OSHA Requirements for Confined Spaces

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has very specific guidelines for confined spaces, such as attics, basements, and crawl spaces. They define a confined space as any area that meets the following three criteria:

✓Is large enough for a worker to enter it;

✓Has limited or restricted means of entry or exit

✓Is not designed for continuous occupancy.

 

When are Permits Required?

If that space has certain hazardous conditions, it may require a permit to be issued before a worker can enter. While highly unlikely, our team could experience a situation where the worker would not be able to complete a service or installation because the area is set up in a way that would require a permit. OSHA does warn that extreme heat can be considered a serious physical hazard that could make it a permit-required confined space, and there are new rules under consideration to reduce heat illness and injury. Even OSHA notes that this would be the exception in its fact sheet:

“The vast majority of the standard’s requirements only apply to permit-required confined spaces, and attics, basements, and crawl spaces in a residential home — three common spaces– will not typically trigger these requirements.” In many instances, an attic will not be considered a confined space because there are not limited or restricted means for entry and exit. Even when an attic is a confined space, they “would generally not be permit-required confined spaces because they typically do not contain the types of hazards or potential hazards that make a confined space a permit-required confined space.”

OSHA does warn that extreme heat can be considered a serious physical hazard that could make it a permit-required confined space, and there are new rules under consideration to reduce heat illness and injury.

While we are always committed to your home comfort needs, our employees’ safety comes first. If one of our team members determines that circumstances require a permit, please do not argue with them. We will not enter the attic or confined space until you have made any required alterations to the area and secured the necessary permit. In the summer, if the team has been working in your attic, crawl space, basement, or on the roof, and you see them stopping for water and shade breaks, please understand that they are ensuring there are no accidents while at your home. If you have any questions about these regulations, you may call our office at any time.