Confined Space Safety Training
- Consider any area that a person would not normally enter as a confined space. Confined spaces must be accessed for many different purposes. This can include cleaning or maintenance. Safety training teaches the employee about the various hazards that are associated with entering into a particular type of confined space.
- Confined space can be underground, inside a silo, or in an exhaust duct or sewer system. These areas are not normally accessed by employees and extreme caution must be exercised when entering or working in these areas. Confined space training addresses issues such as oxygen depletion, toxic gas fumes and extraction methods.
- Those who teach confined space training must be certified by OSHA. Their special "train the trainer" classes go in depth as to different types and issues of confined spaces. They use textbooks, simulators and other methods to extensively train people who will be training the employees who will actually work on-site.
OSHA confined space training is recommended for construction and maintenance personnel. There are also people in many occupations in non-traditional fields such as agriculture and mining who need the training. - Employees who have OSHA confined space safety training are more aware of their surroundings. This higher level of safety awareness saves lives and prevents costly injuries in the workplace.
- In some non-construction occupations, there are requirements for practices and procedures that protect employees in general industry from the hazards of entry into permit-required confined spaces.
The permits are maintained to keep track of the locations of personnel who have been authorized to enter a confined space. For example, a grain silo cannot be accessed if a confined space permit has been issued until the permit is cleared and the employee is outside of the confined space.
Construction workers who are in an established facility will be required to obtain permits if it is part of the facility's policy. If the facility is not yet operational, the permit will not be required, unless there is a site-specific policy in place.
