Occupational Safety
Working in Confined Spaces
A one-day programme in safe entry into confined spaces such as tanks, manholes, silos and sewers: recognising a confined space and its hazards, atmospheric testing, isolation and ventilation, the entry permit, and the roles of the entry and rescue team.
Overview
About the programme
Duration
1 day
Delivery
Training venue · At the organisation's premises
Language
Arabic or English
Objectives
Training outcomes
- Distinguish a confined space from a permit-required confined space.
- Explain atmospheric hazards: oxygen deficiency and enrichment, flammable gases and vapours, and toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide, as well as engulfment and mechanical hazards.
- Understand the order of atmospheric testing and the acceptance limits, and use a multi-gas detector before and during entry.
- Apply isolation by blanking, lockout and tagout, ventilation, and the preparation of the entry permit.
- Know the responsibilities of the authorised entrant, the attendant and the entry supervisor, and the basics of a rescue plan.
Content
What the programme covers
Part 1: the confined space and its hazards
- Definition of a confined space and examples: tanks, boilers, furnaces, manholes, sewers, silos, hoppers, tunnels, pits and tanker trucks.
- Atmospheric hazards: the acceptable oxygen range of 19.5 to 23.5 per cent and the effects of deficiency and enrichment, flammable gases and the lower explosive limit, and toxic gases and their effects by concentration and exposure time.
- Other hazards: engulfment by liquids or granular materials, moving parts, heat and difficult egress.
Part 2: entry control and rescue
- Atmospheric testing in order: oxygen, then flammable gases, then toxic gases; testing at different levels because gas densities differ; continuous monitoring during the work.
- Isolation by blanking and line disconnection, lockout and tagout, cleaning and ventilation.
- The entry permit and its contents, the pre-job briefing, and respiratory and other protective equipment.
- Roles of the authorised entrant, attendant, entry supervisor and rescue team; non-entry rescue with a tripod and retrieval lines; atmospheres immediately dangerous to life or health.
- An entry permit exercise, followed by the assessment.
Who it is for
Target audience
Workers who enter confined spaces, attendants and entry supervisors, maintenance and operations technicians in water and wastewater plants, factories and oil facilities, and the staff who issue permits to work.
Method
Delivery method
An interactive lecture with photographs and video of incidents that occurred in confined spaces, a demonstration of a multi-gas detector and entry and rescue equipment where available, and a group exercise completing an entry permit for a confined space from the organisation’s site. Delivered in person, in Arabic or English.
Questions
FAQ
Does the programme qualify a specialist rescue team?
No. It covers the basics of the rescue plan and non-entry rescue; rescue teams that enter confined spaces need separate hands-on training with breathing apparatus and rescue equipment.
Can the exercise be built on our own permits to work?
Yes. If the organisation shares its entry permit form and confined space procedure with the centre, the exercise is built on them instead of the generic form.
A programme tailored to your organisation
The duration and topics of the programme are adjusted to the organisation's needs, and it is delivered at its site, in a training hall arranged by the Center, or virtually.