For over 100 years, MRS Training & Rescue (formerly Mines Rescue Service) has provided emergency rescue services for those working in mines. We still offer this service today and also provide confined space rescue services to many other industries, including transportation and utilities.
This knowledge and experience make us trusted providers of confined space training, consultancy and risk assessing.
Confined Space Training
The National Occupational Standards (NOS) sets out what those working in a confined space should know and be able to do, to be able to complete their jobs safely and effectively.
This includes knowing:
- How to prepare to enter and work safely in confined spaces
- How to enter and exit confined spaces safely
- How to use equipment in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions
- How to deal with emergencies in confined spaces
City & Guilds have created training and qualifications so those working in confined spaces can complete courses to ensure they meet the standards set out by the NOS.
City & Guilds Accreditation
MRS Training & Rescues confined spaces courses are City & Guilds accredited. Delegates who attend our confined spaces courses can choose to receive an MRS Training & Rescue certificate or a City & Guilds 6150 accreditation on completion. Those working in or looking to work with the utility industries benefit from choosing City & Guilds certification, as this is seen as a transferable qualification by many companies in the industry.
Practical Training
All of our confined space training courses combine classroom and practical training – to ensure all delegates receive hands-on training, in realistic conditions.
During the practical parts of our courses, delegates learn how to carry out work in conditions and situations they may face in their every day working lives. All course delegates are also partly assessed in our practical training facilities to ensure they are competent to work safely in confined spaces.
Low Risk Confined Space Training
Our low risk confined space training courses are for delegates who work in ‘low risk’ conditions – these are spaces which:
- Have adequate natural or mechanical ventilation
- Simple and unobstructed access
- Has no risk of flooding
- Specialist equipment is not required to enter
This course tends to be completed by those who need to conduct light maintenance or inspections of low risk spaces.
Examples of this type of work include:
- Entering a meter pit to complete a reading
- Doing light maintenance in a pub cellar
- Working in valve chambers
This 1 day course (8 hours) covers all learning outcomes, and assessment criteria set out in the City & Guilds Handbook for 6150-01 Level 2 Award in Working in Low Risk Confined Spaces and 6150-51 – Level 2 Award in Working in Low Risk Confined Spaces (Top Man Entrant).
- How to prepare to enter and work safely in low risk spaces
- How to enter and exit low risk confined spaces safely
- How to follow procedures and work safely
- Working with others
- Using equipment and tools safely and in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions
Medium Risk Confined Space Training
Most confined spaces in industry are classified as medium risk. These spaces are areas that have the potential to have associated with them, one or more specified risks, and consideration as to the means of escape is required. In a medium risk confined space, operatives would have an escape breathing apparatus set with them that they could put on and wear should they need to make their way out safely. Sometimes people working in a medium risk confined space may also require rescue provision because of the complexity of exit arrangements or if they need additional support to make their escape.
The majority of confined spaces are medium risk spaces.
This is a space which:
- Has the potential of a specified risk
- May require the use of escape breathing apparatus
- Requires one or more people to be outside the confined space managing the entry and dealing with any emergencies
Entering a medium risk confined space may involve:
- Vertical entry using a ladder and/or man-riding winch
- Horizontal entry – with minimal use of a rescue line
This 2 day course (16 hours) includes practical exercises completed in conditions which replicate the environment a candidate may be likely to work in.
Practical exercises will teach candidates how to:
- Prepare to work safely in medium risk confined spaces
- Enter and exit confined spaces safely
- Prepare and use escape breathing apparatus in accordance with manufacturers’ specifications
- Use equipment and tools safely and in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions
- Follow procedures and work safely
- Deal with emergencies
- Use appropriate behaviour for working in medium risk confined spaces
- Use general knowledge for working in medium risk confined spaces
- Apply industry standards for working in medium risk confined spaces
High Risk Confined Space Training
High risk confined spaces are those that a specified risk is or is likely to be present at some point during entry and has not been able to be adequately isolated. It may require respiratory protection to enter, and in which rescue provisions need consideration before deploying people to work in that environment.
So, if anything goes wrong, there is a team on hand to rescue them and get them out.
High risk confined spaces may have non-standard entries which, in consequence, make rescue difficult. Entry may involve complex entry procedures, and there will be work-specific controls and rescue arrangements.
Our high risk confined spaces training course teaches candidates how to work safely in high risk confined spaces. It will require the use of self-contained open-circuit breathing apparatus and escape breathing apparatus; it will involve the presence of one or more specified hazards that cannot be controlled or eliminated, and the candidate must enter with appropriate respiratory protective equipment (RPE). The delegate must wear it throughout the operation. It will require the presence of personnel who have designated responsibilities for dealing with emergencies.
Entry to the confined space may involve:
- Non-standard entries which may make rescue from the confined space difficult
- Complex entry procedures
- Work specific controls and rescue arrangements
- Exiting from the confined space when prearranged safety margins are breached
This will be achieved by a combination of theoretical and practical sessions. Of the 3 days required to complete this course, 2 days are allocated to practical activity and exercises:
- Prepare to enter and work safely in high risk confined spaces
- Enter and exit confined spaces safely
- Follow procedures and work safely
- Use equipment and tools safely and in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions
- Prepare and use escape breathing apparatus in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions
- Deal with emergencies
- Use appropriate behaviour for working in high risk confined spaces
Find the Right Training
If you would like to find out more about our confined space courses or consultancy services, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Andy Watson has over 15 years’ experience in emergency response, training, and leadership. He was instrumental in establishing MRS Training & Rescue's Aberdeen centre, setting the standard for training and rescue services in the area.
