QUESTIONS

What is a confined space? Examples of confined spaces

What does the Quebec regulation require?

How to implement a successful Confined space management program?

What are the success factors of a confined space program?

What are the appropriate equipment needed for work and rescue in confined space?

What are the documents and tools to develop?

What are the budget and delays to plan?

ANSWERS

What is a confined space? Examples of Confined Spaces

According the Health and Occupational safety regulation, a confined space is an :

1. « enclosed area : any area that is completely or partially enclosed, especially a reservoir, a silo, a vat, a hopper, a chamber, a vault, a tank, a sewer including a ditch and a temporary manure storage ditch, a pipe, a chimney, an access shaft, a truck or freight car tank, which has the following inherent conditions :
2. « which is not designed for human occupation, nor intended to be, but may occasionally be occupied for the performance of work;
3. « access to which can only be had by a restricted entrance/exit;
4. « which can represent a risk for the health and safety of anyone who enters, owing to any one of the following factors :
   1. « its design, construction or location, except for the entrance/exit provided for in subsection (2);
   2. « ts atmosphere or insufficiency of natural or mechanical ventilation;
   3. « the materials or substances that it contains;
   4. « or other related hazards »

Here are some examples of confined space in different industries :

Pulp and paper	Aeronautic
Blending chest Exhauster Water supply Resine supply Bale Pulper Etc.	Plane wing Catch drain Softener Electric well Surge well Ventilation system Etc.
Metallurgy	Pharmaceutical
Blower Drying roll Chest Etc.	Water supply Boiler Retention bin Etc.
Food	Agriculture
Mixture supply Man hole Condenser Etc.	Silo Pit Water tunnel Etc.
Chemical industry	Municipality
Mixture supply Absorption bin Etc.	Pump house Dry well Bypass structure Access shaft Bypass structure Drain hole Etc.
Transport	Mine
Scale Scrap bin Etc.	Sand filter Mixture supply Clarifier Ore raise Chemical product supply Crusher Dryer Dust extractor Boiler Etc.

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What does the Quebec regulation require?

Any organization that has one or more confined spaces must follow the regulation. This regulation gives guidelines concerning the actions that must be undertaken.

Here is the link to the articles of the Quebec Confined Space regulation. Law, regulation and standards on machine safety (click on A Regulation respecting occupational health and safety and scroll down to division XXVI)

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How to implement a successful Confined space management program?

The implementation of a Confined Space program must be planned and managed rigorously. It is important to note that there are no recipes or specific miracles to ensure success. There are, on the other hand, optimal approaches according to your organisational, financial and operational reality. For this reason, it is important to be prepared to choose the actions that we are ready to manage and assume leadership responsibilities.

Amongst the multiple approaches that can be adopted, we can identify :

• Identification of all confined spaces
• Complete risk assessment
• Development of descriptive sheets and permits
• Development of work and rescue procedures
• Training of all people involved (entrants, watchmen, permit issuer, rescuers, gas detection responsible, supervisors, etc.)
• Buy appropriate training and rescue equipment
• Design and install required anchor points, etc.

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What are the success factors of a confined space program?

When we implement any program in an organization, we wish to succeed. Pride and satisfaction for a great return on investment are tied to success. Also, the feeling that risks are better managed and that workers are safe is important.

Success does not come with chance. You must put great effort in the planning, implementation and management of your program.

We strongly believe that 3 main variables must be taken into consideration. Those are :

• Operational actions such as : Training, risk assessment, equipment, procedures, etc.
• Organisational actions such as : Communication, mobilization, leadership, information, etc.
• Values : Is safety important? Is management a model of safety?

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What are the appropriate equipment needed for work and rescue in confined space?

Specific equipment are required to work safely in Confined Space as well as to apply rescue procedures if necessary.

A risk assessment is recommended in order to identify the most appropriate equipment depending on your risks. If you don't proceed to a risk assessment before you buy your equipment, you could be surprised (not enough equipment, too much equipment, wrong equipment, etc.).

Here is, as an indication only, the type of equipment usually recommended for work and rescue in confined spaces.

Work : Bracket 5 parts, fall protection system, harness, ventilator, gas detector, etc.

Rescue : Idem to work equipment and: Sked Stretcher, Yellow Jacquet Basket Litter, system 4:1, bracelets for wrists, etc.

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What are the documents and tools to develop?

The ultimate objective of a Confined Space management program is to manage risks in an optimal way. To do so, some documents are required and very helpful. We recommend you to develop :

• Descriptive sheet for each confined space;
• Rescue sheet for each type of confined space;
• Entry permit;
• Activity Sheet;
• Entry Program (Who does what, when and how?)
• Rescue and entry procedures, etc.

Please note that those documents are not that difficult to develop. The real challenge is to involve and inform people as well as to mobilize them so that they will use and follow those documents (tools) at all times with the feeling that they generate value added.

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What are the budget and delays to plan?

Here is the first and ultimate question that a customer is often asking. This is comprehensible because these are two important variables. You will understand that it is impossible for us to provide a good answer to this question without knowing your reality.

The costs and deadlines will vary depending on the following variables :

Characteristics' of your confined spaces and work (number, types, frequency of entries, etc)
The specific approaches (type of risk assessment, type of permits and procedures, use of a consultant or not, training methods, etc.)

As a consequence, planning and strategies are very important. A serious planning is recommended before the implementation of the program. The deadlines will also vary depending on the initial choices made. Also, you must always consider that serious follow up initiatives are required to ensure that best practices will be applied at all times by everyone.

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