{"id":637,"date":"2016-09-16T12:58:39","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T03:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mss-safety.com.au\/au\/?p=637"},"modified":"2023-09-26T13:02:32","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T03:32:32","slug":"who-can-issue-a-confined-space-permit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mss-safety.com.au\/au\/who-can-issue-a-confined-space-permit\/","title":{"rendered":"Who can issue a confined space permit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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One of our valued clients recently raised a question regarding what makes a worker to be competent to issue or control<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a Confined Space Entry Permit or similar permit for high risk type activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model\u00a0Confined Space Code of Practice<\/a>\u00a0highlights relvenant sections of the WHS Act & Regulation with respect to requirements and the responsibilities of persons operating a business, company officers, managers, supervisors and workers where there are confined spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 5.4. highlights the requirement for the permit to be issued or completed by a \u2018competent person\u2019<\/strong> in order for the work to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is to ensure that \u201call the elements of a safe system of work are in place<\/strong>\u201d and that this has been \u201cchecked and authorised<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A competent person \u201dis one who has acquired through training, qualification or experience\u201d, normally a combination of all three, \u201cthe knowledge and the skills to carry out\u201d the task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It follows then, that in order to be competent to assess the system of work, suitability of the equipment being used, the suitability of the personnel to complete the tasks would require the person issuing or authorising the permit to have a considerable working knowledge of confined space hazards, confined space equipment including access and gas monitoring equipment, entry & emergency response procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This would typically require the person to have been trained, at regular intervals to maintain currency, according to the national competency at least every two to three years (records of training are required to be kept for two years), in confined space entry, especially if there were an incident which ended in an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, that\u2019s what the law has to say about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a purely practical everyday perspective, consider this scenario:<\/p>\n\n\n\n