Working with OSHA Safety Training in Confined Spaces

Each and every day thousands of construction workers are exposed to possible injury or death in what OSHA refers to as confined or enclosed spaces. During a 10 year period from 1980 to 1989 NIOSH otherwise known as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigated 585 accidents that occurred in a confined space and accidents that claimed over 251 hard-working lives. 75 of the work-site incidents involve more than one worker. Often times the second or third victim was someone trying to rescue a coworker without using the proper equipment or safety and health training.

Online OSHA Safety Training

This is why it is so important to have each and every worker on the construction site or the general industry site in the aspect of safety and health training that is OSHA compliant and can be easily accessed and registered and taken at Online OSHA Safety Training. Over the same 10 year period, the highest number of casualties and fatalities was in the manufacturing sector with 152, with farming coming in a close second at 128 and construction rounding out the top three at 90. Our goal here at Online OSHA Safety Training is to have a zero casualty and zero fatality listing report and that can be obtained with proper training and equipment usage.

What Is a Confined or Enclosed Space?

The definition of a confined or enclosed space is any given space that has a limited means of getting in or out and which can gather toxic or flammable gases or vapors and has oxygen deficient-air. In layman’s terms it is any space that you can’t get out real fast like. At Online OSHA Safety Training we also define a confined or enclosed space as a location that has unfavorable natural ventilation. Does that sound familiar and does that sound like the BP Gulf oil spill entire location in the Louisiana area? We think it does and this is why it’s important to have the proper safety and health training while doing heroic work such as BP Gulf oil spill cleanup or any type of construction or general industry work in the United States.

Online OSHA Safety Training

Please have a look at the hazards of a confined or enclosed space and see if any of these factors match up to your current work day environment.

• Hazardous Energy Activated electrical, mechanical and hydraulic or pneumatic energy can cause injury in a confined space.

• Cave-In OSHA evacuation rules must be followed when cave-ins are possible.
• Drowning Heavy rains or water leaks can cause fatalities.
• Underground Utilities Lines containing gases and/or steam or even coolant should be shut off.

Please head on over to Online OSHA Safety Training and take a look at our OSHA compliant safety training courses that are there for your work-site and workplace safety.