Roles, Duties & Responsibilities of a Confined Space Attendant/Standby-man/Spotter(Emmanuel Essen Presentation)

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Roles, Duties and Responsibilities of Stand-by
Man

• Presented
• By
• Emmanuel Essen
• As Part Of The On-going Knowledge Sharing Amongst
  Maintenance Teams
• 
  

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• Objectives
• At the end of the presentation, the participants
  will know
• Why this course is necessary.
• Who is a Standby-man.
• The definition and Characteristics of a confined
  space.
• Examples of confined spaces.
• Hazards in a confined space.
• How to eliminate hazards in a confined space.
• Major factors that lead to fatalities in a
  confined space.
• Characteristics of a competent Standby-Man.
• Roles, Duties and Responsibilities of a
  Standby-man

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Why Standby-man Training/Confined Space Training
Is Necessary. It has been
reported that, many workers are either injured or
killed each year in confined space incidents.
About 1.6 million people have been reported dead
working in a confined space and 60 of this
number are untrained would-be rescuers. To
reduce the number of incidents among the would-be
rescuers which standby-man (otherwise called
spotter/confined space attendant) form an
integral part, an accident prevention program in
the form of training should be implemented to
reduce the number of fatal incidents in confined
spaces. This measure is expected to reduce 85
of the annual deaths. Beside this, the training
will also improve Safety, Morale, Productivity,
Employee wellbeing and Reputation.
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Who is a Standby-man Whenever a confined space
job is to be carried out, the team meets and
nominates another worker who is competent and
qualified to act as a Standby-man. This
Standby-man must be properly equipped to carry
out this duties and responsibilities at ease
without any hindrance as the fate of all the team
members rest on him. This standby man must
acquired the necessary training will qualified
him to work independently and during emergency
situation. Then, the question is, Who is a
Standby-man?
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• Therefore, a Standby-man may be defined as a
  competent person who is
• Assigned to remain on the outside and in closed
  proximity to a confined space.
• Capable of being in continuous communication
  with and, if practicable, able to observe persons
  working inside the confined space.
• Capable of operating monitoring equipment used
  to ensure safety during entry to and working in
  the confined space.
• Capable of initiating emergency procedures
  (including rescue procedures). But the golden
  rule while working as a standby-man is,
• NEVER ENTER A CONFINED SPACE TO RESCUE ANY
  VICTIM

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• The Definition and Characteristics of a confined
  space
• Confined space may be defined as
• The space with limited/restricted opening for
  entry and exit.
• The space which is not intended for continuous
  human occupancy or habitation.
• The space which is large enough for personnel to
  enter and conduct work.
• Graphically see next slide

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No
Restricted entry or exit
Yes
Space is not intended for continuous human
habitation
No
Yes
Space is large enough for Personnel to enter and
conduct work
No
Is not a confined space
Yes
Is a confined space
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• Characteristics Of A Confined Space
• The following are the characteristics of a
  confined space
• It contains or could contain hazardous
  atmosphere e.g Sewer, Manhole, Gasoline storage
  tank etc.
• It contains material that could engulf the
  person entering into the space e.g. Mole sieve
  vessel, Activated carbon filter vessel.
• It has a inwardly converging wall or floor that
  slopes downward and taper to a small cross
  section.
• It contains any other recognised safety hazard
  e.g. electrocution, loose objects.

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Examples of confined spaces This includes Tanks,
sewers, pipes, boilers, manholes, silos, hoppers,
trenches etc.
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• Hazards In a Confined Space
• Confined space may contain the following hazards
• Hazardous atmosphere including insufficient
  oxygen.
• Toxic air (poisonous gas fumes).
• Explosive atmosphere (flammable).
• Physical hazards
• Structural hazards, entanglement, slip, trip and
  falls.
• Other hazards include
• Process related hazards such as residual
  chemicals, release of content of supply line.
• Barrier failure resulting in flood or release of
  free flowing solids. Etc.

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• How to eliminate hazards in a confined space
• In order to eliminate hazards in confine spaces,
  the following safety tips should be constantly
  practice
• Ensure that, all personnel assigned to work in a
  confined space are trained.
• Confirm isolations, LOTO.
• Ensure that only trained Standby-man is used.
  Incompetent standby man is an hazard to all the
  team members in the confined space.
• Ensure total compliance to permit to work and
  JHA.
• Ensure that safe system of work is used.
• Ensure proper use of PGM and that gas test was
  carried out.
• Ensure that all intervention and rescue apparatus
  are readily available as specified.

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• Major Factors that lead to Fatal Injuries in
  Confined Spaces
• Failure to recognize and control the hazards
  associated with the confined spaces.
• Inadequate and inaccurate emergency response.
• Characteristics of a Competent Standby-man
• The following are the characteristics of a
  competent standby-man
• He must attend HSE training.
• He must be trained to work in a confined space.
  i.e has attended and passed Confined space
  training.
• He must be trained to use breathing apparatus.
• He must be trained as a standby-man.

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• Roles, Duties and Responsibilities of a
  Standby-man
• To carry out work in a confined space, work area
  should be barricaded and LMRA/JHA carried out by
  the team.
• A trained standby-man should assumed the
  responsibility of evaluating all existing and
  potential hazards before confined space entry.
• He should use the Personal Gas Monitor (PGM) to
  test for air quality and presence of other
  hazardous gases like CO2 and H2S. (testing must
  be done side to side, top to bottom and it should
  be done at interval).
• Standby-man with the aid of the team members must
  check the direction of the wind(using the
  windsock) as this will determine the position of
  placing the PGM. The PGM must be placed at the
  downstream of the wind direction. (see the image
  of the wind sock next slide)

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Wind sock
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• Standby-man must create LOG-SHEET (attached at
  the back page) to keep accurate record of the
  team members entering and exiting confined space
  with the time.
• He must ensure that, only authorized persons are
  allowed into the confined space.
• He must take possession of all the ID cards of
  team members entering the confined space.
• He must maintain constant communication with the
  team members in a confined space through the use
  of radio, life-line etc.
• A standby-man must visually observe or otherwise
  continuously monitor the wellbeing of the
  workers inside the space.
• A standby-man must have the means of initiating
  emergency response in case of emergency situation
  by using MCP, emergency number 3999, area
  operator/supervisor etc.
• There must be a continuous means of summoning the
  standby-man from the confined space.
• He must continuously monitor the condition of the
  confined space and the outside.

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• Know the hazards that may be faced during entry
  (mode, signs, symptoms, and consequences of
  exposure).
• He must know how to properly use all required
  equipment.
• He must ensure that all safety apparatus as spelt
  out in the Permit to Work and JHA are available
  and in good usable condition.
• The standby-man must not assumed, but know the
  exact position of the MCP before commencement of
  work.
• A standby-man must continuously monitor status
  and alert entrants of need to evacuate if
  condition changes both outside and inside the
  confined space.
• He must alert entrants whenever any warning sign
  or symptom of exposure to a dangerous situation
  or a prohibited condition is detected.
• He must order the entrants to evacuate if he
  detects a prohibited condition or if need arises,
  activate evacuation alarm.
• He must properly informed the emergency rescue
  team and also assist them during rescue
  operation.

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• Summary
• Follow all safety procedures before entry into
  confined space.
• If a permit and JHA are required, be sure to use
  and adhere strictly to it.
• Confined spaces are to be demarcated with warning
  sign when work is carried out .
• Confined space attendant should never enter
  confined space.
• Always contact your entry supervisor when in doubt

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