Description

Worksites contain many kinds of hazards that employers must protect employees and contractors from. Of these hazards, entering and working in confined spaces pose particular risk because these spaces can be difficult to exit in an emergency and some can contain other hazards. Employees and contractors working in confined spaces can be exposed to hazardous atmospheres, electrical energy, extreme temperatures, and more.

While the confined spaces in construction standard (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA) was finalized in 2015, the permit-required confined spaces rule for general industry has been around for a while, circa 1993. Prior to this rule taking effect, there were very few OSHA standards that specifically addressed the hazards associated with permit-required confined spaces. The permit-required confined spaces rule for general industry is a comprehensive standard designed to protect employees from exposure to the hazards associated with work in and around confined spaces. While the two standards are mostly similar, there are several differences, and because of that, affected employers must comply with the proper standard for the work being performed. The general industry standard provides safety requirements and procedures, including a permit system, for entry into permit-required confined spaces, which pose special dangers for entrants because their configurations hamper efforts to protect entrants from serious hazards, such as toxic, explosive or asphyxiating atmospheres.

Course Objectives

• You should be knowledgeable about what industries and actions are covered by the standard, be able to identify and understand important terms related to the standard, and be familiar with the general requirements for compliance, including the following:
  • Reclassification of confined spaces
  • Alternate entry procedures
• You should be knowledgeable about the responsibilities and communication requirements of the various employers and contractors involved in permit-required confined space entry.
• You should be familiar with the required contents of a permit-required confined space program, the specific measures that employers must take to protect employees, and the various equipment that the employer must provide and maintain.
• The process for permitting entry into a confined space
• The conditions under which entry permits can be canceled
• The information required on an entry permit
• You should be knowledgeable about the roles and responsibilities of employers and employees involved in permit-required confined space entry operations.
• You should be knowledgeable about the training requirements for all employees working in or around permit-required confined spaces and understand the importance of employee participation in program development and review.
• You should be familiar with atmospheric testing and monitoring procedures, the common equipment used for testing and monitoring, and the ventilation of permit-required confined spaces.
• You should be able to identify the various sources of hazardous energy and how to properly control them when working in or around confined spaces.
• The difference between rescue and emergency services
• The types of rescue services and their general requirements
• The requirement for employers to evaluate and select appropriate rescue and emergency services
• Training and additional requirements for employers whose employees have been designated to provide permit-required confined space rescue or emergency services
• The requirements related to retrieval systems
• You should be refreshed on confined space classification, employer responsibilities, entry roles, program and permitting requirements, reclassification and alternate entry procedures, rescue operations, and training requirements.

Topics Covered

This course is designed to meet OSHA standards for employee training in general industry by covering the following topics:

• Lesson 1: Scope, Terms, and General Requirements
• Lesson 2: Employer Responsibilities, Communication, and Coordination
• Lesson 3: Program Requirements
• Lesson 4: Permit-Required Confined Space Entry Permitting
• Lesson 5: Roles and Responsibilities
• Lesson 6: Training and Employee Participation
• Lesson 7: Atmospheric Testing and Ventilation
• Lesson 8: Controlling Hazardous Energy
• Lesson 9: Rescue and Emergency Services
• Lesson 10: Summary