March 3, 2008—In a letter sent to the Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) said the proposed rule on Confined Spaces in Construction recently published by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is unduly complicated, introduces unnecessary new terminology and requirements that are burdensome, and fails to recognize current safety practices that have proven successful in practice both in general industry and in construction.
“These comments reflect the front-line experience of our members who strive to help protect workers on job sites across the country in all industries, including construction,” ASSE President Michael W. Thompson, CSP, said in the letter. “They also reflect the expertise of the members of the ANSI Z117 Accredited Standards Committee for Confined Space Entry, for which ASSE serves as the Secretariat.”
ASSE has more than 31,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members located worldwide and is responsible for several American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Committees including the Z117 Committee for ‘Confined Spaces’ as well as the A10 Committee for Safety Requirements for Construction and Demolition Operations.
“This rule, if adopted without significant changes, would provide for a significantly lower level of safety than what is currently required throughout the construction industry by the Z117.1-2003 standard,” Thompson wrote.
The Act states that all federal agencies and departments shall use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies, using such technical standards as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities determined by the agencies and departments.
Rather than adding clarity or advancing safety consistent with current industry safety practices, Thompson wrote, the changes offered in this proposed rule instead add a new level of complexity to the work of our members and employers while adding little new to the approaches already successfully being used to address confined space risks. It also fails to address important confined space topics including harmonization of confined space classifications, hazard assessment, assignment of responsibilities, and the continued allowance of a chest harness as part of a vertical confined space rescue effort.
