APSC 150 Engineering Case Studies 2012-13

Case Study 3
Tutorial 3-3: Confined Space Accidents
1. Despite all measures to warn workers and managers, every year confined space accidents happen,
and in every type of industry. And after analysis, each accident is obvious with 20-20 hindsight.
As a budding engineer who would like to ensure that your future decisions do not place fellow
workers in jeopardy, what steps can you take today to keep this problem front-of-mind? How can
you ensure that your work space doesn't become a confined space hazard sometime in the future?
What steps can you take to ensure that Safety at your place of work is the first priority in what
everyone does each and every day?
Safety is equally important at Home. Examine where you live - your room, your apartment, your
house, or your building. Identify at least 5 things that are potentially unsafe and could result in
someone being harmed or worse.
2. As you walk around the campus, see if you can find a possible confined space that may require an
entry permit. See if you can find at least 3 examples.
For more information you can visit the WorkSafeBC web site:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Topics/ConfinedSpaces/Home.asp
3. Most confined space training courses cost money, so we can't afford to put you through a complete
course, but there is a site that provides access to an Introductory Module that can prove useful to
you and your future career.
Confined Space Demo Quiz http://www.yowcanada.com/course_outlines_csr.asp?source=google&gclid=COO03Om45qcCFRNrg
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On the top of the left-hand side of the page you will see a link View Free Demo. Click on this link and
take the course and test related to Introduction. The other three modules are not available, but the
Introduction will give you some valuable insights.
Most health and safety issues concerning confined space accidents relate to poor training and often
a failure to recognize that a confined space exists that requires a permit for anyone to enter safely.
The demo page link is http://ibt.yowcanada.com/csr/logingrpdemo.asp?cbtusername=demo_user
Within the demo, you will note that in Alberta, the confined space regulations create a designation
called Restricted Access.

4. What are the primary differences in Alberta's regulation between a Confined Space and a Restricted
Space? Note that the differences are crisp ones that do not account for uncertainty in the answer or
measurements.
5. In view of what you learned about the Sullivan Mine accident, do you think a Restricted Space
designation would have made any difference? Do you think that this parallel designation is a good
one that should be adopted by other provinces? Most provinces use the terms "Confined Space"
and "Permit-Required Confined Space". Why or why not?