• An attendant’s primary duty is to monitor and protect the entrants.
• The authorized attendant of a permit space must understand what hazards the space poses and what to do if they arise.

Authorized attendants of permit-required confined spaces are required to know enough about each space to perform their duties successfully. These duties include:

• Knowing the hazards of the space and the mode, signs, symptoms, and consequences of exposure;
• Maintaining an accurate count of entrants and ensuring that they are accurately identified;
• Remaining outside the space during entry operations until relieved by another attendant;
  • NOTE: If the entry program allows it, attendants may enter a permit space to attempt a rescue if they have been trained and equipped for rescue operations and if they have been relieved by another attendant.
• Communicating with entrants to monitor their status and alert them to evacuate if necessary;
• Monitoring activities inside and outside the space to determine whether entrants may safely remain there;
• Ordering entrants to evacuate the space immediately under any of the following conditions:
  • The attendant detects a prohibited condition,
  • Behavioral effects are observed,
  • External conditions pose a hazard, or
  • The attendant cannot effectively and safely perform all the required duties.
• Summoning rescue and emergency services as soon as assistance is needed;
• Preventing unauthorized entry by warning individuals to stay away and directing them to exit if necessary;
• Informing entrants and the entry supervisor if unauthorized persons enter the space;
• Performing non-entry rescues if specified in the rescue procedures; and
• Performing no duties that might interfere with the attendant’s primary duty to monitor and protect entrants.