This week I received this e-mail from a long-time SAFTENG member. Mike is a safety pro in the construction industry and he is trying to comply with OSHA’s new Confined Spaces in Construction, specifically, Mike has learned the hard-way that “rescue plans” can not be the proverbial “911 Rescue Plan”. Here is Mike in his own words…
Bryan: I thought you might be interested in this.
I was canvassing my local fire departments for available rescue services required under OSHA 1926.1200, Confined Spaces, which went into effect last year. One of the provisions is that when the company would rely on outside resources, we have to contact them in advance to be sure rescue services are trained, qualified and available during confined space entry situations. So, over the last few months, I took it upon myself to contact fire and rescue departments in my vicinity to determine who has what available and what qualifications they hold.
I have found out a lot, including that many communities have a few trained and qualified personnel on their rosters, but that a team of members would entail mutual assistance from other neighboring communities, and the time to assemble the team would have to be taken into consideration. But, in one instance, the department responded that they had a specialized rescue team, which can be further supplemented by additional team members from the surrounding communities, but they cannot guarantee that the service would be available when I would need them to be.
So, one hand, OSHA wants services available, but in this one department, there are no guarantees.
Oh, I love my job. There’s no stress in my life. Yeah, right.
Regards,
Mike
XXXXXXXX, IL
I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND that all safety professionals responsible for personnel who enter PRCS do as Mike did and contact your local responders. And even when they state they can provide timely rescue services, UNDERSTAND that it is the entry supervisors responsibility (in both 1910.146 and 1926.1210) to:
Verifies that rescue services are available and that the means for summoning them are operable,
and 1926.1210 adds the following:
and that the employer will be notified as soon as the services become unavailable
This means that there MUST be a line of communication between the rescue service and the entry supervisor BEFORE rescue is necessary. In other words, 911 is NOT a rescue plan!
Members can view my PRCS Rescue Articles here
