences;

■ Verify emergency plans and specified entry conditions such as permits, tests, procedures and equipment before allowing entry;

■ Terminate entry and cancel permits when entry operations are completed or if a new condition exists;

■ Verify that rescue services are available and that the means for summoning them are operable;

■ Take appropriate measures to remove unauthorized entrants; and

■ Ensure that entry operations remain consistent with the entry permit and that acceptable entry conditions are maintained.

The permit space program must establish a system for preparing, using, and canceling entry permits, which are written or printed documents that allow and control entry into permit spaces. A permit space program must:

■ Implement measures to prevent unauthorized entry;

■ Identify and evaluate permit space hazards before allowing employee entry;

■ Provide for the atmospheric conditions in the permit space to be tested before entry operations and for the space to be monitored during entry;

■ Require appropriate testing for the following atmospheric hazards in this sequence: oxygen, combustible gases or vapors, and toxic gases or vapors;

■ Establish and implement the means, procedures and practices to eliminate or control hazards necessary for safe permit space entry operations;

■ Identify employee job duties;

■ Provide and maintain, at no cost to the employee, personal protective equipment and any other equipment necessary for safe entry, and require employees to use the equipment properly;

■ Ensure that at least one attendant is stationed outside the permit space during entry operations;

■ Implement the procedures that any attendant who is required to monitor multiple spaces will follow during an emergency in one or more of those spaces;

■ Coordinate entry operations (in consultation with the controlling contractor) when employees of more than one employer are working in the permit space; and Protecting Construction Workers in Confined Spaces

■ Establish procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services and preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting rescue.

Rescue service personnel

The standard requires employers to ensure that responders are capable of responding to an emergency in a timely manner. Employers must provide rescue service personnel with personal protective and rescue equipment, including respirators, and training in how to use it. Rescue service personnel also must receive the authorized entrants training and be trained to perform assigned rescue duties.

The standard also requires that all rescuers be trained in first aid and CPR. At a minimum, one rescue team member must be currently certified in first aid and CPR. Employers must ensure that practice rescue exercises are performed yearly and that rescue services are provided access to permit spaces so they can practice rescue operations. Rescuers also must be informed of the hazards of the permit space.

Confined Spaces in Pits

Even though a pit is typically open on top and over 4 feet deep, it can still be a confined space or permit-required confined space. Additionally, pits can be completely underground or below grade, such as a utility vault within a sewer system or a pit within a pit in a wastewater treatment plant.

Image 12:2 An Example of Confined Spaces. (Source: www.osha.gov, Public Domain).

Pits are found in many environments. Examples include sump pits, valve pits or vaults (e.g., wastewater treatment plants, municipal water systems), electrical pits/vaults, steam pits/vaults, vehicle service/garage pits, elevator pits, dock leveler pits, industrial chemical waste pits, and many more. Many of these spaces qualify as permit-required confined spaces.

Employers must take all necessary steps to keep workers safe in confined spaces, including following the OSHA Construction Confined Spaces standard. This standard applies to both new construction in a pit and alterations and/or upgrades. Among the pit-related tasks covered by the standard are:

■ Opening or closing valves during renovation work.

■ Installing or upgrading pump equipment, cables, or junction boxes.

Construction work can create confined spaces, even if there are none at the start of a project. Changes to the entry/exit, the ease of exit, and air flow could produce a confined space or cause one to become permit-required.

Personal protective equipment: Employers should assess the worksite to determine what personal protective equipment (PPE) is needed to protect workers. Employers should provide workers with the required PPE and proper training on its use and about any related hazards before the work starts.