What Is A Confined Space? A Brief Overview

August 4, 2022 |

A confined space is defined by OSHA as a space that has restricted or limited means of entry or exit but is large enough for workers to enter to perform work. A confined space is not designed to support continuous occupancy as its conditions do not permit conducive settings that are ideal for a person. Below are some terms to get you familiarized with confined space.

Confined Space

A confined space has to be large enough to allow a worker to enter and perform assigned tasks. The confined space has restricted means for entry or exit like in vessels, tanks, hoppers, silos, storage bins, pits, and vaults. A confined space is not meant for continuous employee occupancy and workers need to perform start and finish work according to the designated schedule only.

A Permit-Required Confined Space

A confined space that requires a permit is a space that is defined by having one or more of the characteristics below:

Contains material that can potentially engulf the entrant
Contains or could potentially contain a hazardous atmosphere
Has walls or floors that converge inwards and slope downwards while tapering into a much narrower area that could trap an entrant or cause him/her to suffer from asphyxiation
Any other recognized health or safety hazards that include exposed live wires, unguarded machinery, or heat stress

Authorized Entrant

An authorized entrant is a worker who is permitted to enter the space by the employer. The worker must be skilled and experienced in navigating through the confined space while being equipped with the necessary resources like tools and equipment.

Attendant

An attendant is a worker who is stationed outside one or more permit spaces. The worker monitors the authorized entrants and needs to duly fulfill all other tasks as assigned by the employer within the permit space program.

Entry Supervisor

An entry supervisor is a person who is responsible for determining if entry conditions are acceptable and present at a permit space. An entry supervisor also authorizes entry and oversees entry operations as well as terminates entry accordingly.

Hazardous Atmosphere

A permit-required confined space may contain a hazardous atmosphere which may expose workers to the risk of incapacitation, death, injury, acute illness, and impairment of ability for self-rescue which includes escaping from the permit space unaided. Acute illness may be caused by one or more of the factors below:

Flammable, vapor, gas, or mist that is more than 10 percent of its lower flammable unit
Atmospheric oxygen concentration that is lower than 19.5 percent or higher than 23.5 percent
Airborne combustible dust at a concentration that is the same or higher than its lower flammable unit
Atmospheric concentration of any substance that is over the permissible exposure limit or dose published by occupational health and environmental control authorities
Any other atmospheric condition that immediately endangers the health or life of a worker

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