On July 8, 2015, during the Summer AGC Safety and Health Conference, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) director of construction services announced a temporary enforcement policy for the confined spaces in construction standard. This policy does not delay the effective date, but will postpone full enforcement of the standard for 60 days from the effective date of August 3, 2015 to October 2, 2015.
The enforcement policy memo is in response to a letter submitted on June 4, 2015, by a dozen industry associations - including AGC – requesting a full 90 day extension. While the temporary enforcement policy falls short of the full extension requested, it does provide some relief to contractors who demonstrate a “good faith effort” in complying with the standard. Employers will not be issued citations as long as the employer is in compliance with the training requirements of the new standard found at 29 CFR 1926.1207 or the former training requirements found at 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(6)(i). Employers who fail to train their employees as required by either provision would be properly cited for violation of 1926.1207(a). Additional factors that OSHA will consider when evaluating an employer’s “good faith effort” to comply with the new standard include:
- If the employer has not trained its employees as required under the new standard, whether the employer has scheduled such training,
- If the employer does not have the equipment required for compliance with the new standard, including personal protective equipment (PPE), whether the employer has ordered or otherwise arranged to obtain such equipment required for compliance and is taking alternative measures to protect employees from confined space hazards, and
- Whether the employer has engaged in any additional efforts to educate workers about confined space hazards and protect workers from those hazards.
For more information, contact Kevin Cannon at (703)837-5410 orcannonk@agc.org.
