The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) released its final confined space rule, which will reduce the number of injuries and fatalities by 96 percent and prevent about 780 injuries, reports the administration.
The new rule, which spans 161 pages, includes a new subpart to 29 CFR Part 1926 that replaces OSHA’s one training requirement for confined space work with a “comprehensive standard that includes a permit program designed to protect employees from exposure to many hazards associated with work in confined spaces, including atmospheric and physical hazards.
According to OSHA, the new rule is similar in content and organization to the general industry confined spaces standard. However, the new rule incorporates a number of provisions that address construction-specific hazards, advancements in technology and increased rule enforcements.
One of the new obligations makes the controller contractor, rather than the host employer, the primary point of contact for information about the permit-confined spaces at the worksite. In order for this to work, the host employer must provide the information it has to the controller contractor, who then passes the information to the entry employer. In addition, the controlling contractor is responsible for making sure employers outside of the confined space do not create hazards in the confined space. The controlling contractor must also make sure multiple entry employers working in a confined space at the same time do not create hazards for each other’s employees.
Confined spaces can be loosely defined as manholes, crawl spaces, tanks and other places not intended for continuous occupancy.
The new rule becomes effective August 3.