Confined Spaces Toolbox Talk
Pits, tanks, manholes, sewers, silos and some crawl spaces can hold air that kills without warning. You cannot see or smell many deadly gases, and lack of oxygen can drop you in a couple of breaths. More than half the people who die in confined spaces are trying to rescue someone else.
Takes about 5 minutes.
Key points to read out
- Know what counts as a confined space: enclosed, not designed for people to work in, and could have bad air or engulfment.
- Avoid entry if the job can be done from outside.
- No entry without a permit, training and a rescue plan.
- Test the air before entry and keep testing: oxygen, flammable gases and toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide.
- Test at the top, middle and bottom. Some gases are heavier than air and some are lighter.
- Ventilate the space and keep it ventilated while people are inside.
- A trained standby person stays outside the whole time, in contact with the people inside.
- Keep petrol engines and generators well away from openings. Exhaust can fill the space with carbon monoxide.
- Never go in to rescue someone unless you are trained and equipped. Raise the alarm and start the rescue plan.
Questions to ask the crew
- Are there any confined spaces on this site?
- Who is trained to enter them?
- What gases do we test for, and with what?
- What would you do if you saw someone collapse inside a pit?
Reference: Confined Spaces Regulations 1997
Sign-in sheet
Print this page or download the sign-in sheet. Or run it in the app and the crew signs on the phone.
| Name | Company | Signature |
|---|---|---|
Get it signed
Run this talk in the app. The crew signs on your phone and you get a dated attendance record as a PDF.