Page 43 - Occupational Health & Safety, July/August 2019

Non-Entry vs. Entry Rescue
Parallel to pre-planning a confined space operation is planning for a potential rescue situation in which the worker becomes inca- pacitated or otherwise unresponsive. Just as confined space work is generally separated into two types—permit-required and non- permit required—rescue operations also generally fall into one of two categories—entry and non-entry.
A non-entry rescue is one in which the rescue of the worker is facilitated by rescue personnel located completely outside of the confined space. They rely on overhead anchors, tripods, side- mounted davit arms, winches, remote connection poles, or a host of other devices to extract the worker. Non-entry rescues are by nature limited in their scope because relatively small condition changes can mean a non-entry is infeasible. For example, a worker moving around a 90-degree corner in an HVAC shaft seems nearly inconsequential until the worst happens. That simple 90-degree turn means a direct-connect option is no longer available, and what may have been a relatively straightforward rescue before the turn suddenly becomes exponentially more dangerous, not only for the victim, but for the rescuer, as well. The non-entry rescue has now become an entry rescue.
Entry rescues are rescues in which additional personnel must enter the confined space to effect the rescue of a fallen worker. They can be incredibly dangerous operations. In fact, OSHA reports that “where multiple deaths occurred, the majority of the victims in
each event died trying to rescue the original entrant from a con- fined space.” This means that rescuers, not the victims themselves, comprise the majority of deaths in instances of multiple victims. Granted, in many of these cases, the rescuers were “untrained or poorly trained.” They were not fully trained experts, merely other workers who tried to extract the victim from the confined space and were overcome by fumes or other factors. The point here is that lack of a properly developed rescue plan, one that considers all possibilities, can be a very deadly thing.
The number of potential situations to consider precludes men- tioning their solutions individually, but suffice it to say that con- fined space operations can be some of the most complex problems to solve due to the nature of threats posed to the worker and the fluidity of those threats over time. From access to engulfment, ven- tilation to fire abatement, pre-entry testing to constant monitoring, the name of the game in confined work is careful pre-assessment of not only known hazards and procedures, but also consideration of those not only present, but possible.
Baxter Byrd is a technical writer with Pure Safety Group, the world’s largest independent provider of fall protection equipment and train- ing. His primary mission is translating dense regulatory standards to increase understanding and practical applicability. When he’s not writing, he’s reading. Byrd holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Washington.
www.ohsonline.com
JULY/AUGUST 2019 | Occupational Health & Safety 37 4/24/19 12:38 PM
Untitled-3 1
Circle 10 on card.