Understanding the importance of confined space training and education is not only a moral aspect to keep your workers safe, but also an investment in your company. You want to avoid accidents because they kill the productivity, but you also risk paying huge compensations if someone gets injured while working. At the same time, confined space training is a legal requirement. Your employees must know what to do, when and how to protect themselves, not to mention about using the right equipments and taking the right emergency measures when accidents happen. Understanding these systems is one thing, but respecting the instructions in small details is even more important.
According to expert trainers it looks like there are plenty of situations when entering or working in confined environments is an actual necessity. No matter how hard you try to avoid them, there are special cases when they cannot be outweighed. When about to enter in such a place, workers need to have a perfectly running system inside the environment. Obviously, the same system must be very safe and efficient as well. The less time they spend in there, the less dangers they expose themselves to.
Every professional training course begins with a very detailed risk assessment evaluation. Just like the course, this evaluation must be conducted by some professionals. Its primary purpose is to identify all the potential risks, as well as the precautions required to reduce or prevent them. These results depend on a lot of different factors, such as the confined space nature, the types of work involved, tools and equipments used on site, substances and final goals. Judging by these considerations, it is obvious that every confined space demands specific considerations, so what works for some companies or industries is less likely to work for every other.
Your job as a manager goes way further than that. Once the training is completed, no one will take action in the attempt to implement the plans and ideas discussed on side. Instead, it is your responsibility. Of course, your workers will, indeed, pay attention to small things that depend on them only. But generally speaking, the safe system, working considerations and precautions must be put into practice at your demand. Every worker involved in this environment must be instructed and trained, only to ensure that they know exactly how to behave, what to do in a confined environment and what to do in case of an emergency or accident.
Preparing a safe working system implies respecting a few basic rules. They vary from one place to another, yet some of them are general. For example, the appointment of a supervisor is usually an exquisite requirement. A supervisor must be given the task to double check every action on site. All the mandatory precautions must be taken in small details. Safety standards and requirements need to be checked at every stage too. Sometimes, the supervisor has to remain on site until the work is complete. The appointment of a supervisor is not really a necessity, but it will most likely work a very long way. You need someone to be the boss and make suggestions when you are not around, hence the necessity of a supervisor.
As a short final conclusion, confined space training is practically a matter of education. When they know what to do, workers are very likely to make smarter decisions and prevent accidents. When they dive in without any education or equipments, chances are they will get injured sooner or later. The worst part is that confined space can cause fatalities as well, which might cause even more hassle.