A new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule on confined spaces in construction will affect anyone who works in spaces such as manholes, pipelines and tanks, just to name a few. It also adds new requirements to the safety training employers are required to provide their employees. The standard goes into effect Aug. 3, but will not be enforced until Oct. 2, due to a 60-day delay recently issued by OSHA.
OSHA defines a confined space as a space with limited or restricted means for entry or exit and is not designed for continuous occupancy.
The agency released the standard to regulate confined spaces in construction on May 1, but it has been in the works since 1994 when OSHA agreed to propose such a standard as part of a settlement agreement. What followed was a painstaking 21-year process that required national meetings among regulators, employers and workers to ensure worker safety.
OSHA estimates the new rule will prevent approximately five fatalities and 780 injuries per year.
“Before [the workers] were just being trained about the confined spaces; now they are aware of the present and potential hazards,” said IBEW’s Safety Department Director Dave Mullen.
To ensure their workers’ safety, several requirements will have to be met by employers and their employees under the new rule:
And for those workers who speak another language, the rule also requires employers to provide translations on possible hazards, Mullen said.
Photo above: New training requirements will further protect workers’ safety and health in workspaces not designed for continuous occupancy.
