🌾 We are refreshing your safety knowledge on confined spaces during Canadian Ag Safety Week! 🦺
A confined space is an enclosed or partially enclosed area that’s big enough for a worker to enter.
- ✔ To help determine if the space you are working in is considered a confined space, remember these helpful points:
- ➢ The space may be enclosed on all sides or as few as two sides.
- ➢ The space is not designed or intended for continuous human occupancy.
- ➢ The space has limited or restricted means for entry or exit that may complicate the provisions of first aid, evacuation, rescue, or other emergency response services.
- ➢ Confined spaces don’t have:
- Permanent utilities (e.g., ventilation systems, lighting, plumbing)
- Wall coverings and furniture
- Easy Access (e.g., large doorways, shallow staircase)
Common confined spaces in agriculture: Storage bins, Grain-drying equipment, and Lift station hatchway.
Typically, confined space incidents happen when: confined spaces are being prepared for entry, workers or others are entering the confined space, or work is happening in the confined space.
- ✔ Manage your Confined Spaces better with these helpful steps:
- ➢ Step 1: Identify the confined spaces.
- ➢ Step 2: Post warning signs and secure entry to confined spaces.
- ➢ Step 3: Determine the hazards for each space.
- ➢ Step 4: Communicate with workers.
- ➢ Step 5: Determine which spaces need to be entered.
No one should ever enter a confined space unless they have the proper training, equipment, and procedures in place.
Always look out for each other!
