816 Confined Space Safety in Construction

Reclassifying a Permit Space

A permit space may only be reclassified as a non-permit confined space when a competent person determines that each of the following requirements are met:

• The entry employer must eliminate or isolate the hazards without entering the space, unless the employer can prove this is not feasible.
• The permit space poses no actual or potential atmospheric hazards and all other hazards within the space are eliminated or isolated without entry into the space, unless the employer can prove this is not feasible.
• The entry employer must certify in writing the basis for determining that all hazards in a permit space have been eliminated or isolated. Include the date, the location of the space, and the signature of the person making the determination.
• The certification is available to each employee entering the space or the employee's authorized representative.

If hazards arise within a permit space that has been reclassified as a non-permit space, each employee in the space must exit the space. The entry employer must then reevaluate the space and reclassify it as a permit space as appropriate.

The permit space may be reclassified as a non-permit confined space for as long as testing and inspection demonstrates that the hazards within the permit space have been eliminated or isolated.

Reclassifying a Non-Permit Space

Make sure a competent person re-evaluates the non-permit space and, if necessary, reclassify it as a permit space when any of the following two conditions exist:

1. there are changes in the use or configuration of a non-permit confined space that might increase the hazards to entrants, or
2. some indication that the initial evaluation of the space may not have been adequate.

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