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Posted By James Perry
Apparently to enter a confined space, an individual must have been issued a permit to work and must be competant.
Could anyone help by defining "competance".
We have specialists which have attended a 4/5 day training course that may issue permits and attend, but are often not those completing the work.
No one enters a confined space without a permit, and enters following a S.S.O.W.
It was suggested at a recent training course that everyone entering a confined space should have attended this 5 day course. However the HSE website is at best vague.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Jim
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Posted By Alec Wood
Competence is, if I remember correctly, defined as something similar to "Competence means possession of the ability to perform activities to a recognised standard on a regular basis." Competence can be considered to include a combination of practical and thinking skills, experience and knowledge, and may also include an attitudinal component (e.g. willingness to do work in a prescribed manner). The precise combination required depends on what needs to be done, in what circumstances, and how well. When judging if someone should be considered competent, it is tempting to concentrate on some kind of certification; this does your company few favours in the longer term, alienating experienced old-hands. Much better to have a guidance policy on assessing competence and review people on an individual basis than to write some kind of gold standard for any job function.
Note from the MHSWR ACOP - "Competence does not need to depend on particular skills or qualifications". It is the overall skill, knowledge and attitude of the individual rather than the posession of an NVQ4 in blagging.
Have a trawl round the HSE website and the ACOPs. Most of the ACOPs have a stab at defining it in one way or another.
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Posted By Alec Wood
Sorry, that was probably not less vague than the HSE site.
It all depends on practicalities. If the company will not pay for the course then there is no point specifying it. Question is, can you justify them not having it?
Speaking personally, if I don't know then I sit down with the ACOP and go through it point by point sifting out what is applicable to my situation and ensuring that we satisfy it or that we have considered all significant factors before deciding that we do not have to. I keep all my notes too, so that I can justify my decision at a alter date if required.
My company is more concerned with staying on the right side of the law and developing a good safety record than shaving a few grand off the H&S budget. That may not be true in all companies.
When doing your emergency procedures do not forget that most fire brigades have a safety department who will visit for free and offer their input - very helpful, after all when it comes to rescues, who could be said to be more competent?
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Posted By Kelvin Hughes James. Competence in confined space work can be defined as follows; The person must be able to plan and prepare to enter the confined space. Operate safely in the confined space. Exit from the confined space in an emergency situation. Carry out operational checks on equipment. Equipment such as 4 gas analysers and breathing apparatus will require the person to need specific training in their use and maintenance. First aid, means of communication and additional equipment, such hoists, life-lines etc will also need to be taken into consideration as well as Risk Assessments and safe methods of work. Additional information can be found at http://www.water.org.uk/index.php?raw=275. and searching ‘for confined space’. Hope this is of use to you. Regards Kelvin
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