Australian Standard AS2865, which covers safe working in confined spaces, requires that persons get checked on every now and then to make sure they’re still up to scratch. The general consensus in the industry, which big employers in resources, construction, manufacturing and utilities buy into, says this check-up should happen every 12 to 24 months. You can pretty much guarantee a worker who did their initial training longer than 2 years ago is operating with a skill level that’s never been rechecked in a controlled environment.
Entry procedures for confined space work deal with breathing air, toxic fumes and gases that are so bad they can kill, air that’s not got enough oxygen, air that’s just on the verge of catching fire, and then it’s full-on blaze. Being trapped in a confined space is no fun at all. These risks don’t go away just because people get to know them. They’re still as deadly as they were the first time you heard of them. You need to keep active memory skills sharp to use the kit for testing air properly, manage the permits, handle emergencies and do entry procedures right when the pressure is on. Workers who haven’t practised these things in 2 years or more have a lower chance of getting it right when it really counts.
What Does the Refresher Course Actually Cover?
The confined space refresher course gets you updated on the skills you need to keep for safe working in confined spaces (RIIWHS202E Enter and Work in Confined Spaces, MSMPER205 Enter Confined Space and MSMPER200 Work in Accordance with an Issued Permit). The course is not a re-run of the one you did the first time. It’s an exercise in getting your skills going again and checking you still have the know-how.
Things covered in the course include updates on the law and Australian Standards, how to do air testing and work the gas monitoring kit, hazard spotting (safety classes 1 through 3) in confined spaces, what you need to do if you have a permit system and how to use the documentation, what to do in case of an emergency, plus practical exercises in simulated confined space scenarios.
At Saferight Training Academy in Perth, the course is 4 hours and is run out of the Perth locations at Belmont and Fremantle, with intake every week. $230 gets you both the theoretical and practical bits, plus a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment and a wallet card that drops in your letterbox 2 or 3 working days after you finish.
Entry Requirements and What to Bring
There are some pretty strict rules on what’s needed to get into the confined space refresher course. You need to be able to show a current Statement of Attainment for RIIWHS202E or its older version RIIWHS202D. It has to have been issued within the last 2 years. Saferight Training Academy specifically says you need to have done the initial qualification in the last two years to get in. If you turn up without this, all you get is turned away. The confirmer has no special power to give you a pass.
Where to Complete a Confined Space Refresher?
Saferight Training Academy has bases in Belmont and Fremantle and runs weekly sessions for $230. They’re accredited with RTO 5722, which is great news if you’re in WA and eligible for CTF funding that can make the whole thing a lot more affordable.
Plus they provide morning tea. Let’s be honest, you’ll need the energy. Along with your training you’ll get a Statement of Attainment chucked in, usually within a couple of days. The best part is that Saferight’s training is looked on kindly by a lot of WA’s top employers like BHP, Rio Tinto, Chevron, Monadelphous and plenty of other big industrial operators.
