By James C. Elledge, IFMA Fellow, CFM, FMA, RPA, RIAQM
Published in the September 2007 issue of Today’s Facility Manager
Q According to a December 2005 post featured on FacilityBlog, ANSI Standard Z117.1-2003 “covers confined space requirements with regard to identification and evaluation of a confined space, emergency response and rescue, permit and non-permit requirements, atmospheric testing, isolation and decontamination, lockout/tagout safeguarding procedures, personal protection equipment (PPE), and warning sign requirements.” Do you know of equivalents to this confined space standard for the European Union, Canada, Asia, or any other region of the world?
Sebastien
Posted on FacilityBlog
A Here is what I was able to locate regarding rules and regulations for confined spaces outside of this country:
- Canada’s equivalent is The Workplace Safety and Health Act, which can be downloaded as a pdf file here. Specifically, Part 15 deals with confined spaces.
- In the U.K., the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 is the resource found at this link.
- For Hong Kong, I found one report regarding confined spaces which you should find useful.
- Finally, I found this link from the International Labour Organization, which may help you locate pertinent information in other countries.
Elledge,facility/office services manager for Dallas, TX-based Summit AllianceCompanies, is the recipient of the Distinguished Author Award from theInternational Facility Management Association (IFMA), is an IFMA Fellow, and isa member of TFM’sEditorial Advisory Board. All questions have been submitted via the “Ask TheExpert” portion of the magazine’s Web site. To pose a question, visit this link.
