Every year in the UK, around 15 people die from working in a confined space. Despite the plethora of legislation, information, regulations, and guidelines.
Several factors can lead to death or injury in confined spaces. These include below-par training,
and a lack of proper equipment for retrieval or rescue. Inadequate or poorly maintained personal protective equipment can further compound the problem, compromising safety.
It is not about doing more training but doing the correct, relevant, and appropriate training for the identified risk, writes Andy Watson, Operations Manager (Aberdeen), MRS Training & Rescue.
As an employer, one of the things that you need to understand and question when considering
training is that the training standards must be appropriate to the task, and to the individual’s roles and responsibilities, so that work can be carried out safely. Making informed decisions about what training you require relies on following practical steps and asking the right questions. There are different training options available, and safety should always be the top priority – so buyer beware.
In my opinion, there’s a big difference between being trained and being competent. On the one hand you’re raising awareness of standards. On the other, you have the chance to be fully accredited in line with nationally recognised standards. The latter puts a member of staff in the best possible position by providing a direct opportunity for them to learn and test their new-found skills in a safe and controlled environment.
Training is just one of the essential building blocks of competence. Utilising training that is
based on recognised standards is a very effective way of ensuring that the training element of
competency is a much larger, and robust building block.
To find out more about this important topic, you can download our white paper released this week – No Room for Error – by clicking here.