What is a confined space?

Confined space refers to a place like a tank, vessel, pit, container, cellar, chamber, silos, or any other enclosed space. Confined space entry is limited, and hence there is a need to implement security and rescue measures before working.

To qualify as a confined space, an area must meet the following requirements:

  • Not designed for regular occupancy of the employee
  • Have restricted or limited means of entry and exit
  • Is large enough for a worker to perform the tasks assigned

These spaces have conditions with a high risk of accident or injury that may require emergency action. The two types of confined spaces in the workplace are:

  • Permit-required
  • Non-permit

Permit required confined spaces include serious risk to the workers’ health. In contrast, a non-permit confined space doesn’t have any potential risk of causing a hazard or physical injury to the worker. For a confined space to qualify as a permit-required confined space, it should meet any one of these characteristics:

  • Has the risk of containing or creating a hazardous atmosphere
  • Has an internal configuration that may cause a worker to become asphyxiated or trapped
  • Contains any material that could surround someone entering the space
  • Possess any recognized health or safety hazards

Is working in a confined space hazardous?

Many workers get injured and/or killed every year while working at such places. So, yes, working in confined spaces can be more hazardous than regular workspaces.

What are the hazards involved in working in a confined space?

There can be many hazards of working in a confined space. Confined spaces are not like regular workspaces; workers need extra precaution and safety to work at these spaces. Many accidents and hazards are also caused during the attempts to rescue without proper equipment and training. The most common hazards include:

  • Lack of oxygen
  • Presence of dust in high concentration
  • Liquids and/or solids filling the space suddenly
  • Too hot working conditions

There is a high risk of working with fumes, gases, or vapors filling the confined space. These can be poisonous or flammable and can cause accidents.

Why is working in confined spaces difficult than working in normal spaces?

Working in confined spaces is difficult than working in normal workspaces because, in normal workspaces, one can make small mistakes. If we talk about working in a confined workspace, the margin of committing mistakes is minute. In case you made a mistake of understanding the environment of the confined space, the person who is about to go inside the vessel, pit, or any other place has a high risk of injury or hazard.

This is just a basic example of what might happen, but there are other risks involved with working in confined spaces. This makes working in normal space easier than working in confined spaces. Risks involved in working in such areas include:

  • A person cannot rescue himself or herself alone
  • A person cannot get outside easily in case of floods or any other emergency
  • The conditions inside a confined space can change very quickly, and the person might not get access to the exit

In case there is a communication interruption between the person inside the confined space and the person outside handling all the operations, it might result in unnecessary hazards.

Safety Tips

It is now understood that there are many hazards involved while working in a confined space, but here are some safety tips to stay safe while working in confined spaces:

  • Before entering a confined space, make sure you have all the possible equipment with you. You can safeguard yourself only when you have all the equipment with you.
  • Before entering the confined space, make sure that there is no hazardous material in the area. Sometimes hazardous or poisonous gases cannot get recognized by smelling. So, you need a special instrument to measure and understand what gases are present in the space before entering confined space.
  • Always make sure to stay in contact with the outside team members. In case you are feeling unwell, unusual, or have any kind of emergency, you can contact the outside team members for help.
  • Ensure there is enough light in the confined space in which you are working. Otherwise, you will not be able to perform comfortably and to the fullest.
  • Make sure there is sufficient ventilation within the enclosed workplace. If there is no enough air supply, you may need to use breathing apparatus to provide sufficient ventilation. Confined space entry is limited, and there is no or very little natural ventilation available.
  • Isolate local utilities like electricity, gas, and water to ensure the safety of everyone working in a confined space.
  • Ensure that everyone working in the area has suitable Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Make sure that the PPE used doesn’t introduce other risks like restriction in movement or communication, or cause overheating. Ensure that every worker has hand, head, and foot protection along with hearing and eye protection.

Even when you have followed the above-mentioned tips for safety in a confined workspace, there is still a huge risk involved. To ensure maximum safety, put emergency arrangements in place before starting the work. Put sufficient and suitable measures to make sure there is a safe rescue plan in place. For this, you need to consider the following factors:

  • First aid procedures
  • Rescuers’ safety
  • Liaising with emergency services

Moreover, the people responsible for rescuing should be:

  • Readily available
  • Highly skilled and trained
  • Fit to carry out the rescuing task
  • Protected against the reason for emergency
  • Skilled to use the equipment available for rescuing like lifelines, fire-fighting equipment, and breathing apparatus.

Another critical aspect that should be considered for the safety of workers is training. Ensure that everyone involved in working and rescue is provided with suitable online safety training. This includes emergency procedures and training to use safety equipment. Just understanding the safety tips won’t be of much help. There is always a requirement of training so that working in such confined spaces is easy and safe.

Any confined environment that poses a safety threat needs a signed permit for an employee. It is critical to understand that there are various threats and dangers involved in working in confined spaces. The safety of the employees working in these areas is important. To ensure this, proper safety procedures at confined space entry, along with online safety training, need to be in place.