Call for self-rescue
Andy Richford, confined spaces and breathing apparatus specialist at PASS Training, contends that training for confined spaces needs to concentrate not only on Safe Systems of Work (SSoW) but also on self-rescue procedures and putting measures in place to avoid the need for having rescue teams placed on standby in the first place.
“A training package should cover planning to enable workers to evacuate a Confined Space before things go wrong (the ability for the entrants to ‘self rescue’),” he says. “Should anything ever go wrong, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would need to consider in mitigation whether the employer has followed ‘best practice’ so far as reasonably practicable.
“If we look at many of the past Confined Space incidents and fatalities in the UK, we would see that the common factor has nothing to do with SSoW or rescue procedures, but in the fact that employers and workers do not know that they have a Confined Space in the first place until after subsequent investigation.”
PASS holds specialist Confined Spaces and Breathing Apparatus training at its Northeast City & Guilds (C&G) approved location for utilities and facilities management in commercial and industrial environments. One-day awareness events can also be be delivered at customer locations, paving the way for more comprehensive training courses which may last up to three days, for example C&G 6150-53 for high risk confined spaces.
Health & Safety Matters September 2025
