PSNS & IMF Confined Space Program keeps employees safe, projects flowing

PSNS & IMF Confined Space Program keeps employees safe, projects flowing

By Max Maxfield, PSNS & IMF Public Affairs

The confined space program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility helps ensure all workspaces are safe for workers to enter, and are approved for the type of work scheduled.

The space certification portion of the confined space program at PSNS & IMF is a collaboration between Code 106, Environmental, Safety and Health Office, which oversees the process requirements, and Shop 11-17, Shipfitters, Sheet Metal, Forge and Heat and Treat, which executes the program.

The overall purpose of the program is to ensure confined and poorly ventilated enclosed spaces are safe for workers to enter, and complete the scheduled work. Navy Competent Persons, known as NCPs, or sometimes referred to as gas-free technicians, inspect spaces using electronic testing equipment to ensure there is adequate oxygen, no airborne contaminates or vapors that could harm workers, and that there are no physical safety hazards present in the space.

Ryan DuVall, Confined Space general foreman, Shop 11/17, Shipfitters, Sheet Metal, Forge, said NCPs are confined space experts who work alongside "tank coordinators," who are responsible for ensuring safety compliance and coordination of work inside all confined spaces, for any given project they are assigned to.

DuVall said PSNS & IMF confined space experts typically write 25,000-45,000 confined space certificates per year, while also completing their shipfitting or sheet metal mission. Because of this constant need for expertise, the program requires high levels of competency and integrity for individuals who certify these spaces.

After ensuring a space is safe, the NCP posts a certificate outside of the workspace letting workers know how long they can work in the space before it needs to be tested again, what type of work can be performed in that space, and if there are any process-specific requirements for accomplishing that work.

The program is extremely important for the health and safety of workers. NCPs are highly trained and are subject matter experts on a multitude of shipboard and shore-side workspaces. PSNS & IMF generally has 50-70 NCPs certified at any given time.

"When other shops and codes are ready to enter a confined space, we have already eliminated most of the hazards associated with the space, making it safe for others," said DuVall. "NCPs go through a week-long course and have to pass the final exam with a 90 percent or higher to be certified. After that, they have to do 120 hours of on-the-job training with a currently certified NCP, who is a confined space expert on all the different platforms that we service at PSNS & IMF, as well as our shore facilities."

"Once all of that is complete, they have to pass an oral board provided by the Shop 11 Confined Space General Foreman and Code 106 Gas Free Engineers," he continued. "Ultimately, the Code 106 Gas Free Engineers have to approve/pass the NCP. Only then will they be certified in writing to carry out NCP work and keep the workforce safe."

The NCP certification process is rigorous and comprehensive because of the importance of the mission of NPCs, and the tremendous impact their jobs have on the waterfront.

"People could die without this program at PSNS," said DuVall. "NCPs are the people responsible for ensuring confined and poorly ventilated enclosed spaces are in a safe condition. They also certify the space for whatever work needs to occur, and they provide the final check to ensure our workforce can go to work in those spaces safely."

Ensuring a space has been approved for work keeps workers safe, and getting the space approved ahead of time ensures a space is certified for the work that needs to be done that day, explained DuVall. This will likely cause a delay in the work schedule for every day that they miss this important step. This can have a compounding effect that adds multiple days to a scheduled job in that space.

"With our expectations regarding NCP safety, last-minute requests at the workspace cannot be accommodated," DuVall said. "To maintain accountability of our personnel, all certification requests need to go through the electronic Gas Free Request portal and be assigned to NCPs. This needs some amount of pre-planning to ensure completion on time. Supervisors should allow 24 hours for requests to be fulfilled through the eGFR process."

Because the guidance and information provided by NCPs and tank coordinators is essential to determining if a workspace is safe, DuVall said deckplate mechanics should take personal responsibility for their safety and the safety of their coworkers by always double checking the tags outside a confined space to ensure it has been cleared to work in.

"Always check tags thoroughly, and ask questions prior to entering a confined space," he said. "Workers should periodically review the general users' [Industrial Process Instructions], and ensure [they] have good briefs with [their] supervisors."

"Also, workers should hold others accountable for their own safety," he continued. "For example, if a space is certified for one work process and someone comes in to do a different or conflicting process, such as hot work and painting, our workforce needs to ensure they are stopping the conflicting work and teaming to find a good path forward."