Confined Space Rescue Plan: What the Plan Must Include and a Template to Start From

A rescue plan is required for every confined space entry, not only for the ones judged high risk. Under Part 4.3 of the WHS Regulations the PCBU must ensure that first aid and rescue procedures are established for the confined space before entry, that they are practised as necessary to ensure they are effective, and that the equipment needed to carry them out is provided and maintained. The regulation also requires a standby person outside the space for the whole of the entry, with a means of communication and the ability to initiate the rescue. Entry into a confined space is also high risk construction work under section 291 when it is construction work, so the rescue arrangements have to appear in the SWMS as well as on the entry permit.

The plan should be built so that rescue without entry is the primary method wherever the space allows it. Non-entry rescue means the entrant wears a full-body harness connected to a retrieval line and a tripod or davit with a winch, so the standby person can bring them out from outside without anyone else going in. It is faster, it does not put a second person in the hazardous atmosphere, and it is the method the Confined Spaces Code of Practice expects wherever the opening and the internal layout make it workable. The plan records whether non-entry rescue is possible for the space; where it is not, because of obstructions, bends, a horizontal entry or internal structure, the plan must say so and set out the entry rescue arrangements instead.

Where a rescuer has to enter, the plan names the rescue team, confirms each member is trained in confined space rescue and in the use of the breathing apparatus and retrieval equipment, and sets the minimum number of rescuers. Rescuers enter on supplied air or self-contained breathing apparatus, never on the atmosphere test that cleared the original entry, because the reason for the rescue may be that the atmosphere has changed. A second standby person is needed once the first rescuer enters. The plan also states when external emergency services are called, how they are directed to the space and what information the standby person gives them; calling emergency services is part of the plan, not a substitute for it, because response times are usually longer than a person without air can survive.

A complete confined space rescue plan covers: the space, its location, its openings and the internal layout; the hazards that could cause the emergency, from atmosphere to engulfment to mechanical; the rescue method, non-entry or entry, with the reason; the rescue equipment, listed item by item, where it is positioned and who checks it before entry; the standby person, the rescue team and their competencies; the communication method between entrant, standby and rescue team and the signal that starts a rescue; the atmospheric monitoring to be used during a rescue; first aid and resuscitation arrangements and the nearest medical facility; the emergency services contact, the site address and the meeting point; the sequence of actions from the alarm to the casualty being handed to medical care; and the date the plan was tested and by whom. The plan is attached to the entry permit and the SWMS and is read at the pre-entry briefing.

Rescue equipment is listed in the plan and checked before each entry: a full-body harness on every entrant with a retrieval line attached; a tripod, davit or other anchor with a rated winch or retrieval device; breathing apparatus for rescuers where entry rescue is planned; a calibrated gas detector; a stretcher or rescue sled suited to the opening; first aid and resuscitation equipment; lighting; and the communication equipment named in the plan. Equipment that is not on site, not inspected or not rated for the opening makes the plan unworkable, and the entry does not proceed until it is corrected.

The regulations require rescue procedures to be practised so that they are effective. For a space entered regularly that means a timed drill using the actual equipment at the actual opening, repeated at a set interval and whenever the team or the equipment changes. For a one-off entry it means a walk-through at the opening before the permit is signed: the retrieval line is attached and the winch is operated, the communication method is tested, and every person named in the plan confirms their role. The drill or walk-through is recorded on the plan with the date and the time the simulated rescue took. A rescue plan that has never been tried is a document, not a plan.

The entry permit is the authority for a specific entry and records the atmosphere test, the isolations, the standby person and the rescue arrangements for that entry; the rescue plan is the procedure the permit points to; and the SWMS sets out the whole task with its hazards and controls, of which rescue is one. The three documents should name the same space, the same people and the same equipment. The Confined Space SWMS templates on this site carry a rescue section that references the plan, and the Non-Entry Rescue Plan Template provides the plan itself in an editable form.