Worker Safety Requirements for Confined Spaces

Confined space hazards pose a unique problem for contractors and workers tasked with performing different assignments in tight quarters.

Entering these limited spaces with equipment and tools exposes tradespeople and laborers to hazardous conditions that don't exist in other areas of the work zone. For those reasons, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established stringent confined space regulations that call for education, specialized training, personal protective equipment (PPE), and permits.

That being said, construction companies face regulatory fines and penalties unless they meet the high bar set by OSHA, as well as those outlined in local and state workplace safety measures.

Understanding precisely what a confined space is and how to address hazards can prove challenging. The following information is designed to help contractors, safety supervisors, and crew members recognize the risks associated with working in a confined space and how to prevent injuries or fatalities.

What is a Confined Space According to OSHA?

Before defining what construction confined spaces involve, it’s important to dispel a common misconception. Construction supervisors sometimes interpret the applicable OSHA regulation as a tight work area with only one means of egress or ingress.

That’s not exactly the way OSHA articulates confined space hazards based on the following three-prong test.

• Large enough for an employee to enter.
• Limited means of entry or exit.
• Not designed for continuous occupancy.

Construction confined spaces typically include things like storage tanks, utility holes, crawl spaces, and even minimal attics. They may have more than one entrance or exist. That essentially means workers are at risk by the mere fact they are conducting tasks in these tight areas, regardless of how many ways they can exit. Other defining confined space requirements include physical or atmospheric hazards.

What is a Restricted Space in Construction Terms?

Like the confusion regarding egress and ingress, the difference between a restricted and confined space can also be a tad ambiguous. That’s largely because the two possess a significant number of similarities. Both can be difficult to access and can be partially, if not fully, enclosed.

The critical difference between a restricted space and a confined space involves worker hazards. Unlike confined spaces, restricted spaces do not inherently pose an immediate health or safety risk. According to OSHA guidelines, a restricted space does not have an atmospheric hazard, such as fumes, airborne particles, or lack of breathable air. 

Understanding the Hazards of Confined Spaces

Worker safety in confined spaces is of paramount importance in the construction sector, as well as others. Many of the same dangers employees face on construction sites are prevalent in operations such as agriculture. For example, cleaning or resolving an issue in a silo exposes farmhands to conditions that involve low oxygen levels and gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Construction workers also face these types of atmospheric hazards when entering confined spaces with limited ingress and egress.

Beyond the air quality dangers and toxic gas risks, construction workers may be more likely to sustain physical injuries. That’s because construction confined spaces are often poorly lit or have no light sources whatsoever.

This creates a situation in which carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and laborers, among others, make contact with sharp objects, fall through weakened materials, or simply bang their heads and sustain concussions. One of the major confined space hazards stems from not being able to see physical hazards.

Preventive Measures for Working in Confined Spaces

Safety supervisors are tasked with creating a plan to implement preventative measures to reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Construction site managers typically craft an overarching safety plan that addresses common issues such as how to secure scaffolding, establishing a perimeter using temporary fencing, and identifying areas where signage is needed, among others.

A project’s safety program must also address niche items such as working in confined spaces. Standard construction confined space safety measures that meet OSHA standards typically involve the following:

• Ventilation: Safety managers must ensure that workers in confined spaces enjoy adequate fresh air. This may be accomplished by using fans and other air circulation solutions.
• Toxic Gas Testing: Fumes and toxic gases present a significant danger to people in construction confined spaces. Safety supervisors must perform regular testing to ensure the air isn't tanted.
• PPE: OSHA mandates the use of appropriate equipment in construction, manufacturing, and other industries. Standard PPE for confined spaces typically includes respirators, hard hats, breathable masks, goggles or face shields, safety-certified coveralls, gloves, and a source of illumination.

Headlamps have proven to be the most consistent and effective type of PPE for conducting a construction duty in a confined space. Commercial-grade headlamps deliver targeted light and can be attached to hard hats, allowing construction workers to freely negotiate minimal openings and restrictive egress and ingress. The right headlamps provide illumination that lasts an entire shift and enable workers to identify workplace hazards and avoid injury. 

Developing a Confined Space Entry Plan

A successful confined space entry plan requires employers and supervisors to mandate safety education and training. Construction workers must undergo training to ensure they utilize the best practices outlined in a company’s health and safety plan of action.

It’s also important to explain to every crew member that safety calls for ongoing and open communication. Two-way radios or other devices that can facilitate communication from a particular confined space rank among the best ways to monitor the conditions and risks faced by workers in a restrictive or confined space.

In the event of an incident, the organization’s emergency protocols must be implemented swiftly.

Implementing Confined Space Safety

Confined spaces in construction present serious hazards, with asphyxiation as a leading cause of death. According to OSHA, 70 workers died in confined spaces in 2022, and many more suffered injuries.

Implementing confined space safety requires workers to undergo entry training, and employers must provide failsafe protections, such as a retrieval line, which is typically mandatory. Retrieval lines, usually attached to a body harness, must be strong enough to pull a worker out in the event they lose consciousness.

Proper air quality controls, ventilation, and PPE like respirators and headlamps are also necessary for worker protection.

Employers must provide a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. To demonstrate compliance, contractors are required to apply for a confined space entry permit that meets OSHA regulations.

OSHA publishes a downloadable handbook that outlines what contractors need to do to acquire a confined space permit.

To secure a permit, the company must show it has the necessary PPE, air quality controls, and illumination in place. To learn about the required PPE for each job site, check out the full article on personal protection equipment regulations.