CODE OF PRACTICE

Safe working in a confined space

DEPARTMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH, MINISTRY OF HUMAN
RESOURCES, MALAYSIA, 2001

WHAT

IS CONFINED SPACE?

A space which is not intended as a regular

workplace (i.e. continuous
employee occupancy);
has restricted means of
entry or exit
is large enough and so
configured that an employee
can bodily enter and
perform assigned work; and
is at atmospheric pressure
during occupancy.

In addition, this space

has at least one of these
characteristics:
It contains or has a
potential to contain a
hazardous atmosphere;
It contains material
(solid or fluid) that has
potential for engulfing an
entrant;

It has an internal configuration such that an entrant

could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly
converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward
and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or
It contains any other recognised serious safety or
health hazards, for example rotors.
source : DOSH,2001

 Welder

killed in gas tank explosion

A gas tank exploded during hot metal work at

Felda's Chalk Palm Oil Mill in Setiu,
Terengganu, on Monday, killing 1 worker who
fell into the tank and injuring 2 others. The
tank is located 13 metres above ground and
some 600 metres from the plant
entrance. 26th January 2010.

Suffocate in confined space

Location: Inside a ship, Johor 10 Mac 2008
Summary of Accident:
A welder was killed when he suffocated while
working on platform of a goods ship which was
moored at the port. During the incident, the
victim was assigned to carry out welding work at
the forward pump room. He was brought out of
the room and rushed to hospital, where he died
several hours after receiving treatment.

 Suffocate

in confined space
Location: Sewage plant, Johor 20 Nov 2007
Summary of Accident:
A worker was killed when he suffocated
inside a sewage plant. During the incident,
the victim was instructed to channel the
water from the faeces hole into the sewage
plant using the pump. While he was climbing
down to switch on the pump engine, he
suffocated and fell unconscious. He could not
be saved in time.

 The

employer shall determine if his facility

has any confined space.
If the workplace contains confined spaces,
the employer shall inform his "employees and
any other persons, by posting danger signs or
by any other equally effective means, of the
existence and location of the confined space,
and the danger posed by them, especially
when work is being executed.

A sign reading "DANGER - CONFINED SPACE.

DO NOT ENTER" or using other similar
language and in both Bahasa Malaysia and
English would satisfy the requirement for a
sign.

 The

employer shall formulate a confined

space programme if there is any confined
space and work needed to be carried out in
it.

 Hazard

identification. The identity and

severity of each hazard in each of the
confined space must be determined and
characterised.

Hazard control. Procedures and practices that

provide for safe entry into the confined space must
include, but not be limited to, the following:
Specifying acceptable entry conditions;
Isolating the confined space;
Purging, inerting, flushing, or ventilating the
confined space as necessary to eliminate or control
atmospheric hazards;
Verifying that conditions in the confined space that
are acceptable for entry throughout the duration of
an authorised entry. This can be done by testing the
confined space atmosphere before entry and
as necessary during the course of entry operations.
established and implemented.

 Stand-by

person.
Monitoring of
multiple confined
spaces
Permit system.
Sign-posting.
Employee training.

Equipment.
Appropriate equipment such
as the followings shall be
provided:
Testing and monitoring
equipment;
Personal protective
equipment in so far as
feasible engineering and
work practice controls
adequately protect
employees;
Ventilation equipment
needed to obtain acceptable
entry conditions;

 Lighting

equipment needed to
enable employees to see well
enough, work safely and to exit
the confined space quickly in an
emergency;
Barriers and shields

 Equipment,

such as ladders, needed for safe

ingress and egress by authorised entrants;
Rescue and emergency equipment; or
Any other equipment necessary for safe entry
into and rescue from confined spaces.

Identification of the duties.

Designation of the persons who are to have
active duties (for example authorised entrants,
stand-by persons, entry supervisor, or the AGT)
in entry operations and identify the duties of
such employee.
Informing the contractors.
The employer must provide contractors with
information about the confined space's hazards,
safety rules and emergency procedures (the
parts of the programme that the contractor must
recognise to comply with these Code of
Practice).

 Additional

protective measures. Certain

measures may need to be incorporated into
the programme, for example : Prohibition of hot working adjacent areas
Prohibition of smoking and other naked
flames

 Provision

of suitable means of
communication with and between persons
inside the confined space
Avoidance of contamination of breathing
atmosphere from operations or sources
outside the confined space, e.g. from the
exhaust of an internal combustion engine.

 Alarm

system can vary

and will depend on the
workplace.
There should be
adequate number of
points from which the
alarm can be raised
either directly, via a
signal or message to a
permanently manned
location.

The alarm should alert the

person in charge, who
should assess the situation
and activate appropriate
emergency procedures.
In the areas where there is
high level of noise, it may
be necessary to install
more than one audible
alarm transmitter of
flashing lights.
Automatic alarms may be
appropriate on some sites.

Evacuation should be to a
predetermined safe
assembly point;
The procedure should
designate someone to
record all personnel
arriving at the assembly
point;
Account for all personnel
Initiate a search for
missing persons. Ensure
that the searchers will not
be endangered

Activate rescue teams

(ensure teams are fully
equipped and are using
appropriate safety
equipment)
Apply first aid on injured
persons only if qualified
after removing from the
accident area
A doctor should be prepared
for any foreseeable type of
injury.

 Document

the approval of entry, type of

work allowed, standby person and stand-by
supervisor, working period etc.
Risks are identified, assessed and controlled
according to permit instruction
Permit issuer cannot be the supervising staff
of the confined space work
Permit must be displayed near the entry
point
Must be canceled after the work period or
condition of confined space has become
more dangerous/risky

 Prevention

of accidental introduction into

the confined space of materials, through
equipment such as piping, ducts, drains,
conveyors, service pipes, or fire protection
equipment.

De-energisation and lock -out, or de-energisation

and tag out, or both, of machinery, mixers,
agitators or other equipment containing moving
parts in the confined space.
This may require additional isolation, blocking or
de-energisation of the machinery itself to guard
against the release of stored energy (for
example, springs).

Precautions/actions, shall be implemented to

establish and maintain a safe breathing
atmosphere in a confined space. The following
action shall be done:
Initial cleaning;
Purging;
Testing and Evaluation 'of the atmosphere in the
confined space;
Retest and/or monitoring; and
Ventilation.
Note: When the above precautions are not
done, no entry shall be permitted.

 The

atmosphere shall be tested by an AGT

initially and continuous monitoring may be
done by the authorised entrant.
It is essential to ensure that the instrument
used is

Calibrated direct reading instrument; and

Suitable for measuring the presence of gases
required to be tested.

Training shall be provided to every affected

employee
Before the employee is first assigned duties
under these code of practice;
Before there is a change in assigned duties;
Whenever there is a change in confined space
operations that presents a hazard about which
an employee has not previously been trained;
Whenever the employer has reasons to believe
either that there are deviations from the
confined space entry procedures or that there
are inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or
use of these procedures.

 Authorized

Gas Tester (AGT)

Authorized Entrant
Stand-by Person
Permit Issuer /Person in charge of entry

Emergency entry and exit procedures;

Use of appropriate respiratory protective equipment;
First aid, including Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR);
Lockout/isolation procedures;
The use of safety equipment;
Rescue technique;
Fire protection;
Communications
Aptitude and fitness of individuals for entry and work in a
confined space
Aspects essential for maintaining the safety of the breathing.
Environment
Recognition of any hazards specific to the operation/activity;
Permit to work system; and
Safe work procedures & practices.

The confined space programme shall be reviewed

when the employer has reasons to believe that
the measures taken under the confined space
programme may not protect employees, and
That there is a need to revise the programme to
correct deficiencies found to exist before
subsequent entries are authorised
Employers may perform a single annual review
covering all entries performed during a 12-month
period. If no entry is performed during this
period, no review is necessary.

The employer shall retain

each cancelled entry
permit for at least 1 year
to facilitate the review of
the confined space
programme.
The employer shall also
maintain all other
relevant documents such
as reports of inspection
and checklist for the
purpose of inspection by
the author.

 DUTIES

OF EMPLOYER
DUTIES OF CONTRACTOR
DUTIES OF ENTRY SUPERVISOR
DUTIES OF AUTHORIZED GAS TESTER
DUTIES OF STAND-BY PERSON
DUTIES Of AUTHORIZED ENTRANTS