Confined Space Safety Q&A: Part II

Are there certain items that we should have on standby when we enter a confined space?

Yes, there are specific items to have on standby. The items vary according to the specific hazards of your confined space. If you have an immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) space, there are items you must have that aren’t required for other types of confined space. The types of items to have on hand will depend on the hazards you identified during the space evaluation. Most important is the retrieval system for removal of the entry person(s).

Safety.BLR.com^® provides checklists of items to have on hand for confined spaces. They are available at the Confined Space topic under Meetings (checklists at the end of the meeting document) and Compliance Checklists. There is also a good equipment checklist for you under the Federal Confined Space—Policies section of the website.

Does OSHA give any direction on a minimum safe size for a manhole or vault space?

OSHA does not give any direction on a minimum safe size for a manhole or vault space other than “is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work.”

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As a company with permit confined spaces, do we need to supply on-site contractors with emergency services if they are entering our confined spaces?

Coordination among employers that have employees entering a particular permit space is required by 1910.146(c)(8)(iv), (c)(9)(ii), and (d)(11). The host employer that arranges for a permit space entry by contractor employees has a duty to instruct the contractor on the hazards or potential hazards and other factors that make the space a permit space. The contractor that will have employees enter the permit space is responsible for obtaining that information before entry.

All employers that will have employees in the permit space are responsible for developing and implementing procedures to coordinate entry operations (for example, determining operational control over the space, affected employee training, rescue, emergency services, and all other aspects of the standard requiring coordination). Any one of the employers having employees enter the permit space could have operational control over the permit space during dual entry.

All parties (host employer and contractors) retain responsibility for the protection of their own employees even though all the employers have agreed to a specific permit space controlling employer. There should be absolutely no doubt, by any permit space entrant, attendant, and entry supervisor, regarding who the controlling employer is and whose policy and permit space practices are to be followed.

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• Hazards of Confined Spaces
• Confined Space Permit Requirements
• Confined Spaces—Roles Workers Play

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