Webinars Examine How to Create a Safe Working Environment for Workers in Confined Spaces
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 20, 2022 – United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) today announced a Confined Space Safety Week digital learning series which takes place the week of May 9th. The webinars will review steps that utilities and contractors can take to create safe environments for workers operating in confined spaces.
Confined spaces can pose serious safety hazards to the people working in them. To address this danger, regulations have been put in place to make sure workers can get in and out safely and do their jobs without threatening their health.
Employers are required to follow set procedures whenever employees work inside or near a confined space. A confined space is an area large enough to bodily enter but that has limited or restricted means of entry or exit. It is not designed for continuous occupancy by a worker. Examples include tanks, underground vaults, manholes, tunnels, sewers, storm drains, equipment housings, crawlspaces and HVAC ducts.
“Nothing is more important than safety on the worksite. Compliance with confined space regulations can not only advance safety but also help drive productivity,” said Scott Thomas, Region Product Development Manager, United Rentals. “Training is essential to prepare workers to identify potential hazards and work safely in and around a confined space. The Confined Space Safety Week webinars will share important information to help companies keep their sites safe without sacrificing efficiency.”
Confined Space Safety Week Training Schedule
To focus attention to the importance of confined space safety, United Rentals has organized Confined Space Safety Week and its event series. Anyone may attend the free educational sessions, which will be presented by United Rentals confined space experienced personnel. To register, please go to the United Rentals webinar series webpage.
Here are the three Confined Space Safety Week webinar sessions and schedule:
What are You Breathing? Initial testing is crucial before people enter a confined space. Scott Thomas of United Rentals will highlight the effects of atmospheric hazards to the human body to illustrate why continuous monitoring is always best. The session will review proper testing procedures using either a pump mode or diffusion mode instrument. It will break down general information on calibrations, bump testing and overall maintenance to ensure equipment is operating properly for every confined space entry project. Offered: May 10 at 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. CDT.
Confined Space Ventilation: What is Right, and How Can I get There? Confined spaces (as defined by OSHA) can be found in virtually every workplace. When employee entry into those spaces is required, the employer must ensure safe entry which means evaluating for existing and potential physical and atmospheric hazards. When an atmospheric hazard is found – or may develop – proper ventilation is needed. In this webinar, Bruce Magee of United Rentals will explore proper ventilation sizing, set-up, purge time and more, to help ensure a safer workplace. Offered: May 11 at 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. CDT.
Prepared for Non-Entry Rescue? In this webinar, Joe Wise of United Rentals will help attendees to understand the importance of retrieval systems, why having the right set up is critical and how to maintain equipment before confined space operations begin. During the discussion of retrieval systems, the session will break down the key differences of a self-retracting lifeline and mechanical winches. The webinar will also review equipment inspections to ensure preparedness to conduct an efficient and safe non-entry rescue. Offered: May 12 at 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. CDT.
United Rentals Confined Space Solutions
United Rentals Trench Safety provides worksites with the most efficient path to confined space safety and productivity. With more than 92 trench safety locations and the largest fleet of confined space and excavation rental equipment in North America, United Rentals provides companies with customized, cost-effective confined space solutions. It supplies OSHA- and OH&S-compliant trench protective systems as well as on-site consulting, engineering services and safety training.
About United Rentals
United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,288 rental locations in North America, 11 in Europe, 28 in Australia and 18 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 20,400 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 4,300 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $15.79 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.