Training Your Staff On Confined Space Holes Watch And Other Rescue Operations

By Author: Kaley L. Ross
Total Articles: 4
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Most buildings have confined spaces for different purposes. Storage tanks at home, storage vaults in the bank, electric vaults and many other kinds of spaces qualify as confined spaces.

Most buildings have confined spaces for different purposes. Storage tanks at home, storage vaults in the bank, electric vaults and many other kinds of spaces qualify as confined spaces. These spaces pose a great danger to many people because of their functions. They may be air tight or filled with gases unfit for human survival. Construction safety is, therefore, of importance to personnel who access or work in the confined spaces. Please note that no one should stay in the confined spaces for a long period of time. They are unfit for human habitation and as such, limited and timed access should be encouraged as well as regular confined space holes watch.

The Occupational, Safety and Health administration (OSHA) has some regulations with regards to the access of permit-restricted confined spaces in order to uphold construction safety. These are deemed to be hazardous and it is the reason why regulations are necessary to save lives ...
... and avoid accidents. Below are the characteristics of a permit-restricted confined space

Big enough for personnel to gain access and perform tasks

Is not designed for long stay

Can harbour a health hazard

Has contents that can be hazardous for humans

Can trap the entrant

Any other applicable hazardous nature

Apart from the above, some activities can increase the chances of making the confined space a hazardous area such as noise, heat, coolers and others. It is therefore important that you take into account all these when putting in place construction safety measures. Training should therefore be provided to the construction safety supervisor and other personnel to ensure that accidents are kept to a minimum. Some of the most common hazards in confined spaces include:

The atmospheric hazard

This is the most common problem for many people. This is because it affects the nature or quality of the air and can pose a great health risk. Lack of enough air may cause suffocation whereas you could get poisoned by inhaling dangerous gases. Both the above situations can be fatal to human life. The regulations provide that the correct atmospheric conditions must be confirmed before entering the space and while it is in occupation. These conditions must be monitored through confined space holes watch and other techniques especially to detect the presence of any flammable materials, toxic gases and oxygen concentration. Industrial safety services provide that Oxygen levels recommended are between 19.5% and 23.5% of the total atmosphere. For protection against toxic gases, OSHA has permissible exposure limits (PELs) for the toxins. If the three can be maintained at safe levels, the chances of fatal accidents will be reduced. It is also important to test the levels regularly through confined space holes watch before entry to make sure that the levels are right. This is because although some confined spaces may indeed have the correct oxygen levels on testing, it may become hazardous with time through the activities carried out. Some operations can lead to the production of toxic gases and erosion

Injuries

An injury at a construction site is a hazard in itself. This is because when one personnel is injured, many unqualified people will be on the rush to assist. However, this makes the situation worse because in most cases, the rescuers are faced with the same hazards resulting in more fatalities. To curb this, OSHA recommends adequate training for all personnel including the construction safety supervisor.
Resource: http://www.safetysupervisor.com/