Confined Spaces in New Zealand: Plan Entry and Rescue Safely

A tank, silo, pit or pipe can look like an ordinary place to carry out maintenance until its atmosphere, contents or machinery put a worker at risk. Confined-space incidents can escalate when a colleague enters to help and becomes a second casualty. The safest starting question is whether the job can be completed without anyone entering. If entry remains necessary, the work needs a competent, site-specific assessment, controls that are verified before and during entry, a trained standby arrangement and a rescue plan that can actually work.

WorkSafe New Zealand's confined-space quick guide accepts AS 2865 *Confined spaces* as the current state of knowledge for confined-space entry work. It describes the guidance as a brief overview, not a substitute for the standard or specialist training. This page does not reproduce the copyrighted standard or serve as an entry permit. It explains the decisions a PCBU should be ready to make and verify before commissioning work.

Recognise the space and its hazards

WorkSafe describes a confined space as enclosed or partly enclosed, not designed primarily for human occupancy and capable of presenting a risk from harmful airborne contaminants, a flammable atmosphere, unsafe oxygen or engulfment. Examples include tanks, silos, sewers, pits, ducts and vessels. A small entrance alone does not settle the classification. Consider the design, intended use, contents and hazards that could arise at any time, including hazards created by the job itself.

The atmosphere can change. Welding, cleaning, coating or stirring material may release contaminants or consume oxygen. A pipe or valve may introduce liquid or gas. Bulk material can collapse or flow, engulfing someone. Machinery may start unexpectedly. Heat, access difficulty and communication problems can make a small incident worse. WorkSafe's guidance sets out these examples to prompt a real assessment, not to imply the list is complete.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 requires PCBUs to manage risks and meet their primary duty of care so far as reasonably practicable. Section 30 calls for elimination of risks so far as reasonably practicable, then minimisation where elimination is not reasonably practicable. The exact task may also engage regulations concerning hazardous substances, fire or explosion, plant, remote work or other specific hazards. Check those separately. Do not infer that one document titled “confined-space permit” satisfies every duty.

Ask whether entry can be eliminated

Can inspection use a camera, probe or remote measurement? Can cleaning be carried out from outside? Can the item be removed, dismantled or replaced? The WorkSafe quick guide says the first step is to ask whether work can be done without entry. That choice avoids reliance on atmospheric testing and rescue during the task.

If entry cannot be avoided, do not jump straight to respirators. Plan how hazards will be isolated or removed before people enter. A person competent in the work should assess the space, what it has contained, the work to be done, who is exposed, the controls needed and how the condition could change. The assessment should cover preparation, entry, the job, exit and return to service. A previous entry record may help, but it does not prove the space is safe today.

Isolate energy, materials and movement

Identify every path by which a hazard could enter the space. That includes pipes, ducts, conveyors, augers, mechanical drives, electrical power, steam, liquids and bulk solids. Decide how each will be isolated, secured and verified. A closed valve or a switched-off control may be insufficient if it can leak, be opened or be operated by someone else. The work system must prevent inadvertent introduction of material or movement while people are inside.

WorkSafe recommends isolating contaminants and moving parts, de-energising machinery and using appropriate lockout or tagout controls. The exact technical isolation method depends on the plant and substances. Do not copy a generic isolation checklist into a complex site and assume every source has been found. Confirm the boundaries with the people who operate and maintain the equipment, including another business if it controls connected plant.

Test the atmosphere and control its change

The WorkSafe guide calls for suitable atmospheric testing for oxygen, toxic and flammable contaminants. Where possible, test from outside before entry. Use equipment appropriate to the expected contaminants, maintained and calibrated as required, and people trained to use and interpret it. A reading in one spot at one time does not necessarily represent the whole space or the atmosphere after work begins.

Cleaning, purging and ventilation may be necessary, but their design requires care. WorkSafe warns against using oxygen to purge a confined space because of fire and explosion risk. Ventilation should suit the space and task, and testing should confirm whether it has achieved the intended result. Conditions can change during entry, so decide how they will be monitored and what will trigger evacuation. Do not invent one universal safe-gas number for every contaminant or task; use the relevant standard, exposure criteria and competent assessment.

Where respiratory protective equipment is needed, it must be selected for the actual atmosphere and wearer, and backed by training and a workable rescue plan. PPE is not a substitute for eliminating entry or controlling the hazard at source. A respirator cannot make engulfment or uncontrolled machinery safe.

Give entry clear authority and boundaries

WorkSafe says the PCBU or person responsible for the work should issue a written authority or confined-space entry permit as described in AS 2865. That is an important practice, but this page does not turn the guidance into a claim that one dedicated New Zealand regulation prescribes an identical permit for every entry. The permit should reflect the actual assessment and controls: the space and task, isolation, testing, authorised entrants, standby person, communications, rescue arrangements, validity period and conditions that end the authority.

The written authority must be a live control, not a ceremonial signature. If the task, atmosphere, shift, equipment or personnel change, recheck the conditions and decide whether the authority remains valid. The person authorising entry needs enough information and authority to refuse it if a control is missing. Contractors and the site operator should agree who owns isolation, atmospheric testing and rescue; overlapping duties are not removed by a contract clause.

Keep a trained standby person and reliable contact

WorkSafe recommends a trained standby person outside the space who can monitor entrants and take action if an emergency develops. Plan how they communicate with entrants, how they know who is inside and how they summon help. Voice may fail in a noisy area, and radio may fail inside a metal vessel. Test the intended communication method before entry. The standby person should not be assigned another task that prevents monitoring.

The person outside is not simply a witness. They need to understand the job, warning signs, evacuation triggers and rescue response. Training and competence must match the role. A plan relying on one person who is unavailable during a break or at a second work area is fragile. Cover the whole entry period, including shift change and close-out.

Plan rescue before anyone enters

WorkSafe warns that would-be rescuers have died after entering a dangerous space without adequate protection. A rescue plan must be specific to the space, access point, likely casualty position and hazards. It should identify trained rescuers, suitable equipment, communications, emergency contacts and how a casualty can be extracted without creating more victims. Test the plan in realistic conditions, as WorkSafe recommends. Merely writing “call emergency services” does not show that a person can be reached or removed in time.

Do not encourage an untrained colleague to enter after someone collapses. The standby person should trigger the planned response and avoid becoming another casualty. A site with no practicable rescue arrangement should not proceed with entry. The competent team must decide whether the job can be redesigned or additional capability is required.

Train, monitor and close the job

Entrants, standby people, testers and rescuers need training for their distinct roles. WorkSafe says workers who use gas detectors must be trained to use them correctly, and confined-space competence should be reassessed. Brief everyone on the hazards, controls, communication, stop conditions and rescue plan immediately before the job. Verify equipment condition and inspection status.

During work, monitor the controls and changes. If conditions differ from the assessment, evacuate, make the area safe and reassess. When the work ends, account for everyone, withdraw equipment, close the authority and return isolated plant to service through a controlled process. Keep records relevant to the job, such as the assessment, testing, entry authority and any change or incident. A record can support review but cannot replace a control that must work in real time.

Example: cleaning a process vessel

A team plans to enter a vessel for cleaning. Before entry, it asks whether remote cleaning is possible. If not, it identifies the vessel's former contents and connected lines, isolates the equipment, assesses likely vapours and oxygen conditions, selects suitable atmospheric tests and plans ventilation. A trained person is designated to remain outside, with communication tested. The team prepares a rescue method suited to the hatch and tests the equipment. The entry authority states the conditions and when the job must stop.

If a cleaning product changes during the job, the old assessment may no longer describe the atmosphere or PPE needed. Entry should stop until the change has been assessed. This example illustrates a decision sequence, not a safe method statement for a particular vessel. Actual work requires competent site-specific planning and any applicable standards and regulations.

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