SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS DANGER OF WORKING IN CONFINED SPACES

Construction and utility sector specialist Develop Training Limited (DTL) is running a seminar highlighting the risks of working in confined spaces, and giving managers and operatives the skills to do so safely.

Health and safety experts estimate between 15 and 30 people die each year in the UK as a result of workplace incidents in confined spaces.

The event, at DTL’s York training centre on Wednesday September 13, features the company’s state-of-the-art mobile confined spaces training unit. It follows successful outings at some of the company’s other locations around the UK.

Steve Braund, DTL marketing manager, said: “It’s vital that training managers and everyone responsible for staff learning and development know about the danger of work in confined spaces, the legislation and how to ensure compliant, safe practice. No-one should be expected to enter such an environment without the proper safeguards in place and having received the appropriate training. This seminar will address all of those issues.”

Confined spaces in work environments are more common than most people would assume. They can be found in a variety of industries, from manufacturing to agriculture.

Last month, an autopsy in the US ruled on the case of a man who suffocated while working in an Indiana sewer pit. Closer to home, an incident in Pembrokeshire in 2016 saw a worker seriously injured while unblocking a silo at a wheat and barley blending plant.

For managers and businesses, the risks of failing to address the issue include reputational damage and prosecution. In 2009, Scottish Sea Farms was fined £600,000 after two of its workers suffocated trying to rescue a colleague.

The seminar will cover