Confined Spaces Code Of Practice 2021 - WorkSafe.qld.gov.au

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Confined spacesCode of Practice2021

PN12676ISBN Creative CommonsThis copyright work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International licence.To view a copy of this licence, visit creativecommons.org/licenses. In essence, you are free to copy,communicate and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to Safe WorkAustralia and abide by the other licence terms.Confined spaces Code of practice 2021Page 2 of 54

ContentsForeword . 41.Introduction . 51.1. What is a confined space? . 51.2. Who has health and safety duties in relation to a confined space? . 71.3. What is involved in managing risks associated with working in confined spaces? . 101.4. Information, training, instruction and supervision . 122. Duty of designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers, installers andconstructors . 142.1. Eliminating or minimising the need to enter a confined space . 142.2. Entry and exit . 143.The risk management process. 163.1. Identifying the hazards . 163.2. What hazards are associated with a confined space? . 173.3. Other hazards . 193.4. Assessing the risks . 214.Controlling the risks . 254.1. Eliminate the need to enter a confined space . 264.2. Minimise the risks. 264.3. Entry permits . 274.4. Isolation . 284.5. Atmosphere . 324.6. Communication and safety monitoring . 344.7. Entry and exit procedures . 354.8. Signs and barricades . 354.9. Maintaining and reviewing control measures . 365.Emergency procedures . 38Appendix A—Glossary . 40Appendix B—Confined space criteria . 43Appendix C—Sample confined space entry permit . 44Confined spaces Code of practice 2021Page 3 of 54

ForewordThe Confined spaces Code of Practice is an approved code of practice under section 274 of the WorkHealth and Safety Act 2011 (the WHS Act).An approved code of practice is a practical guide to achieving the standards of health, safety andwelfare required under the WHS Act and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (the WHSRegulation).From 1 July 2018 duty holders are required to comply either with an approved code of practice underthe WHS Act or follow another method, such as a technical or an industry standard, if it provides anequivalent or higher standard of work health and safety to the standard required in the code.A code of practice applies to anyone who has a duty of care in the circumstances described in thecode. In most cases, following an approved code of practice would achieve compliance with thehealth and safety duties in the WHS Act, in relation to the subject matter of the code. Like regulations,codes of practice deal with particular issues and do not cover all hazards or risks which may arise.The health and safety duties require duty holders to consider all risks associated with work, not onlythose for which regulations and codes of practice exist.Codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings under the WHS Act and WHS Regulation.Courts may regard a code of practice as evidence of what is known about a hazard, risk or controland may rely on the code in determining what is reasonably practicable in the circumstances to whichthe code relates.An inspector may refer to an approved code of practice when issuing an improvement notice. Thismay include issuing an improvement notice for failure to comply with a code of practice whereequivalent or higher standards of work health and safety have not been demonstrated.Scope and applicationThis Code is intended to be read by a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). Itprovides practical guidance to PCBUs on how to manage health and safety risks associated withwork carried out in a confined space.This Code may be a useful reference for other persons interested in the duties under the WHS Actand the WHS Regulation.This Code applies to all workplaces covered by the WHS Act where work is carried out in confinedspaces.How to use this Code of PracticeThis Code includes references to the legal requirements under the WHS Act and the WHSRegulation. These are included for convenience only and should not be relied on in place of the fulltext of the WHS Act or WHS Regulation. The words ‘must’, ‘requires’ or ‘mandatory’ indicate a legalrequirement exists that must be complied with.The word ‘should’ is used in this Code to indicate a recommended course of action, while ‘may’ isused to indicate an optional course of action.Confined spaces Code of practice 2021Page 4 of 54

1. IntroductionConfined spaces pose dangers because they are usually not designed to be areas where peoplework. Confined spaces often have poor ventilation which allows hazardous atmospheres to quicklydevelop, especially if the space is small. The hazards are not always obvious and may change fromone entry into the confined space to the next.The risks of working in confined spaces include loss of consciousness, impairment, injury or deathfrom: the immediate effects of airborne contaminants fire or explosion from the ignition of flammable contaminants difficulty rescuing and treating an injured or unconscious person oxygen deficiency or immersion in a free-flowing material, such as grain, sand, fertiliser, water orother liquids falls from a height environmental factors (e.g. extremes in temperature) poor lighting manual handling.1.1. What is a confined space?WHS Regulation section 5DefinitionsA ‘confined space’ means an enclosed or partially enclosed space that: is not designed or intended primarily to be occupied by a person; and is, or is designed or intended to be, at normal atmospheric pressure while any person is in thespace; and is, or is likely to be, a risk to health and safety from:o an atmosphere that does not have a safe oxygen levelo contaminants, including airborne gases, vapours and dusts, that may cause injury from fire orexplosiono harmful concentrations of any airborne contaminantso engulfmentbut does not include a mine shaft or the workings of a mine.A confined space is determined by the hazards associated with a set of specific circumstances andnot just because work is performed in a small space.Entry into a confined space means a person’s head or upper body is in the confined space or withinthe boundary of the confined space.Confined spaces are commonly found in vats, tanks, pits, pipes, ducts, flues, chimneys, silos,containers, pressure vessels, underground sewers, wet or dry wells, shafts, trenches, tunnels or othersimilar enclosed or partially enclosed structures, when these examples meet the definition of aconfined space in the WHS Regulation.Confined spaces Code of practice 2021Page 5 of 54

What is not a confined space for the purposes of the WHSRegulation?A confined space does not include a mine shaft or the workings of a mine.The following kinds of workplaces are also generally not confined spaces for the purposes of theWHS Regulation: places that are intended for human occupancy and have adequate ventilation, lighting and safemeans of entry and exit, such as offices and workshops some enclosed or partially enclosed spaces that at particular times have harmful airbornecontaminants but are designed for a person to occupy, for example abrasive blasting or spraypainting booths enclosed or partially enclosed spaces that are designed to be occasionally occupied by a personif the space has a readily and conveniently accessible means of entry and exit via a doorway atground level, for example:o a cool store accessed by a LPG powered forklift to move stock—although the use of a LPGpowered forklift in a cool store can be hazardous, the door at ground level means that oncethe alarm is raised, escape and rescue can happen quicklyo a fumigated shipping container with a large ground level opening that will facilitate escape andrescue.Trenches are not considered confined spaces based on the risk of structural collapse alone, but willbe confined spaces if they potentially contain concentrations of airborne contaminants that may causeimpairment, loss of consciousness or asphyxiation.How to determine whether a space is a confined spaceA confined space is determined by the structure and a specific set of circumstances. The samestructure may or may not be a confined space depending on the circumstances when the space isentered. Entry to a confined space is considered to have occurred when a person’s head or upperbody enters the space.A space may become a confined space if work that is to be carried out in the space would generateharmful concentrations of airborne contaminants.Temporary control measures such as providing temporary ventilation or achieving a satisfactory preentry gas test will not cause a confined space to be declassified. For a confined space to bedeclassified as a non-confined space, it needs to have undergone sufficient changes in structure anduse to eliminate all inherent hazards that define a confined space.The following flowchart will help to determine whether a space is a ‘confined space’ for the purposesof the WHS Regulation.Appendix B provides examples to illustrate how a confined space is determined.Confined spaces Code of practice 2021Page 6 of 54

5: For the purposes of the WHSRegulation a confined space doesnot include a mine shaft or theworkings of a mine.1.2. Who has health and safety duties in relation to a confinedspace?Duty holders who have a role in managing the risks of working in confined spaces include: persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers, installers and constructors of plant, substances orstructures officers.Confined spaces Code of practice 2021Page 7 of 54

Workers and other persons at the workplace also have duties under the WHS Act, such as the duty totake reasonable care for their own health and safety at the workplace.A person can have more than one duty and more than one person can have the same duty at thesame time.Early consultation and identification of risks can allow for more options to eliminate or minimise risksand reduce the associated costs.Person conducting a business or undertakingWHS Act section 19Primary duty of careA PCBU must eliminate risks arising from working in confined spaces, or if that is not reasonablypracticable, minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable.The WHS Regulation includes more specific requirements for PCBUs to manage the risks ofhazardous chemicals, airborne contaminants and plant, as well as other hazards associated withconfined spaces.PCBUs have a duty to consult workers about work health and safety and may also have duties toconsult, cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders.Designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers, installers andconstructors of plant, substances or structuresWHS Act Part 2 Division 3Further duties of persons conducting businesses or undertakingsDesigners, manufacturers, importers, suppliers, installers and constructors of plant, substances orstructures that include a space that is intended, or is likely to become a confined space must ensure,so far as is reasonably practicable, the plant, substance or structure they design, manufacture,import, supply or install is without risks to health and safety. This duty includes carrying out testingand analysis as well as providing specific information about the plant, substance or structure.To carry out this duty they must: eliminate the need for any person to enter a confined space and eliminate the risk of inadvertententry, so far as is reasonably practicable if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the need to enter or the risk of inadvertent entry:o the need or risk is minimised so far as is reasonably practic

A confined space is determined by the hazards associated with a set of specific circumstances and not just because work is performed in a small space. Entry into a confined space means a person’s head or upper body is in the confined space or within the boundary of the confined space. Confined spaces are commonly found in vats, tanks, pits, pipes, ducts, flues, chimneys, silos, containers .