Confined Space Program

Welding in a confined space; www.mcaa.org

Confined spaces may contain hazards that can injure workers or quickly lead to death. Untrained and ill-equipped rescuers can easily become victims themselves. UW departments, supported by EH&S, must follow the requirements of the Confined Space Program to ensure personnel working in or near confined spaces are protected from harm.

The Confined Space Program applies to any UW department that has space(s) that may potentially be hazardous when entered. A confined space is one configured so that a person can fully enter and work, but is not designed for continuous human occupancy and has restricted or limited means of entry or exit.

Examples of confined spaces at UW may include, but aren't limited to:

Boilers	Sewers
Vessels and tanks	Attics, plenums and crawlspaces
Storage bins	Lift stations
Utility vaults	Air handling units
Sumps and pits	Cooling towers
Excavations	Tunnels and pipelines

Permit-Required Confined Spaces (PRCS) may contain a hazardous atmosphere, engulfment hazards or other hazards, such as electrical, mechanical and fall from a height. These spaces require entry permits that address the hazards, mitigations and required approvals.

Hazards may also be introduced by activities performed inside the space. Use of chemicals, painting, cleaning, grinding or sanding all create atmospheric hazards that can cause injury or illness without adequate ventilation or other controls. Hot work (e.g., welding, cutting, grinding, or brazing) in a confined space may release toxic gases and fumes.

Elements of the Confined Space Program

The University’s Confined Space Program includes:

A written Confined Space Program Manual
Roles and responsibilities for EH&S, departments/units/organizations, and hiring managers
Confined Space Evaluations
Confined space signage requirements
A UW Permit-Required Confined Space (PRCS) Entry Form
PRCS entry by Alternative Methods
Hazard identification and mitigation
Ventilation and air monitoring
Rescue and emergency procedures
Training of employees
Contractor requirements

If a department or contractor needs to enter a confined space, they must contact the Confined Space Owner for more information about the space.

What you need to know

All UW departments/units/organizations that work in or have control of permit-required confined spaces must follow the UW Confined Space Program Manual.

Identify all permit-required confined spaces the department/unit/organization owns or is responsible for.
Appoint a Competent Person to evaluate confined spaces and determine if they are permit-required confined spaces.
Maintain an inventory of the permit-required confined spaces that are managed by the department/unit/organization.
Assign a Confined Space Owner(s) to ensure that confined spaces are evaluated, labeled, and secured.
Determine the confined space entry supervisors, entrants and attendants within the department and ensure they are trained in the UW PRCS training.
Ensure that a UW PRCS Entry Form is complete and approved prior to every PRCS entry.
Ensure that proper procedures are followed and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn whenever employees enter a confined space.
Ensure that proper confined space entry equipment and PPE are purchased, maintained and available.
Work with EH&S to resolve issues related to the Confined Space Program.
Ensure all injuries and near-misses, caused by work related to confined spaces, are reported using the Online Accident Reporting System.
Ensure hiring managers working with contractors entering confined spaces follow procedures in the UW Confined Space Program Manual.

Complete required initial and periodic refresher training for PRCS entry.
Be aware of and understand the hazards that may be encountered during entry.
Follow UW PRCS entry practices and procedures.
Wear appropriate PPE when entering a confined space.
Alert Entry Supervisor and/or Attendants of potential hazards, warning alarms or prohibited conditions.
Evacuate the space if a hazard is recognized, if ordered to evacuate, or if an alarm is activated.

Complete required initial and refresher training for PRCS entry.
Be aware of and understand the hazards that may be encountered during entry.
Follow PRCS safety practices and procedures.
Communicate regularly with Entrant(s).
Conduct air monitoring in the space.
Monitor work area for hazardous conditions.
Communicate with entrants and monitor their status.
Perform non-entry rescue.
Summon rescue and emergency services as needed.
Call for evacuation of the space as needed if a hazardous condition arises inside or outside the space.

Establish and maintain the overall UW Confined Space Program.
Produce and maintain program documentation, including confined space entry and evaluation forms.
Work with departments to fully implement the program for the confined spaces they manage.
Develop, evaluate, and/or recommend employee training.
Audit departments for compliance with the program.
Monitor changes in regulations, policies, and best practices.

Hiring Managers of contractors with employees entering UW owned confined spaces must inform contractors of the following:
- Presence of a PRCS that requires completion of a PRCS Entry Form before entry
- Hazards of the space
- Department/unit/organization experience with the space
- Precautions and procedures implemented for protecting employees in or around the space
Hiring Managers must ensure that contractors entering any UW PRCS:
- Adhere to all applicable regulations regarding confined spaces; inform their sub-contractors, or other entities needing entry, of any hazards, ensure they are trained to enter, and they monitor the entry.
- Provide the Hiring Manager with the company’s confined space program for review.
Hiring Managers must coordinate with the contractor when employees and employers from different companies are working in or near any UW PRCS.

What you can do to stay safe

Always be current with your confined space training and ask questions if unsure about any hazards in a confined space, hazards introduced from doing work in a confined space, entry procedures or potential problems that may occur.

Never enter a confined space if you are unsure of the hazards, procedures and equipment, or if you feel ill.
As an Entrant, communicate with the Entry Supervisor and/or Attendant(s) about the status of your work in the confined space and how you feel.
Understand and communicate to others not to enter spaces that are posted with PRCS signage.
If you suspect a space meets the definition of a PRCS (see definition below), do not enter the space. Notify your supervisor.

SPACE EXPLORATION | Safety Resources | Indianapolis

Services available

*Wind tunnel outside Aerospace & Engineering Research Building*

EH&S provides the following services:

Training for employees who may enter a PRCS
Assists departments/units/organizations with developing, maintaining and improving their confined space entry procedures
Assists departments with air monitoring and testing of unusual contaminants or situations

More information

Glossary

An alternative process for entering a permit space under very specific conditions; these methods include documentation showing the elimination of any physical hazards and elimination or control of any actual or potential atmospheric hazards.

An individual stationed outside the permit space who monitors the authorized entrants and who performs all attendants’ duties assigned in the permit space program

The absolute closure of a pipe, line or duct by fastening a solid plate that completely covers the bore and that is capable of withstanding the maximum pressure of the pipe, line or duct with no leakage beyond the plate.

A space that meets the following criteria:

Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work
Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit
Is not designed for continuous human occupancy

The department or individual who owns, controls access, and/or has administrative control over a confined space and understands the chemical and physical hazards associated with it.

The surrounding capture of a person by a liquid or finely divided (flowable) solid substance that can be inhaled to cause death by filling or plugging the respiratory system or that can exert enough force on the body to cause death by strangulation, constriction or crushing

Employee who is authorized to enter a permit space

Action by which a person passes through an opening into a permit-required confined space and includes work activities in that space. Entry occurs as soon as any part of the entrant’s body breaks the plane of the opening into the space.

The written or printed document provided by UW allowing and controlling entry into a permit space

The person (such as the supervisor, foreman or crew chief) responsible for:

Determining if acceptable entry conditions are present at a permit space where entry is planned
Authorizing entry and overseeing entry operations
Terminating entry as required by this section

An atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue, injury, or acute illness from one or more of the following:

Flammable gas, vapor, or mist in excess of 10 percent of its lower explosive limit (LEL)
Airborne combustible dust at a concentration that meets or exceeds its LEL
Atmospheric oxygen concentration below 19.5 percent or above 23.5 percent
Atmospheric concentration of any substance for which may exceed a permissible exposure limit
Any other atmospheric condition that is immediately dangerous to life or health

Any condition that poses an immediately or delayed threat to life or what would cause irreversible adverse health effects or that would interfere with an individual’s ability to escape unaided from a permit space

The process by which a permit space is removed from service and completely protected against the release of energy and material into the space by such means as: blanking or blinding; misaligning or removing sections of lines, pipes or ducts; a double block and bleed system; lockout or tagout of all sources of energy, including hydraulic or electric; or blocking or disconnecting all mechanical linkages

Equipment used for non-entry rescue of persons from a permit space, such as a retrieval line, full-body harness, wristlets, and a lifting device or anchor

Frequently asked questions

If a space has limited or restricted means of entry or exit, an entrant's ability to escape in an emergency would be hindered. The dimensions of a door and its location are factors in determining whether an entrant can easily escape. However, the simple presence of a door may not mean that the space is not a confined space. For example, a space such as a bag house or crawl space that has a door leading into it, but also has pipes, conduits, ducts, equipment or materials that an employee would have to crawl over, under or squeeze around to escape, has limited or restricted means of exit. A piece of equipment with an access door, such as a conveyor feed, a drying oven or a paint spray enclosure, may also have restricted means of entry or exit if an employee has to crawl to gain access to their work location. Similarly, an access door or portal that is too small for an employee to walk through upright and unimpeded may restrict an employee's ability to escape.

When all physical hazards have been eliminated in a PRCS and all atmospheric hazards have been either eliminated or controlled by continuous ventilation the space may be entered using Alternative Methods and documenting the entry with PCRS Entry Form Part A. If any hazard is present it is a “Permit” entry and PCRS Entry Form Part A & B must be used to enter the space which requires an Attendant and a rescue plan.

Engulfment means the surrounding and effective capture of a person by a liquid or finely divided (flowable) solid substance that can be breathed in and cause death by filling or plugging the respiratory system, or that can exert enough force on the body to cause death by strangulation, constriction or crushing. Engulfment hazards include any “flowable” materials, such as water, product or chemical.

Contact

Occupational Safety and Health Contact

(206) 543-7388

ehsdept@uw.edu

Reference Files

Confined Space Program Manual (updated August 2021)

4.24MB (.pdf)

Permit-Required Confined Space (PRCS) Entry Form (updated August 2021)

333.41KB (.pdf)

Confined Space Evaluation Form

119.76KB (.PDF)

PRCS Rescue Service Evaluation Form

159.43KB (.pdf)

Reference Links

Confined Spaces, Chapter 296-809 WAC

OSHA Quick Card: Permit-Required Confined Spaces

Confined Space Program

Elements of the Confined Space Program

What you need to know

Responsibilities of department/unit/organization manager(s)

Responsibilities of Entry Supervisor(s)

Responsibilities of Entrant(s)

Responsibilities of Attendant(s)

Responsibilities of EH&S

Responsibilities of Hiring Managers/Contractors

What you can do to stay safe

Services available

More information

Training

Regulation and policy

Glossary

Alternative methods

Attendant

Blanking or Blinding

Confined Space

Confined Space Owner

Engulfment

Entrant

Entry

Entry Permit

Entry Supervisor

Hazardous Atmosphere

Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH)

Isolation

Retrieval System

Frequently asked questions

What is the definition of “entry”?

If a space has a door, does that mean that the space does not have limited or restricted means of entry or exit and, therefore, is not a "confined space"?

What does it mean when the space is “designed for human occupancy”?

What does PRCS entry by Alternative Methods mean?

What kind of material has the potential for “engulfing” an Entrant?

Can isolation of gas, liquids and fine solids be achieved by locking/tagging out with a single valve?

Contact

Occupational Safety and Health Contact