Confined Space Safety Tips for Elevator Shafts

Addressing all these risks requires many procedural and technical considerations to determine exactly the right safety equipment for a given elevator repair or rescue function.

To help your efforts, we’ll discuss some of the primary hazards your team could face, and the equipment that could help you mitigate those risks.

Elevator Shaft Confined Space Hazards

Keeping elevator maintenance crews safe begins with identifying and preparing for confined space hazards and any other acute risks. Confined space equipment requirements will be unique to each job, but the most reliable equipment will meet and exceed the widest range of safety and technical standards.

Safety managers and their team must also heed the regulations for the exact scope of their work, which can easily change as the work progresses. Consult your state, OSHA, or CCOHS requirements frequently, and adjust your operations accordingly.

Entrapment Hazards

Entrapment hazards exist wherever an entrant could become trapped in a confined space. See the entry for "Permit-required confined space" at OSHA 1926.1202 and 1910.146 (b). In an elevator shaft, entrapment hazards include:

• Converging sloped floors or walls

• Elevator cars or pits with obstructed exits, or even no exit at all

• Machinery or mobile platforms that create caught-between hazards (whether by pinning workers or blocking exits)

These situations can easily turn routine elevator maintenance into a rescue operation, which entrants and their designated attendants must both be prepared for. If someone is injured or otherwise impaired, self-rescue from a confined space may not be possible.

Attendants, who monitor entrants from outside the permit space, must fully understand the criteria for non-entry and entry rescues. Generally, the difference comes down to:

1. When self-rescue efforts are unsuccessful and non-entry rescue methods are available (e.g., giving verbal instructions or lowering a ladder down to the entrant), non-entry rescue is preferred

2. If both self-rescue and non-entry rescue are physically impossible (e.g., a trapped worker becomes incapacitated), entry rescues are usually the only alternative

Depending on the confined space safety hazard(s) in question, any of these scenarios could require nothing more than a descent/lifting device. Of course, you must develop a rescue plan before any work ensues, and that includes meeting confined space equipment requirements and regulatory standards for more than entrapment hazards.

Engulfment Hazards

Engulfment risks include exposure to liquids or flowable solids that could entrap, constrict, crush, or suffocate a worker. Marine elevator work is one clear example, especially during storms. It's also possible for sub-surface elevator construction to expose workers to risk of cave-ins, burying them or part of their body in dirt and debris.

Even normal elevator maintenance isn't free of engulfment hazards. In a confined space, all it takes is a solvent canister breach at the inopportune moment. Most engulfment hazards come on quickly, making freedom of movement extremely important in a given personal safety device.

To ensure your PPE doesn't unnecessarily restrict motion, look for the following design features:

• Smooth and consistent automatic lifeline retraction

• Free-rotating anchor points and D-rings/connecting devices

• Sealed, corrosion-resistant equipment housings

• Stainless steel and other non-corrosive materials

• Easy-grip carrying handles

• Lighter-weight construction and more compact form factors

Additional Elevator Shaft Hazards

As mentioned, elevator shafts are often permit-required spaces, which extend well beyond confined space safety hazards. The definition for permit spaces, at 1910.146(b), also includes "any […] recognized serious safety or health hazard" (emphasis added).

Permit spaces require posted notice; but don't assume a confined space isn't permit-required just because there isn't a notice, and when in doubt, confirm its status. Section 1910.146(c)(2) and the "permit space programs" designated in 1926.1202 and 1910.146(d) place the onus on employers to notify workers of permit-required confined spaces and take steps to prevent unauthorized entry.

Appendix A of 1910.146 has a useful "Permit-Required Confined Space Decision Flow Chart," which lead technicians should study and keep on hand during any elevator shaft work. OSHA's Confined Spaces Advisor web application is another useful tool for identifying permit confined space hazards.

Fall Hazards

Elevator shaft activity often involves working at height and falling object risks, including (at minimum):

• Mobile platforms and elevated working surfaces

• Tools and materials handling from elevated positions

• Trip and slip hazards from oil, bearing grease, machine lubricants, carbon/silica dust from machines, and more

• Doors or hatchways opening into elevator shafts

• Various kinds of ladder work

• Suspension work for hard-to-reach components or rescue operations

A quality harness and lifeline with a secure anchor point will mitigate many of these risks, as well as numerous duty to have fall protection standards. Be sure to also choose a proper anchor point location for lifelines to reduce swing.

Lifelines should stop workers at a very short distance during free fall; within 2 ft (0.6 m) is ideal. The highest-quality lifelines are precision-engineered to immediately detect falls without being overly sensitive to fast, intentional movements.

Suspension trauma is also a possibility, where fallen workers sustain restricted blood flow and other injuries caused by improperly fitting safety harnesses. Only the most comfortable, lightweight, and properly fitting safety harness can minimize these risks.

The most advanced harnesses will also keep your team less encumbered and distracted, due to several important design features:

• Breathable, padded lining (including optional leg pads)

• Snap-release keeper, to keep lanyards out of the way

• Sliding bar adjuster for fast, easy adjustments

• Quick-connect buckles

• Free of loose, extraneous material that could snag

• Easily detachable accessories (e.g., tool belts), for easier escape from confined space and caught-between hazards

Machine Hazards

Elevator shafts put workers at risk for a wide range of machine hazards, including:

• Shock hazards from high-voltage equipment or conduits

• Struck-by-object impacts, potentially from very heavy moving equipment

• Rotating, sliding, crushing, and other moving parts hazards (e.g., governors, gears, pulleys, hoists, and various hydraulic or pneumatic devices)

• Platforms moving along exposed elevator shafts

Shocks and physical impacts could result in loss of consciousness at heights, emphasizing the importance of reliable and comfortable PPE. Always begin with the assumption that a circuit is live, and when necessary, follow lockout/tagout procedures for electromechanical devices/systems that workers might be exposed to. Also, do not use conductive ladders and always use thick gloves free of tears or holes

Chemical Hazards

In elevator shafts, especially pits, workers must be on the watch for machine oils and other sources of residue, which can be flammable. Chemical hazards also exist if the pit has ventilation issues and accumulates machine exhaust, including from parking garages.

Some chemical hazards increase the risk of asphyxiation, including by an oxygen deficient atmosphere (19.5% oxygen by volume; see definition at 1926.2012). Other chemical hazards can blind or otherwise damage the body on contact.

Regardless of the complexity of elevator repairs or rescue operations, you can dramatically reduce the risk of injury through diligent preparation and advanced, user-friendly safety equipment.

Safe Personal Practices

Remaining conscious of these potential hazards and keeping them top of mind when beginning your work in confined spaces can help you avoid unnecessary accidents. In addition, creating a mental checklist for yourself before entering these work areas could give you a chance to develop your own preventative behaviors, including stopping to observe your surroundings before start working, keeping your motions calm, controlled, and concise, and staying organized with any tools you may need on the job. Paired with the right safety equipment, safe personal disciplines can lead to successfully completed tasks.

Meeting The Most Demanding Confined Space Safety Challenges

Elevator shaft work depends on diligent confined space safety measures, including at height or in the presence of various machine and chemical hazards. At the heart of elevator safety is the need to master both regulatory and confined space equipment requirements.

Tractel® is a globally trusted provider of the most advanced fall protection and confined space technologies. We take a close look at some of the most demanding occupational safety scenarios and design our equipment accordingly. To learn more about confined space hazards in elevator maintenance or rescue work, contact us using the form in the top right-hand corner of your screen.

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