A confined space is an area that is large enough for a person to enter but has a limited or restricted entrance or exit and is not intended for human habitation. Constrained spaces are not always small, contrary to popular opinion.

Some examples of confined spaces are vats, silos, sewers, pipelines, hoppers, tanks, boilers, utility vaults, access shafts, water supply towers, aircraft wings, pump stations, manure pits, and storage bins, and manholes. It is your obligation as an employer to guarantee that your staff receives the necessary training in order to secure their safety when working in confined spaces, as well as to reduce the risk of accidents and mortality. The following are some of the advantages of giving your personnel a confined space course:

Provides Industry-Specific Training

confined space course

Before accessing restricted areas, everybody who works or enters them should be able to detect dangers and adopt risk control procedures. People who issue confined space entry permits and design confined space workplaces must also complete industry-specific confined space training to improve their knowledge and abilities.

Assists Employees in the Use of Specialized Equipment

Confined spaces, as the name implies, have limited space surrounding entry and exit points. Working in restricted spaces increases your chances of having an accident. As a result, your personnel should learn new abilities, particularly in the operation of specialized equipment. Safety equipment and clothes, such as high-visibility clothing, helmets, and headlights or torches, should be provided to all employees. Your personnel should also understand how to correctly use probes to assess the environment in limited spaces. Because of the lack of ventilation in restricted places, hazardous gases can readily build-up, and oxygen levels are low. When operating in a restricted location, confined space training will also teach your personnel how to use a breathing apparatus.

Provides Alertness in Case of Emergency

If your personnel aren’t properly trained, they won’t recognize the telltale signals of an emergency in confined areas. Fast heart rate, rapid breathing, clumsiness, weariness, and emotional disturbance can all occur when oxygen levels are less than 19.5 percent. As oxygen levels fall, nausea and vomiting, disorientation, collapse, seizures or convulsions, and coma develop, leading to death. Following exposure to carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, or other asphyxiants, unconsciousness or death can ensue in minutes. If your personnel is properly trained, they will be able to assess themselves and their coworkers for very low oxygen levels and take the appropriate action.

Every organization needs to have a restricted space policy, especially if its employees must operate in limited places on a regular basis. You can design a better-confined space policy or update your existing policy to enhance safety by allowing your personnel to participate in restricted space training.