Many articles have been written about confined space entry and most tend to have the same theme — describing confined spaces. I’m going to approach it differently this time and point out a few things that I have learned over the years about confined spaces.
I’ll start by reminding everyone that the law that governs confined spaces in general industry is 29 CFR 1910.146, Permit Required Confined Spaces. There is a similar rule for the shipyard industry, 29 CFR 1915.7 and a proposed rule 29 CFR 1926, Confined Spaces in Construction. Each of these laws generally has the same intent, which is to protect workers when they enter confined spaces. They lay out training guidelines, entry procedures and, in most cases, explain the hazards associated with entry.