(d) Permit-required confined space program

Permit-required confined space program (permit space program). Under the permit space program required by paragraph (c)(4) of this section, the employer shall:

(1) Implement the measures necessary to prevent unauthorized entry;

(2) Identify and evaluate the hazards of permit spaces before employees enter them;

(3) Develop and implement the means, procedures, and practices necessary for safe permit space entry operations, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Specifying acceptable entry conditions;

(ii) Providing each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative with the opportunity to observe any monitoring or testing of permit spaces;

(iii) Isolating the permit space;

(iv) Purging, inerting, flushing, or ventilating the permit space as necessary to eliminate or control atmospheric hazards;

(v) Providing pedestrian, vehicle, or other barriers as necessary to protect entrants from external hazards; and

(vi) Verifying that conditions in the permit space are acceptable for entry throughout the duration of an authorized entry.

(4) Provide the following equipment (specified in paragraphs (d)(4)(i) through (d)(4)(ix) of this section) at no cost to employees, maintain that equipment properly, and ensure that employees use that equipment properly:

(i) Testing and monitoring equipment needed to comply with paragraph (d)(5) of this section;

(ii) Ventilating equipment needed to obtain acceptable entry conditions;

(iii) Communications equipment necessary for compliance with paragraphs (h)(3) and (i)(5) of this section;

(iv) Personal protective equipment insofar as feasible engineering and work practice controls do not adequately protect employees;

(v) Lighting equipment needed to enable employees to see well enough to work safely and to exit the space quickly in an emergency;

(vi) Barriers and shields as required by paragraph (d)(3)(v) of this section.

(vii) Equipment, such as ladders, needed for safe ingress and egress by authorized entrants;

(viii) Rescue and emergency equipment needed to comply with paragraph (d)(9) of this section, except to the extent that the equipment is provided by rescue services; and

(ix) Any other equipment necessary for safe entry into and rescue from permit spaces.

(5) Evaluate permit space conditions as follows when entry operations are conducted:

(i) Test conditions in the permit space to determine if acceptable entry conditions exist before entry is authorized to begin, except that, if isolation of the space is infeasible because the space is large or is part of a continuous system (such as a sewer), pre-entry testing shall be performed to the extent feasible before entry is authorized and, if entry is authorized, entry conditions shall be continuously monitored in the areas where authorized entrants are working;

(ii) Test or monitor the permit space as necessary to determine if acceptable entry conditions are being maintained during the course of entry operations; and

(iii) When testing for atmospheric hazards, test first for oxygen, then for combustible gases and vapors, and then for toxic gases and vapors.

(iv) Provide each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative an opportunity to observe the pre-entry and any subsequent testing or monitoring of permit spaces;

(v) Reevaluate the permit space in the presence of any authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative who requests that the employer conduct such reevaluation because the entrant or representative has reason to believe that the evaluation of that space may not have been adequate;

(vi) Immediately provide each authorized entrant or that employee's authorized representative with the results of any testing conducted in accord with paragraph (d) of this section.

Note:  Atmospheric testing conducted in accordance with appendix B to § 1910.146 would be considered as satisfying the requirements of this paragraph. For permit space operations in sewers, atmospheric testing conducted in accordance with appendix B, as supplemented by appendix E to § 1910.146, would be considered as satisfying the requirements of this paragraph.

(6) Provide at least one attendant outside the permit space into which entry is authorized for the duration of entry operations;

Note: Attendants may be assigned to monitor more than one permit space provided the duties described in paragraph (i) of this section can be effectively performed for each permit space that is monitored. Likewise, attendants may be stationed at any location outside the permit space to be monitored as long as the duties described in paragraph (i) of this section can be effectively performed for each permit space that is monitored.

(7) If multiple spaces are to be monitored by a single attendant, include in the permit program the means and procedures to enable the attendant to respond to an emergency affecting one or more of the permit spaces being monitored without distraction from the attendant's responsibilities under paragraph (i) of this section;

(8) Designate the persons who are to have active roles (as, for example, authorized entrants, attendants, entry supervisors, or persons who test or monitor the atmosphere in a permit space) in entry operations, identify the duties of each such employee, and provide each such employee with the training required by paragraph (g) of this section;

(9) Develop and implement procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services, for rescuing entrants from permit spaces, for providing necessary emergency services to rescued employees, and for preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting a rescue;

(10) Develop and implement a system for the preparation, issuance, use, and cancellation of entry permits as required by this section;

(11) Develop and implement procedures to coordinate entry operations when employees of more than one employer are working simultaneously as authorized entrants in a permit space, so that employees of one employer do not endanger the employees of any other employer;

(12) Develop and implement procedures (such as closing off a permit space and canceling the permit) necessary for concluding the entry after entry operations have been completed;

(13) Review entry operations when the employer has reason to believe that the measures taken under the permit space program may not protect employees and revise the program to correct deficiencies found to exist before subsequent entries are authorized; and

Note: Examples of circumstances requiring the review of the permit space program are: any unauthorized entry of a permit space, the detection of a permit space hazard not covered by the permit, the detection of a condition prohibited by the permit, the occurrence of an injury or near-miss during entry, a change in the use or configuration of a permit space, and employee complaints about the effectiveness of the program.