We all know that confined spaces have very high risks to safety on a worksite. We know that is a generational thing; confined spaces were often accepted as part of the job in many industries, and the idea of having uniform standards of safety didn’t seem possible 30 years ago.

Alas, though there has been an ANSI standard regarding confined spaces in place for several decades, there is often a need to re-evaluate so the standard more accurately meets the current needs of industry. And Tim Healey, of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, addressed ANSI Z117 standard regarding confined spaces last year in Professional Safety magazine.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user SmartSign via a Creative Commons license]

[Image courtesy of Flickr user SmartSign via a Creative Commons license]

Healey was asked several questions about the standard, including the challenges of confined spaces, the importance of the standard in the knowledge base of safety professionals, as well as discussion of recent updates to the standard.

Healey was quick to point out that ANSI undergoes a “consensus” process when it comes to standards and updates – which means that no standard is perfect or will make every stakeholder happy. But the process is designed to initiate conversation and discussion among various groups who are stakeholders in the standard, and utilizing best practices to make a standard that has value to all parties and a level of practicality contained within the letter of the regulation.

A couple of items Healey mentioned in his interview was that there was an apparent misunderstanding or ignorance about the definition of a confined space, thus whether an industry should be paying attention to a confined-space standard. While there are many situations that are quite obviously confined-space scenarios, there are some that are not widely accepted. In these cases, a better definition and education is needed.

Healey said the Z117 standard is designed for confined spaces, which are defined as those which are difficult to enter or leave, are big enough for only one person of a certain size or weight, and is not big enough for a person to spend many hours at a time. Based on this definition, we can probably all think of some areas that perhaps did not cross our mind before as being a confined space – thus an opportunity for all of us to adopt this standard in our workplaces.

One big adjustment to the standard was the concept of team training with the goal of  developing better clarity in the standard so workers and supervisors have increased practicality and utility in areas of the standard that seemed to be a bit more ambiguous.

The ANSI process of developing safety standards is much more flexible and pragmatic than the more static regulations that govern safety, and a review of standards every so often helps keep the industry abreast of changes in conditions and environments as technology and best-practices evolve, and that review allows for ANSI standards to adjust and evolve to meet the needs of the changing industrial economy so everyone can remain safe while they work.