Imagine that on the first day at your new job, the foreman tosses you a harness and a 6-foot lanyard and says, “Be careful out there!” That may seem like an extreme example of a woefully inadequate fall protection training program, but I will bet dollars to donuts it happens more often than we think.

If your facility has confined spaces on site, it is critically important that you evaluate those spaces to determine if you need to have a permit-required confined space program. 

Gravity doesn’t need to go to school. She is a master at pulling all objects toward the center of our blue planet and has been doing so since the dawn of time. So, yep, she is the grand master. Whereas we mere mortals are still learning how to counter her effects.

A permit-required confined space has the potential to present inherent risks to worker health and safety and should be entered only when necessary and always with extreme caution. Unfortunately, there are times employees need to enter these work areas.

Have you ever wondered who that person is who hovers around the portal of a permit space while workers are in the space?