Under 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(2), all permit required confined spaces identified by the employer, must be either posted with "danger signs or by any other equally effective means, of the existence and location of and the danger posed by the permit spaces" at all times, not just before or during entry. In the Preamble, OSHA provides considerable background on this requirement. The bottom line is that OSHA chose to make this requirement a performance based one in which enforcement will be based on whether methods other than warning signs are truly effective in imparting the required information to employees. Employers may use the most cost-effective means available to protect their employees. Several commentators to the earlier proposed rule had objected to the proposed sign requirement, noting that existing programs involving an employee training program, had been effective in preventing unauthorized entry.
Pages 4481-4483 of the Federal Register, Vol. 58, No. 9, discuss 1910.146(c)(2).
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Last modified: 04/18/96 08:50:32