TOSHA Adopts Confined Space Standard

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration is putting into place a 60-day temporary enforcement policy of its Confined Spaces in Construction standard, which becomes effective August 3, 2015. TOSHA is postponing full enforcement of the new standard until October 2, 2015 in response to requests for additional time to train and acquire the equipment necessary to comply with the new standard.

During this 60-day temporary enforcement period, TOSHA will not issue citations to employers who make good faith efforts to comply with the new standard. Employers must be in compliance with either the training requirements of the new standard or the previous standard. Employers who fail to train their employees consistent with either of these two standards will be cited.

“We want to make sure employers are taking the right steps on this new rule and are working towards being in compliance,” said Steve Hawkins, TOSHA Administrator. “By postponing the full enforcement, we hope to make this transition as seamless as possible for employers.”

Factors that indicate employers are making good faith efforts to comply include:

• If the employer has not trained its employees as required under the new standard, whether the employer has scheduled such training.
• If the employer does not have the equipment required for compliance with the new standard, including personal protective equipment, whether the employer has ordered or otherwise arranged to obtain such equipment required for compliance and is taking alternative measures to protect employees from confined space hazards.
• Whether the employer has engaged in any additional efforts to educate workers about confined space hazards and protect workers from those hazards.

The Confined Spaces in Construction final rule provides construction workers with protections similar to those manufacturing and general industry workers have, with some differences tailored to the construction industry. These include requirements to ensure that multiple employers share vital safety information and to continuously monitor hazards – a safety option made possible by technological advances after the manufacturing and general industry standards were created.

Federal OSHA estimates the confined spaces rule could protect nearly 800 construction workers a year from serious injuries and reduce life-threatening hazards.

For more information please contact TOSHA at 615-741-2793.