Employees in general industry and construction are often asked to perform work in confined spaces. But many confined spaces contain serious hazards that endanger the employees who enter those spaces. For this reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to implement certain procedures that protect workers from the hazards posed by confined spaces. These include procedures for identifying physical hazards and hazardous atmospheres in confined spaces, for controlling and eliminating these hazards, and for regulating the conditions under which employees may safely enter permit-required confined spaces.