This video is normally available to paying customers.
You may unlock this video for FREE. Enter your email address for instant access AND to receive ongoing updates and special discounts related to this topic.
The benefit of working in a confined space like this is we were able to demonstrate and confirm that a person does not suffer from claustrophobia. This is a good example of a training venue where we simulate the sort of conditions a person could easily find themselves in. Not only is claustrophobia a potential issue, we have other problems with rats for example, which carry diseases. Some of the diseases are potentially fatal and therefore, whenever we feel we are in an environment where there is a risk of catching something, we make sure that we are fully clothed over our personal protective equipment. We must think about issues of hygiene and make sure that, like now, a person does not have any issues with claustrophobia.
What will we do then if we have a worker who was suffering from claustrophobia? Well, the first thing is they are not an ideal person to be involved in confined space entry. You will need to look at maybe a different role, for example, the top person, safety attendant role. But what if it is something that occurs like one time they have gone in. They are now panicking, they need to get out. Well, the best thing we can do is withdraw. Get them out as soon as possible, but in a controlled environment. Do not allow them to panic. Make sure they are nice and calm, best we can and get them out along with everybody else who might be inside that confined space.
The nature of this work, being in a confined space is not always easy. There will be dirty conditions, damp conditions, hot conditions, cramped, difficult to work in. So it is not going to be easy for many people to work in such an environment. That is why all our safety to work, our risk assessments, method statements, all the pre-planning has to be in place. We need to know what we are doing, how we are going to do it. We have got to plan for an emergency if it all went wrong. As long as we have done all the work we need, then we should be able to enter the confined space in a safe controlled manner, perform the task, and then leave safely.
