All About Confined Space Training

From the link;

"Method: Lecture, practical demonstration and theory assessment.

Course Duration: 1 day (7 hours)"

What a bunch of horse ! Having spent a long time working in such conditions, I'm well aware that such courses exist, but to suggest that a days training might be enough is twaddle. It's akin to suggesting that a day training down the local swimming pool would be adequate for somebody to safely do a spot of deep-sea diving.

Within a day, maybe one could hit the high tight spots.

Ooph, you rotten toranado, you, Inuendo is my dept. ! (ER isn't looking - she does part time when not hititng me for apostrophe'''s)

Twist yer panties and vortexing wind if ya want, but it's obsolute ****.

What woz it said - something likle 7 hours training ? rofpmslfmao ! One day I (deliberately) triggered a false alarm and some dude took his mask off to ask what was happening. Maybe it's Darwin in action. I'll not repeat the words I uttered.

Of course, in my day they would make you crawl around the pit yard whilst everyone chucked rocks at ya. Not nice, but it learns you how to deal with panic pretty effing good. A bit of ruffty-tummbly , but that's what what freinds are for.

I've had 3 very good mates killed in (separate) mine disasters. None were in the 'confined space' siituation of topic, but it still pains me to think of it. Well, it was pretty bloody confined when they died. If you didn't have a dark sense of humour, you'ld never go that place. All 3 were in a rock-burst situations.

As confirmed 'Kris readers' (tongue very firmly in cheek) will know, I oft go to Scotland. Couple of blokes were refurbing a boat with welding kit. Whilst both were expereienced seamen and pratical guys, they didn't notice the oxygen depletion as they welded away in some rotting hulk. As far as I can fathom, it was simply one day that they were not on the ball. That's just how it takes you - bit woozy, you don't reailze why, maybe think it was last nights beer, then gone. They were both married and had young kids.

As with stuff like hypothermia, loosing awareness is the killer sign. Like with many jobs, if you feel 'wooly headed', it's time to get the heck out. At risk of sounding pompous, if you 'crash', the mate who comes to help might come to a similar fate. Worst I ever heard was 7. It pans out like A falls (appears to) down a ladder. B goes to investigate. B suffocoates due toioxygen dep[letion. C arrives, thinks B has fallen on A. D arrives, t6hinks they've had a ascarap etrc etc. That's an annecdote from an insructor, but the one in Scotland I can vouch for. Totally tragic.

I sat thinking about the topic for ages. Is it just me, or does everyone find that the bloody editor/post thing crashes if you spend more than a few minutes on it ?

This is geting really annoying. I see a post I want to reply to, spend an age doing so, then the bloody thing crashes. I've figured a workaround, but half the time I type, the phone rings or something, and then I get some sort of fatal error when I hit the send button.

Have mercy, Savvy, what is up with the time-out thing on posting replies ? I can't speak for anyone else, but I read something, consider a reply, and by the time the systsm has 'outed' me I'm left screaming. I use edit/copy/backspace etc. Sensible people compose replies in m/s Word or whatever. I'm not sensible - can you nudge whoever to let us poor mortals spend a little more time in the edit box. Surely you can scrumple a post-it note and hit Mizuti or Gaulin. You get a vitrual hi-five if you can bounce it off anyone elses head .

Having spent a long time working in such conditions, I'm well aware that such courses exist, but to suggest that a days training might be enough is twaddle.

That could be said about everything. And training does help, when I needed to certify my employees for entry in a tank, (customer requirement). I contacted the local technical college which develop a course for on site training that was customized to meet the requirements of my customer. and they did this at my place of business. They reviewed my procedures as well as made recommended changes.

They did emphasize that this does not cover everything, but they did go over a lot just so there is an understanding that this training is limited.

So the point is, training is important, but to make it a college degree requirement just for practical uses out of it, wouldn't be practical at all.

As with any training, proficiency has to start somewhere.

A one day course (or evena one week course) can never hope to cover evey possible opportunity that might be encountered in mining, sewer, flue and so on but you have to start somewhere.

Ongoing (annual in aus) re-certification, buddy systems, employer training (in house), utilisation of in house experience, MANAGEMENT authorisation of EVERY confined space entry (including the experience, age and personality of each team member), AVAILABILITY of appropriate extraction equipment (harnesses and such) and heaps of other inputs all contribute to satisfactory outcomes in these challenging situations.

Everyone has tyo start somewhere!!

A one day course obviously can not qualify an individual to perform work in a confined space. But what is important is to teach the dangers of working in such an environment in order to prevent untrained workers from getting themselves into a hazardous situation.