Notice for Proposed Rulemaking for Confined Space in Construction

Summary:

In 1993, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) started working on a rule for confined space in construction. The Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) established a work group that provided recommendations for a standard in 1994. In 1999-2000, OSHA gathered feedback from stakeholders through hearings across the country. The agency convened a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel (SBREFA) on Sept. 26, 2003, to solicit comments about the draft proposal and the economic impact on small entity representatives (SERs). AGC was represented on the SBREFA panel with several members acting as SERs. The SBREFA Panel Report was published in November 2003. On November 28, 2007, OSHA published the proposed rule for confined space in construction with comments due on January 28, 2008. The NPRM states that employers must determine if there is confined space on the job site, according to the proposed rule and if such a confined space exists, the employer would determine if there are existing or potential hazards. If there are such hazards, the employer then would classify the space according to the physical and atmospheric hazards found in it. On January 23, 2008, OSHA published a 30-day extension for comments on the proposed rule with a deadline of February 28, 2008.


Announcements: Confined space in Construction


Submission Date: February 28, 2008


AGC Comments:

OSHA-2007-0026

Updates:

AGC submitted comments on February 28, 2008.  AGC expects OSHA to hold hearings over confined space in construction, which have yet to be scheduled.