Canadian Occupational Safety

Jun/Jul 2014

Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.

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18 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com A worker in B.C. was about to enter a confi ned space at night. The limited oxygen in this confi ned space might have been a respiratory hazard if not for the ventilation system that had been installed. Unfortunately, the solution created an additional hazard that he couldn't see: the guard on the fan was broken. When the worker entered the space, he put his hand on the fan for support and instantly lost a few of his fi ngers. "Dark, spooky, nasty, awful," is how Lynanne Fortin describes confi ned spaces. She is the senior safety consultant for Ronin Safety & Rescue in Delta, B.C., who was on-site after the incident. WorkSafeBC's defi nition of a confi ned space is similar to that of other Canadian jurisdictions: "… an area that is enclosed or partially enclosed; is not designed or intended for continuous human occupancy; has limited or restricted means for entry or exit that may complicate the provision of fi rst aid, evacuation, rescue or other emergency response service; and is large enough and so confi gured that a worker could enter to perform assigned work." Though confi ned spaces are not designed for humans, work often takes us there. "People could be in there to do cleaning, welding, replacing, fi xing something, removing or inspecting equipment, and sometimes for an entire shift," says Jeremy Slater, regional sales manager for British Columbia at Acklands-Grainger in Vancouver. Even when the work is routine, Slater says, the person entering the confi ned space must assess the hazards beforehand. "Having a proper work plan for your confi ned space that highlights all the previous conditions and hazards is extremely important. And you should do a hazard assessment prior to entry every time because conditions can change from morning to afternoon," he says. By Michelle Morra-Carlisle Protecting workers from the physical hazards of confi ned spaces WHAT LURKS WITHIN Kee Safety, Ltd., Concord, ON Toll-Free 1-877-505-5003 www.KeeGuard.ca Separating People from Hazards SM Permanent or Portable Rooftop Fall Protection • Install without welding, drilling or penetrating the roof membrane • Models also available for skylights, hatches, stairs and walkways • Modular design to fit virtually any flat or low-sloped roof configuration • Galvanized for corrosion-resistance KeeGuard ® permanent fall protection systems KeeGuard ® Contractor portable systems with environmentally-friendly recycled PVC bases. OHS Compliant! Kee (5340).indd 1 13-01-29 11:49 PM

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