Training
Panelists note that while training is absolutely essential to prevention, confined space accidents have, in the past, occurred among trained personnel as well.

Yajaman says this is because in a confined space, one is always dealing with dynamics. “When you create a policy or a procedure, it’s a dynamic document because the spaces can change, a number of spaces can change. And a lot of people figure that once you create a policy, they don’t realize that it needs to be updated — same with training — with the individuals who are going into these spaces, to keep it fresh in their minds.”

To make such policies and programs work, however, there needs to be commitment, confidence and culture in the workplace, says our panelists.

“The other important element is the commitment of the workplace and the confidence of the workplace,” Mansour says. “You can have the best procedures, you can have all the mechanical stuff in place, but you have to have the confidence to be able to have the procedures go really effective and you have to have the commitment by the workers and the employer to go through with it if it happens.”

Another factor is culture, Rodriguez adds. People may often know what the right thing to do is, but they don’t always do the right thing for various reasons. Some of the reason could be behaviour-modeling, where leaders are not exhibiting good examples for workers to emulate, and some may have to do with conditions in the workplace. These factors affect people’s decision-making process, particularly with regards to health and safety.

“I think we all know we need better standards and more consistency, but an important message for organizations who are having people who do these things, they need to remember in the meantime it’s their obligation to be duly diligent in how they make decisions on who will be doing the training and how you are going to validate confidence,” Rodriguez says.

Z1006 requires an assessment of the training needs of workers and external service providers involved in confined space work including the competencies required for each role (i.e. entry supervisor, entry worker and trainer), review of previous training and experience, and the need for refresher training.

The various types of confined space skills training outlined in the CSA standard include entry supervisor, attendant training, air supply system attendant, entrant, emergency response team leader, dispatcher, rescue system operator/helper, rescuer, and first aid/CPR responder.

The standard also covers guidelines for establishing competence of the instructors.

Rescue
In far too many instances, confined space accidents usually involve multiple victims. In fact, more than 60 per cent of confined space-related fatalities involve would-be rescuers or colleagues of the victims who would go in and try to help out, without the necessary training and appropriate rescue plan.

This why having a rescue or emergency response plan is an essential component of a comprehensive confined space risk management program, panelists agree.

As Gilmour puts it: “The time to find out whether your breathing apparatus doesn’t fit through the manhole is not the time of the rescue.”

Practicing your rescue plan is vital, Morrison adds. This can be accomplished through regular drills. Try simulating a confined space incident by putting a mannequin inside the hazard area and pulling them out based on the emergency response plan. Practicing the plan twice a year is what Z1006 prescribes.

Yajaman relates a previous experience with a client: “I will see companies who will have the policies and equipment, but they never do the drills or they don’t practice. In their policy it said they had a gas monitor. Well, that policy was from another company and they didn’t change it . . . and when I asked to see their monitor, they looked around to see if they had one. Having something good on paper is one thing, but actually how it works and making sure it work in real life is another matter altogether.”

One more reason to practice, says Gilmour, is the fact that there is no generic rescue when it comes to confined space. Every rescue is very specific to a particular confined space.

Developments in and the declining cost of technology have also helped in managing risks in confined spaces, says O’Neil. “You can have some really strong enforcement of great plans on the prevention side and rescue side, and there are some amazing advancements with thermal imaging, wireless, etc. . . . and with awareness, we can have some strong prevention safeguards with technologies.”

Technology can also be used to replace human intervention as much as possible, Bolton says. The ability to perform work in a confined space using technology without the need for a worker to actually get into the confined space and be exposed to the hazards goes a long way in preventing accidents.