Page 25 - OHS, JulyAugust 2023

communication tools they need. A safe confifined space monitoring strategy requires a great deal of teamwork. Aftfter pre-entry testing, it’s not enough to check for gas hazards and then throw your monitor back in the truck — confined spaces must also be monitored by an attendant. And in some instances, one attendant can serve multiple confined spaces if he or she can monitor the atmosphere and communicate with the entrants in each of those spaces. As you can imagine, this can sometimes make it difficult for the worker inside to communicate with the attendant. The concern here is that the atmosphere inside the confined space can change quickly and unexpectedly. But if the worker inside the space doesn’t have a monitor, and the attendant is addressing an issue within another confined space, that worker could be in grave danger. The safest practice, therefore, is for a worker within the confined space to have a personal monitor that can share gas readings to the attendant’s monitor – allowing for communication where it is normally extremely limited. If a worker inside the confined space encounters a gas hazard, is immobilized, or needs emergency assistance for any other reason, the cause of the alarm is instantly relayed to the attendant’s gas detector. Continuously Monitoring a Space Even with an attendant watching for hazards, continuously monitoring the confined space is one of the best things you can do to prevent fatal accidents. Since many gas hazards are heavier than air, they fill a space from the bottom first. If your entrant is standing in a confined space and it starts to fill with a gas, continuous monitoring with a pumped gas detector can alert both of you to the hazard before it ever reaches the person inside. This allows them to exit the confined space safely. But how will others know if a confined space entrant is at risk? Area gas monitors can help because they provide clear audio and visual alarms so everybody in the area knows there is a gas hazard. You can take this a step further with live monitoring. Live monitoring allows anyone, anywhere, to be alerted when gas hazards put workers in danger so that everyone can respond accordingly. An additional step to continuously monitoring a space means sampling and monitoring every confifined space a worker may enter – both permit-required and non-permit-required spaces. Even in non- permit-required spaces, you’ll still want to monitor the space for gases and other hazards. Why? Well, there are multiple variables to consider. For example, what if the outer part of the confined space has cracked, causing it to rust? Due to the rust that has been slowly forming in this space, there is a lot of displaced oxygen. So, when the confined space is opened for the first time in a year, there is suddenly nothing to breathe and because the space isn’t being monitored, no one would be aware that anyone experienced a fatal event. By continuously monitoring spaces, both before and during an entry, you can ensure that real-time gas readings, man-down alarms, and panic alerts are shared with both peers nearby and safety personnel far away to help mitigate hazards before an evacuation (or worse) is needed. TrainingWorkersonYour Confined Space Entry Plan Even with the right personal protection equipment, gas monitoring program, and a solid monitoring and communication strategy in place, you can’t stop there — you need a plan. With a plan in place, you must now train your workers on it. After all, 85 percent of fatalities in confined spaces were among people who hadn’t been trained; therefore, it’s crucial that your team is trained and understands how to safely test the atmosphere within a confined space. Having a set plan in place, knowing how to use your gas detection equipment, incorporating live monitoring options and data, and consistently practicing emergency response drills is critical in not only establishing control during an emergency but keeping your team safe during a time when every moment matters and ensuring everyone goes home safely. Dan Lemon is an account executive with Industrial Scientific Corporation (www. indsci.com), which provides gas detection devices and management systems. www.ohsonline.com JULY/AUGUST 2023 | Occupational Health & Safety 25