Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is to provide guidelines and information to effectively manage the rescue of a person from a confined space on our company sites.
Scope
This procedure applies to all workers and visitors of our company including contractors, volunteers, work experience students, trainees and clients.
Procedure
A Confined Space Rescue Plan must be developed and reviewed with the confined space entry team to ensure its relevance and effectiveness prior to any entry to a confined space. A confined space entry trained worker must develop the plan using the Confined Space Rescue Plan.
All participants in the confined space entry must be briefed on the requirements of the Confined Space Rescue Plan and know their role should an emergency situation occur. Potential problems with the size of the entrance and exit points must be addressed when developing a Confined Space Rescue Plan. When assessing openings, consideration should be given to moving through the opening whilst wearing breathing apparatus and other PPE. Where openings are found to be inadequate, their size must be increased (e.g. by removing mesh panels covering a pit), or an alternative safe means of entry and exit must be provided.
Emergency procedures
Confined space incidents and emergencies must be escalated in accordance with the WHS Emergency Preparedness and Response Procedure.
When establishing emergency procedures for confined space rescue, the following factors must be taken into account:
- The nature of the confined space.
- The location of the confined space.
- Communications from within the confined space to the standby person
- Communications from the location of the work to emergency services.
- Rescue and resuscitation equipment and the availability of trained workers.
- The physical capabilities of rescuers.
- Environmental conditions.
- Appropriate first aid equipment and the availability of trained workers.
- The ability for local emergency services to respond and provide assistance in emergency situations.
Where practicable, a rescue should be performed from outside the confined space. Rescuers must be provided with, and wear, appropriate breathing apparatus if they enter a confined space in an emergency where a hazardous atmosphere has developed within the space.
If a person inside a confined space has been incapacitated by a lack of oxygen or airborne contaminants, it must always be assumed that entry for rescue is unsafe unless the air-supplied respiratory protective equipment is used.
All workers involved in confined space work will be supplied with and trained in, the use of appropriate emergency and rescue equipment, including:
- rescue tripod, davit, crane jib or fixed anchor point
- retrieval devices – winches or rope systems
- fall arrestors
- gas detection equipment
- intrinsically safe torches
- lifelines
- first aid
- communications equipment
- self-contained breathing apparatus.
Note: Confined spaces should be described in detail within the specific Project Management Plans. Every Confined Space is different so each rescue procedure must be contextualised to that confined space.
Definitions
Confined space – A confined space means an enclosed or partially enclosed space that:
- is not designed or intended primarily to be occupied by a person; and
- is, or is designed or intended to be, at normal atmospheric pressure while any person is in the space; and
- is or is likely to be a risk to health and safety from:
- an atmosphere that does not have a safe oxygen level, or
- contaminants, including airborne gases, vapours and dusts, that may cause injury from fire or explosion, or
- harmful concentrations of any airborne contaminants, or
- engulfment.