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816 Confined Space Safety in Construction
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Safe Entry Conditions

It's essential to establish safe entry conditions into a permit space.

Test the atmosphere from outside the space for all potential atmospheric hazards.

Guarding the space: Use warning signs or barriers at entry locations to keep out unauthorized people and to protect entrants from falling objects.

Isolating the space: Disconnect, lock out, or tag out hazardous equipment in the space. If you lock out equipment, remember that "lock out" includes testing to ensure the lockout method works.

Testing the space for hazardous atmospheres: Test the atmosphere from outside the space for all potential atmospheric hazards, which may include oxygen; flammable gasses, dusts, or vapors; toxic gasses or vapors; and corrosive atmospheres. Provide entrants with test results. Re-test the space if an entrant believes that initial testing was inadequate.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

3-4. What is an essential requirement to establish safe entry conditions into a permit space?