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VI-15.00(A) UMCP POLICY ON CONFINED SPACE PLAN
Approved by the President March 13, 1996
I. Purpose
This is a statement of official University policy to
establish the process for compliance with the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation
"Permit-Required Confined Spaces," 29 CFR 1910.146.
II. Policy
The University is dedicated to providing safe and healthy
facilities for all employees and students, in compliance
with federal and state occupational health and safety
standards. Administrators, faculty, staff and students all
share the responsibility to reduce potential exposures to
physical and health risks encountered in the performance of
duties requiring entry into a Confined Space. A confined
space is a space that is large enough and so configured that
an employee can enter and perform assigned work; has limited
or restricted means for entry or exit; and is not designed
for continuous employee occupancy.
The Confined Space Plan will be implemented for all
facilities at University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP)
and satellite locations where there is need to perform any
activity within a Confined Space as defined by Confined
Space standards and this plan. Employees and students who
are authorized to enter a Permit-Required Confined Space
must complete Confined Space entry training. Authorized
employees and students will not enter any Confined Space
until satisfactory air monitoring is completed and
appropriate action taken as described in this plan to
protect entrants. An attendant must be present and in
constant communication with entrants for the duration of any
entry. The Confined Space Entry Supervisor must inform the
Department of Physical Plant (DPP) Work Control Center at
(40)5-2222 of the entry date, time, location and purpose of
entry prior to entering any Permit-Required Confined Space
on UMCP campus. Required rescue services for all Confined
Space entries made on UMCP campus will be provided by Prince
George's County Fire Department (PGFD). At other locations,
the Confined Space Entry Supervisor will coordinate with
local fire and rescue services prior to entry to assure
local rescue services are equipped and prepared to provide
Confined Space rescue services. Appropriate communication
equipment and the local emergency rescue service telephone
number will be supplied to the attendant on duty prior to
entry. Where rescue services are not immediately available,
no Confined Space entry may be made.
Contractors operating on UMCP property are required to
comply with all applicable provisions of OSHA/MOSH Confined
Space regulations. Contractors must notify the DPP Work
Control Center at (40)5-2222 of the entry date, time,
location and purpose of entry prior to making any entry into
a permit-required Confined Space on the UMCP campus.
Contractors must also provide the name and contact
information for the individual acting as supervisor for the
entry. Questions or concerns about individual contractor
entries should be addressed to the Department of
Architecture, Engineering and Construction (DAEC)
Construction Management section at (40)5-3403.
The Confined Space Plan will be reviewed and evaluated for
its effectiveness at least annually, and updated as
necessary. In order to facilitate review, original copies
of permits utilized for completed or aborted Confined Space
entries will be forwarded to DES at building 018, 7505 Yale
Ave., College Park, MD, 20742.
III. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Department of Environmental Safety (DES) will:
(a) Provide assistance to departments in identifying
Permit-Required Confined Spaces and
Non-Permit-Required Confined Spaces;
(b) Prepare the Confined Space Plan (CSP) with annual
review and revisions as needed;
(c) Distribute CSP to each affected department for
re-distribution to all individuals who are
authorized by the department to make entry into
any Confined Space;
(d) Provide consultation, advisory assistance and
information concerning use of hazardous materials,
entry procedures or physical hazard assessment;
(e) Provide assistance in locating direct reading
monitoring equipment for hazards anticipated
during Confined Space entry and consultation for
monitoring of hazards for which direct reading
equipment is not available;
(f) Investigate and document all accidents or near
misses reported as a result of a Confined Space
entry or an aborted entry attempt;
(g) Direct periodic safety audits of Confined Space
entry procedures as requested by employees to
determine regulatory compliance, and recommend
action to correct conditions of non-compliance;
and
(h) Specify and coordinate training for all Confined
Space entrants through Departmental Confined Space
Coordinators.
2. Department of Architecture, Engineering and
Construction will:
(a) Oversee contracts requiring Confined Space entry;
(b) Identify requirements for compliance with
applicable Confined Space entry regulations and
applicable portions of this plan in contract
specifications;
(c) Notify the contractor of the locations of
Permit-Required Confined Spaces (as identified
by the UMCP Confined Space inventory) where
contractors will require access to inventoried
Confined Spaces in order to complete work under
the scope of a contract;
(d) Provide DES with the information necessary to
update the confined space inventory when Confined
Spaces are created or modified during campus
constructions and renovation projects; and
(e) Interface with contractors where enforcement of
Confined Space contract provisions is required.
3. Department Heads will:
(a) Evaluate or have evaluated, the need for Confined
Space entry by employees or students under their
control, and if applicable:
(1) Designate a Departmental Confined Space
Coordinator(s);
(2) Distribute the CSP to Coordinators; and
(3) Assure that the CSP is received and
implemented within the work areas under their
review;
(b) Assure that necessary resources are made available
to the Departmental Confined Space Coordinator to
allow for compliance with this plan; and
(c) Assure that new or updated Confined Space
inventory information is transmitted to DES for
inclusion in the campus inventory.
4. Departmental Confined Space Coordinators will:
(a) Implement all provisions of the CSP for work or
research areas under their control;
(b) Inventory and identify all potential Confined
Space work areas or facilities under their
control;
(c) Prepare and train personnel to use supplemental
Confined Space entry procedures for circumstances
not adequately addressed by the campus CSP;
(d) Identify authorized Confined Space entrants and
assure that each entrant attends an approved
Confined Space entry training course;
(e) Identify individuals that are authorized to sign
the UMCP permit for Permit-Required Confined
Space entry;
(f) Provide site-specific training to authorized
Confined Space entrants regarding the specific
equipment and practices used during entry for the
spaces each entrant is authorized to enter;
(g) Update the departmental Confined Space inventory
and forward new information to DES for inclusion
in the UMCP master Confined Space inventory when a
new Confined Space is created or an existing
Confined Space changes in configuration, use or
hazard potential;
(h) Assure that warning signs are posted immediately
outside of entrances to Confined Spaces, and that
such signs are secured. (Underground utility
access vaults will not be posted. Employees will
be informed of the Confined Space classification
of these spaces during Confined Space training.);
and
(I) Interface with Confined Space Supervisors where
enforcement of this program is required.
5. Confined Space Entry Supervisor will:
(a) Adhere to all requirements of the CSP and
supplemental entry procedures;
(b) Complete all safety training requirements,
request further instruction if unclear on any
part of the training and comply with
documentation procedures;
(c) Complete the Permit-Required Confined Space
entry permit and verify that all precautions and
pre-entry procedures have been fulfilled prior
to entry;
(d) Terminate entry and cancel permits in the event
conditions within the space change, entrants
show signs of over-exposure or conditions cannot
be verified;
(e) Verify the availability of a local rescue team
prior to entry (if off-site from UMCP);
(f) Assure that unauthorized people do not enter the
Confined Space during the time that authorized
entry is in progress. If an unauthorized person
is located in a Confined Space, UMCP Campus
Police will be called to enforce trespass
prohibitions;
(g) Assure that appropriate personal protective
equipment is available and used by entrants; and
(h) Assure that original entry permits are forwarded
to DES upon completion or termination of a
Permit-Required Confined Space entry.
6. Confined Space Entrants will:
(a) Adhere to the requirements of the CSP and
supplemental entry procedures;
(b) Fulfill all entry team functions as defined by
this plan and any procedures created to
supplement this plan for specific Confined Space
entry;
(c) Communicate with the attendant regularly while
inside of the Confined Space and report any
unusual circumstances to the attendant;
(d) Complete all safety training requirements,
request further instruction if unclear on any
part the training and comply with documentation
procedures;
(e) Report all work place injuries, over-exposure
incidents or unsafe conditions to their Confined
Space Entry Supervisor as soon as possible; and
(f) Use appropriate safety and personal protective
equipment as provided for entry.
7. Confined Space Entry Attendants will:
(a) Adhere to the requirements of the CSP and
supplemental entry procedures;
(b) Remain outside of the Confined Space in constant
two-way communication with the entrants until
relieved by an alternate attendant or all
entrants have exited the space;
(c) Continuously communicate with the Confined Space
entrants and monitor the space to assure that
conditions remain within acceptable parameters
as defined in the Permit-Required Confined Space
Entry section of this plan and instruct entrants
to leave the space if any parameter varies from
acceptable as defined in this document;
(d) Summon rescue personnel in the event of an
emergency; and police in the event that an
unauthorized person enters the space;
(e) Complete all safety training requirements,
request further instruction if unclear on any of
part of the training, and comply with
documentation procedures;
(f) Report all workplace injuries, exposure
incidents or unsafe conditions to the
Departmental Confined Space Entry Coordinator as
soon as possible;
(g) Perform non-entry rescue procedures if able to
do so safely;
(h) Perform no duty that may interfere with
attendant duties while serving in the capacity
of attendant; and
(I) Secure the Confined Space after completion of
the work to prevent dangerous conditions.
8. University Health Center will:
(a) Coordinate and direct all required or
recommended medical surveillance programs,
including respiratory protection physicals;
(b) Provide medical consultations and examinations
for workers who have been overexposed to
hazardous chemical substances or who have
sustained an injury related to a Confined Space
entry; and
(c) Maintain medical records relating to
consultations, examinations and medical
surveillance as required by law.
9. Campus Police will:
(a) Respond to reported unauthorized Confined Space
entries and enforce appropriate trespassing
prohibitions. Officers will not enter any
Confined Space to retrieve or rescue
individuals; and
(b) Provide crowd control in the event of a Confined
Space related emergency.
IV. Information:
Assistance will be provided by Department of Environmental
Safety to any Department or individual requesting guidance
or training to satisfy implementation of this policy. A
complete copy of the Confined Space Plan may be obtained
from the Department of Environmental Safety. (Departmental
telephone number is (301) 405-3960; electronic mail
(email) address is Safety@UMDACC.UMD.EDU; WWW Home Page
address is http://www.inform.umd.edu/DES)
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