Confined Space Entry Program

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 Entry Program to ensure personnel working in or near confined spaces are protected from harm.

The Confined Space Entry 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

Confined spaces 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 or fumes.

Elements of the Confined Space Entry Program include:

A written Confined Space Entry program document
Inventory of permit-required confined spaces and hazards determination
Development of department-specific confined space entry plans
Roles and responsibilities for confined space entry supervisors, entrants and attendants
Confined space signage requirements
A UW permit system for confined space entry including preparation, use and cancellation of permits
Methods for hazard mitigation, including air monitoring and use of entry equipment
Rescue and emergency procedures
Training of employees
Contractor requirements
Audit and inspections of the program

UW departments that do not expect to enter any confined spaces are not required to develop a confined space entry plan. If a department or its contractor needs to enter a confined space, they can contact the controlling department, or EH&S, for more information about the space.

What you need to know

All UW departments that work in or have control of permit-required confined spaces should develop, implement and enforce a confined space entry plan. Such plans should follow the UW Confined Space Entry Program and address the department's specific needs. Use the fillable Confined Space Entry Plan Template for developing department-specific confined space entry procedures.

Develop and implement the confined space entry plan for employees who enter or assist those who enter confined spaces.
Identify and notify EH&S of all permit-required confined spaces.
Verify prior to entry that the confined space entry supervisor, entrants and attendants are trained in the department’s confined space entry plan and are up-to-date with the UW confined space entry training.
Recognize any potential hazards during entry, including signs and symptoms of exposure (entry supervisors).
Ensure that a written entry permit for permit-required confined spaces is complete and approved prior to every permit-required confined space entry; also ensuring rescue services are in place.
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 entry program.
Ensure all injuries and near-misses, including those potentially caused by work in confined spaces, are reported using the Online Accident Reporting System.
Ensure contractors entering confined spaces have reviewed the confined space entry plan, have been informed of the potential hazards and participate in a post-entry review

Complete required initial and periodic refresher training for the confined space entry program.
Be aware of and understand the hazards that may be encountered during entry.
Follow prescribed confined space safety practices and procedures
Wear appropriate PPE when entering a confined space.
Communicate with attendants as necessary to alert them of hazards.
Evacuate the space if a hazard is recognized, if ordered to evacuate, or if alarm is activated.
Monitor the work area for hazardous conditions, communicate with entrants and monitor their status, and perform non-entry rescue or summon rescue and emergency services as needed (performed by attendants stationed outside the confined space).

Establish and maintain the overall UW Confined Space Entry program.
Produce and maintain program documentation, including confined space inventories, procedures and forms.
Assist departments with the development of their confined space entry plans.
Ensure that permit-required confined spaces are posted and assist departments with signage.
Evaluate spaces to determine if they meet the confined space definition and therefore must be managed as a permit-required confined space.
Work with departments to fully implement the program for the confined spaces they manage.
Provide employees with confined space safety training and resources.
Audit departments for compliance with the program.
Monitor changes in regulations, policies and best practices.

Provide a copy of the company’s confined space program to the department.
Obtain information about specific confined space hazards and entry operations from the UW department.
Coordinate entry operations with any other employers or departments whose employees will be working in or near the confined space.
Inform the host employer or department about:
- Entry procedures that will be followed
- Any hazards confronted or created in the space during entry operations

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 frequently with your 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 confined space signage.
If you suspect a space meets the definition of a permit-required confined space, do not enter the space. Complete the Confined Space Evaluation form and submit it to EH&S for evaluation.

Services available

EH&S provides the following services:

Assists departments with developing, maintaining and improving their confined space entry safety plans.
Maintains a confined space inventory list for your reference.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Entry is when a person passes through an opening into a permit-required confined space. Entry includes ensuing work activities in the space and is considered to have occurred as soon as any part of the body (arms, hands, head, torso) breaks the plane of the opening into the space

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, will also be considered to have restricted means of entry or exit if an employee has to crawl to gain access to his or her intended work location. Similarly, an access door or portal that is too small to allow an employee to walk upright and unimpeded through it will be considered to restrict an employee's ability to escape.

Designed for Human Occupancy means the space is designed for a person to occupy the area under normal operating conditions and is intended as a place of work.

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.

Flowable material (e.g., gas, liquids, fine solids) hazards must be isolated by physical disconnect, blinding or blanking of interconnected piping; or a risk assessment must be completed that provides equal protection. Isolation with a single valve is not acceptable as valves can fail.

More information

The conditions that must exist in a permit space to allow entry so that employees involved with a permit-required confined space entry can safely enter into and work within the space

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 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

A permit-required confined space has one or more of the following characteristics. Special plans, procedures, and permits need to be followed before, during, and after entry into the space:

Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere
Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant
Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor, which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section
Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard

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