THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
NEWSDESK
concerning confined space see themas low-,medium- and high-risk and courses are offered accordingly. But, given the apparent increasing frequency of flooding incidents (as this is written there have ben twomajor watermain bursts in the news in the last two days) and the effects of climate change brining flash flooding where it has not occurred before, the potential for a low- risk entry becoming farmore serious is becoming evermore obvious. So, perhaps this needs to be taken into accountmore when supervisors ‘classify’ confined space entry sites to a greater degree than perhaps they are used to doing.
Whatever the reasons, confined space qualifications now come in a set of risk categories including:
■ Low Risk ■ MediumRisk ■ High Risk ■ Special Circumstance
In 2019,Water UK issued an update for its Occasional Guidance Note – The Classification &Management of Confined Space Entries.Within the documentWater UK offers a set of National (NC) classifications for confined space entries. This document be easily downloaded at:
https://www.water.org. uk/guidance/the-classification-and- management-of-confined-space- entries-2019/.
Summarising some of the items included there are National classifications (NC) 1 to 3 which are presented as generic standard classifications for vertical entry confined spaces thatmay be used to establish safe workingmethods for access and egress. They should be considered alongside the risk assessment for the characteristics of the specific workplace. In some circumstances these three generic classifications and the supporting control principles will not fully address the risks and thus the organization controlling the entrymust exercise caution and apply appropriate risk controls based on their knowledge of the workplace. NC4 classified entries are complex and necessitate the
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development of a detailed risk assessment and task specific Safe SystemofWork (SSoW).
NC1 are the low-risk entries and are viewed as shallow entry locations with adequate natural ormechanical ventilation, where access is simple and unobstructed and there is no likely risk of flooding such asmeter pits, valve chambers, booster pumping stations and PRV chambers.
The NC2 classification covers what might be termedmedium-risk comprising vertical direct unobstructed access with continuous attachment to a person riding hoist or similar mechanical rescue device.
NC3 classification coversmore high-risk entries when it is not possible to have personnel permanently attached to a safety line, for examplemultiple persons entering the confined space through a single access. Usually, it will be a team entry whichmoves away fromthe entry point such as persons entry sewers, utility service subway tunnels, aqueducts and complex wet wells. It includes working without an attached rescue line and includes working away fromthe point of entry but on an unobstructed horizontal plane.
Where the entry profile ismore complex the NC4 classificationmay be necessary where access and egress do notmeet any of the NC1 through NC3 classifications or which involve complex operations which introduce additional risks and require specific controls and rescue arrangements. For example, situations thatmight include mechanical hazards, physical complexity of systemintroduced hazards, enhanced specific intrinsic hazards.
There is also one other classification included in theWater UK Guidance and that is the NCX classification. This is applied where there is a situation where the confined space is not a vertical entry space. Some are horizontal entry such as rooms or spaces with gas storage or combustion plant, whilst others have an upward entry such as roof spaces where methane or hydrogen could accumulate). In these cases, there is a need for specific atmospheric analysis,
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access arrangements and rescue plans to be devised for each such space encountered.
To ensure that the correct classification is applied of course requires high levels of supervision andmanagement. So, some training providers offer specific managerial levels of qualification including:
■ Entry Controller – this type of course is designed for those involved in and with responsibility for controlling the entry of teams into eithermediumor high risk confined spaces. The courses include coverage of the duties of an entry controller, pre-entry procedures, entry into and exit fromthe confined space, maintaining communications and initiating and controlling emergency procedures
■ Supervisor – this type of course is designed for supervisors of confined spaces and includes planning and allocating activities for a team, pre- entry procedures, entry into and exit fromthe confined space, selection of personnel,maintaining communications and initiating and controlling emergency procedures. As previouslymentioned, this supervisor may be involved inmore than one site
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