Page 19 - OHS, May 2022

Training for Permit Space Entry: A Team Effort
Rescue teams must have proper training and equipment to perform a rescue.
BSY MARK STROMME
afety professionals understand the importance of following OSHA’s permit-required confined space training requirements. It’s the employer’s responsibility to train employees according to 29 CFR 1910.146.
Training is required for all affected employees which includes the authorized entrant, attendant and entry supervisor. Training must provide the affected employees with the appropriate understanding, skills and knowledge to perform their jobs safely in a permit space. Each team member must receive training on their responsibilities, as well as training on the hazards of the permit space. Members must be trained before the first entry and as duties or hazards change.
OSHA is also very specific regarding the training of rescue teams. For the safety of the entry team, a rescue team must be available in an emergency. Whether the rescue team is an on- site group of employees with specialized training, or an outside agency, such as a local fire department, the rescue team must be aware of all potential hazards and have the proper training and equipment to perform a rescue in the workplace’s permit spaces.
Entry Team
If work needs to be done within a permit space, it will be performed by an entry team. Each member of the team has a distinct role: the authorized entrant goes into the permit space to perform assigned work; the attendant remains outside the space and monitors the entrant; and the entry supervisor reviews and signs the entry permit, authorizes entry and supervises the entry operation.
Depending on the work that needs to be done, there may be multiple authorized entrants during an entry and the entry supervisor can also be an authorized entrant or attendant if he or she has been properly trained to do so. Most importantly, the entry team must work together to ensure a safe entry.
Authorized Entrant
During a permit space entry operation, the authorized entrant must be aware of the permit space hazards, including the signs, symptoms and effects of exposure (e.g., dizziness, sleepiness, breathing difficulties, confusion). The authorized entrant must also know how to properly use personal protective equipment (PPE) and other equipment used during the entry operation as well as communication any condition changes in the permit space immediately. If necessary, the entrant must evacuate immediately if they experience any warning signs or symptoms of exposure, a prohibited condition is detected, an evacuation alarm is activated or if ordered to do so by the attendant.
Definition
TRAINING: CONFINED SPACES
Attendant
During a permit space entry operation, the attendant must: warn unauthorized persons approaching the permit space to stay away. They are also responsible for being familiar with all potential hazards in or around the permit space and know how to use testing, monitoring, communication and non-entry rescue equipment.
In regards to monitoring, the attendant must be able to monitor activities inside and outside of the space, the entrant at all times during the entry and the communication with the entrant. This includes monitoring for behavioral effects of hazard exposure, which would be defined as a lack of coordination, drowsiness, slurred speech or confusion.
Attendants must be able to order an evacuation of the space if they detect a prohibited condition, behavioral effects of hazardous exposure in the entrant, a dangerous situation outside of the space, or if they cannot perform all of their duties and have not been relieved. They’ll need to summon a rescue team or emergency services as soon as assistance is needed, perform a non-entry rescue; and remain outside the permit space until the operation is complete or until they’re relieved by another trained attendant.
Entry Supervisor
During a permit space entry operation, the entry supervisor must review the entry permit, sign the entry permit to authorize entry, and be aware of the hazards of the permit space and consequences of exposure.
The entry supervisor must be able to verify all tests specified by the permit have been conducted, all procedures and equipment are in place, and that rescue services are available. It is also the responsibility of the entry supervisor to record any problems encountered during the entry on the entry permit, cancel the entry permit when a condition that is not allowed arises in or near the permit space, or cancel and file the entry permit when entry operations have been completed.
Over and over, experience has demonstrated permit spaces are dangerous places with the potential to cause very serious injury, or worse. In fact, every year OSHA is faced with investigating permit space fatalities.
Training is important and required for all affected employees— the authorized entrant, attendant and entry supervisor. Provide the affected employees with the appropriate understanding, skills and knowledge to perform their jobs safely in a permit space.
Mark Stromme is the Senior EHS Editor for J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
When speaking about “permit spaces,” the author is referring to a confined space that has one or more of the following: a hazardous atmosphere, material that could engulf an entrant, a design that could trap and entrant, or any other recognized safety or health hazard.
www.ohsonline.com MAY 2022 | Occupational Health & Safety 15