Incidents within confined spaces all too frequently result in fatalities. Working within confined spaces is common in many industries, posing a real issue for managers and others responsible for health and safety in the workplace, prompting the launch of a new report from specialist training provider Develop Training Limited (DTL).
The report highlights a chronic lack of awareness of the dangers of working in confined spaces, or even what constitutes a confined space. This means managers can expose workers to hazards without realising it or putting adequate safeguards in place, heightening the chances an accident will happen. Employers, managers and responsible persons may face prosecution if they put lives at risk through failure to comply with current regulations.
A confined space is one which is either fully or partially enclosed, and has a foreseeable risk of fire, explosion or loss of consciousness or suffocation to the entrant. Accidents like this can occur in a range of industries including construction, manufacturing, utilities and marine work, and it is estimated that between 15 and 30 deaths occur in confined spaces accidents every year.
The white paper Confined Spaces: Training and Compliance for Safe Working looks in detail at the topic, considering everything from the definition and the risks associated with them, to employers’ duties and training requirements as set out in UK legislation.
It concludes that greater awareness of the problem and appropriate investment in training and procedures are overdue across UK industry.
Chris Wood, CEO at DTL, explains: “Companies have a responsibility to protect those working in confined spaces, and training is essential to this. Our state-of-the-art confined spaces units train delegates on how to navigate the obstacles that arise from working in dark, cramped spaces, while providing procedural guidance to help reduce the risks of the work.”
The introduction of new confined spaces legislation has made this type of training more important than ever – companies including TATA global beverages, Rolls-Royce Aerospace, BMW Mini and Northumbrian Water have already taken up training.
To download a free copy of the whitepaper, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/zxdr38g
DTL can provide specialist confined spaces training at any one of its five training bases nationwide, and can also deliver on-site solutions through its mobile confined space training unit, which is immensely popular with clients. Visit www.developtraining.co.uk for more information.