When an employee enters a confined space in construction, the employer is required to be incompliance with the new 1926.1200 standard: Confined Spaces in Construction. This session will compare the regulatory requirements of OSHA's new standard for confined spaces in construction with the newly revised ANSI Z117.1 standard Safety Requirements for Entering Confined Spaces. The ANSI Z117.1 standard has been used for many years to support a general duty clause citation paragraph 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act -PL91-596, when a construction activity was not covered by a specific section in the 1926 regulations such as but not limited to the following: 1926.21 Safety training and education, 1926.353 Ventilation and protection in welding, cutting and heating, 1926.800 Underground construction, or 1926.956 Underground lines.
This session will present an overview of the new OSHA 1926.1200 confined spaces standard and also compare it with the existing general industry permit-required confined space standard 1910.146 and the applicable sections of the revised ANSI Z117.1 standard. This session will compare the key areas of the new standard such as: definitions, training, testing, permits and rescue for each of the following entry team members: Entry Supervisor, Attendant, Entrant, Atmospheric Tester, and Rescue Personnel. Also discussed are selected new or improved sections in 1926.1200 and ANSI Z117.1. This session is designed with enough detail to reach the intermediate level of attendee's knowledge of confined spaces, however comprehensive enough to offer technical information to an advanced audience. The attendee will go away with an appreciation of the enforcement aspects of the new construction confined spaces standard, however will also gain knowledge and best practices and recommendations from an accredited standard committee (ASC) that has had a consensus standard for entering and working safely in confined spaces for over 30 years.
The occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) for general industry in 29 CFR 1910 has for over 20 years contained section .146 entitled Permit-required confined spaces, which specifies requirements for employers covered under OSHA, to ensure workers enter, work & exit safely permit spaces.1
This session addresses safe entry into confined spaces in construction. It compares the new section 1926.1200 (Confined Spaces in Construction) with the existing general industry 1910.146 and the newly revised ANSI Z117.1 2015 standard. The new construction standard is very similar to the general industry standard, however is slightly modified to address the construction 2 industry and some of the differences in activities that make construction unique as compared to 1910,146 and even ANSI Z117.1.
1910.146, which is law in general industry for permit-required confined space entry, first requires that spaces meet the definition of confined space which is identical for 1926.1200, however slightly differs from the ANSI Z117.1 which I have included for comparison:
1910.146 and 1926.1200 definition of confined space.
