Level 2 Award in Working in High Risk Confined Spaces (6160-03)

A high risk confined space exists when there is a specified hazard that cannot be controlled or eliminated. There may or may not be access issues and candidates are expected to carry out their work activity in the presence of this specified risk.

An exit from this confined space is triggered when pre-arranged safety margins are breached.

As this is a high-risk environment, candidates must enter with appropriate respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and wear it throughout the operation.
This qualification must be assessed in a high risk environment. For standardisation, please ensure that a confined space is used that meets the water industry NC4 or NCX setting.

NC4/NCX complex access and egress that do not meet any of the classifications above or involving complex operations which introduce additional risks and require specific controls and rescue arrangements, e.g. mechanical hazards, physical complexity of system introduced hazards, enhanced specific intrinsic hazards.

Additional high risk assessment characteristics:
 Deeper than 3 meters in one or two ladders but requiring fall arrest.
 Dark, but any real hazard due to access arrangements clearly visible when using portable lighting.
 Able to move a reasonable distance away from the access point, estimated at 30 meters, giving a working team of five the opportunity to become spread out.
 Entry should be undertaken using full working self-contained breathing apparatus or airlines.
 During completion of the task, Centres should simulate real life scenarios to assess candidates’ ability to solve problems and deal with incidents whilst in the confined space. Through simulation, candidates should feel as if they are in the midst of a real hazardous atmosphere. Under no circumstances must they be put at risk through the use of an actual real hazardous atmosphere.

Equipment Requirements for Working in High Risk Confined Spaces

Additional gas testing equipment
• Carbon monoxide, measuring in the range specified in the current legislation.
• Where appropriate, additional gas detection equipment such as: Chlorine, Cyanide, Sulphur Dioxide and Hydrogen Sulphide.
Selection of chains, identity tags and padlocks for isolation and locking off purposes
• Tags should be numbered, capable of taking multiple padlocks.
• No padlock should have more than three dedicated keys.

Air Movers, ventilation equipment
• Risk assessments may require exhaust ventilation or forced air ventilation as a control measure.
• Equipment demonstrated must have a ‘safe’ power source, ie comply with electrical equipment standards in potentially explosive atmospheres or if powered by an internal combustion engine, it must be outside of the confined space and its own exhaust led away to some safe emission point.

Breathing apparatus
• Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) positive pressure set with a nominal duration of 30 minutes. This equipment should reflect the conditions and the risk in which the candidates will work in their respective industry areas. Spare cylinders will be required to maintain competency while undertaking training exercises.
• Air-line or trolley set compressed air breathing apparatus complete with spare cylinders, nominal duration one hour complying appropriate specification.

Chemical resistant (Gas Tight Suits) (Optional)
• They may be self-contained enclosing the worker and their breathing apparatus or of a type, which has a secure umbilicus with an airline protecting the user’s breathing.
• Breathing apparatus usage – BA control board.