Confined Spaces

Confined Spaces Workplace Safety Poster

Help employees recognize confined-space hazards and reinforce safe entry procedures with the Confined Spaces Workplace Safety Poster from Labor Law Compliance Center. This workplace safety poster provides a visual reminder of important precautions for employees who work in or around tanks, vessels, silos, pits, vaults, manholes, and other confined spaces.

Confined spaces can expose employees to serious hazards including oxygen deficiency, toxic or flammable atmospheres, engulfment, restricted entry and exit, mechanical hazards, and other conditions capable of causing serious injury or death. Employers should evaluate confined spaces before employees enter them and follow applicable OSHA requirements for safe entry.

Confined Spaces Safety Poster Specifications

• Workplace Safety and Hazard Awareness Poster
• Confined Space Safety Information
• Designed for Employee Safety Awareness
• Suitable for Industrial and Construction Workplaces

What Is a Confined Space?

Under OSHA's general-industry standard, a confined space is a space that is large enough and configured so an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work, has limited or restricted means for entry or exit, and is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

Examples of areas that may meet the definition of a confined space include:

• Tanks and vessels
• Silos and storage bins
• Hoppers
• Vaults
• Pits
• Manholes
• Sewers and utility spaces
• Boilers and process vessels
• Other enclosed or restricted work areas

What Is a Permit-Required Confined Space?

A permit-required confined space, also called a permit space, is a confined space that contains or has the potential to contain serious hazards requiring additional precautions before employees enter.

A confined space may be classified as permit-required when it:

• Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere
• Contains material that could engulf an employee
• Has an internal configuration that could trap or asphyxiate an employee
• Contains another recognized serious safety or health hazard

What Are Common Confined-Space Hazards?

Conditions inside a confined space can be significantly different from conditions in the surrounding workplace. Potential hazards can include:

• Oxygen-deficient atmospheres
• Oxygen-enriched atmospheres
• Toxic gases, vapors, or airborne contaminants
• Flammable or explosive atmospheres
• Engulfment by liquids or flowable solids
• Mechanical and electrical hazards
• Heat and temperature extremes
• Restricted entry and exit
• Falls and physical hazards
• Unexpected release of hazardous materials or energy

OSHA Permit-Required Confined Space Requirements

OSHA addresses permit-required confined spaces in general industry under 29 CFR 1910.146. Employers covered by the standard must evaluate the workplace to determine whether permit-required confined spaces are present.

If permit spaces are present, employers must inform exposed employees of their existence, location, and danger. When employees are authorized to enter permit spaces, applicable requirements may include a written permit-space program, hazard evaluation, entry procedures, atmospheric testing and monitoring, equipment, employee training, attendants, entry supervisors, and rescue and emergency procedures.

Confined-Space Atmospheric Testing

Testing the atmosphere can be a critical part of determining whether acceptable entry conditions exist. Depending on the space and hazards present, testing may be necessary to identify oxygen deficiency or enrichment, combustible gases and vapors, and toxic contaminants.

Atmospheric conditions may change during an entry, so employers must follow applicable OSHA requirements for testing and monitoring before and during permit-space operations.

Confined Space Entry Permits

When entry into a permit-required confined space is authorized under a permit program, the entry permit documents important information about the planned entry and the precautions required to protect employees.

Depending on the applicable OSHA standard, an entry permit may identify information such as:

• The permit space being entered
• The purpose of the entry
• The date and authorized duration of entry
• Authorized entrants
• Known or potential hazards
• Acceptable entry conditions
• Atmospheric testing and monitoring information
• Required equipment and protective measures
• Communication procedures
• Rescue and emergency procedures

Authorized Entrants, Attendants and Entry Supervisors

A permit-required confined-space program assigns specific responsibilities to employees involved in entry operations.

Authorized entrants must understand the hazards they may encounter, properly use required equipment, communicate with the attendant, recognize warning signs or prohibited conditions, and exit the space when required.

Attendants remain outside the permit space during entry operations, monitor authorized entrants, maintain awareness of conditions, communicate with entrants, and perform other duties required by the employer's permit-space program.

Entry supervisors are responsible for applicable entry authorization and oversight responsibilities established by the permit-space program.

Confined Space Rescue and Emergency Planning

Employers authorizing entry into permit-required confined spaces must address rescue and emergency procedures before an emergency occurs. Confined-space rescue can expose unprepared rescuers to the same hazards that endangered the original entrant.

Employees should never enter a permit-required confined space to attempt a rescue unless they are authorized, appropriately trained, equipped, and operating under the employer's established rescue procedures.

Confined Spaces in Construction

Construction employers should follow OSHA's 29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA – Confined Spaces in Construction. Before construction work begins, a competent person must identify confined spaces where employees may work and determine which spaces are permit-required confined spaces.

Construction employers that identify permit spaces must inform exposed employees about the existence, location, and dangers of those spaces and follow applicable OSHA requirements when employees are authorized to enter them.

Where Can a Confined Spaces Poster Be Displayed?

The Confined Spaces Workplace Safety Poster can help reinforce safety awareness in workplaces such as:

• Manufacturing facilities
• Industrial workplaces
• Construction sites
• Utilities and wastewater operations
• Warehouses and processing facilities
• Maintenance departments
• Tank and vessel operations
• Mechanical and utility rooms
• Employee safety and training areas

Are Confined Space Warning Signs Required by OSHA?

When a workplace contains permit-required confined spaces, OSHA requires affected employees to be informed of the existence, location, and danger posed by those spaces. This may be accomplished by posting danger signs or by another equally effective means.

OSHA identifies wording such as "DANGER – PERMIT-REQUIRED CONFINED SPACE, DO NOT ENTER" as an example of language that satisfies the warning-sign requirement.

This Confined Spaces Workplace Safety Poster is intended as a supplemental employee safety, training, and awareness resource. Unless specifically designed and placed to satisfy an applicable warning requirement, it should not be treated as a substitute for required permit-space identification, entry permits, employee training, atmospheric testing, rescue procedures, or other applicable OSHA requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions About Confined Spaces Safety Posters

What is a Confined Spaces Workplace Safety Poster?

A Confined Spaces Workplace Safety Poster is an employee awareness resource that highlights hazards and safe work practices associated with confined-space operations.

Is a confined-space safety poster required by OSHA?

OSHA requires employers to identify permit-required confined spaces and inform exposed employees about their existence, location, and dangers. A general safety awareness poster does not automatically satisfy the specific warning requirements established by OSHA.

Can this poster replace a confined-space entry permit?

No. A workplace safety poster does not replace required entry permits, atmospheric testing, employee training, rescue planning, or other procedures required under applicable OSHA standards.

Where should a confined-space safety poster be displayed?

Employers may display the poster in safety training areas, maintenance departments, industrial workplaces, construction facilities, and other locations where employees may encounter confined-space hazards.

Do confined-space requirements apply to construction employers?

Yes. OSHA has separate confined-space requirements for construction under 29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA. Employers should determine which OSHA standards apply to their operations.

Workplace Safety and Compliance Resources

Labor Law Compliance Center provides employers with labor law posters, workplace safety posters, specialty postings, and compliance resources for businesses throughout the United States.

Browse our Workplace Safety Posters for additional personal protective equipment (PPE), hazard awareness, emergency response, construction safety, and employee safety materials.

Explore our Specialty Workplace Posters for other workplace safety and information products.

For additional workplace posting options, review our State and Federal Combination Labor Law Posters.

Compliance note: This poster is intended as a supplemental workplace safety awareness resource and does not replace required OSHA training, entry permits, hazard assessments, rescue procedures, or other applicable safety requirements.