SPX Transformer Solutions, Inc. will be conducting its annual safety training in North Carolina this year. One of the things they will be focusing on is training for confined spaces in order to limit work-related injuries for both workers and rescuers. This type of training is crucial since accidents in confined spaces often lead to several people being injured.
Part of the danger is from rescue workers who end up in the same predicament from which they are trying to rescue the first victim. Workers and rescuers alike need to be trained how to safely enter the space, knowing whether the air in the space is safe to breathe, checking over victims, exit strategy and what equipment will be needed to safely perform the rescue. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandates this training be done, and it must be done correctly.
In order to ensure that the training meets or even exceeds OSHA standards, a mock up of the inside of a transformer was built in order to give participants training that is as close to real world as possible. Participants will have to deal with scenarios in training that could actually happen while out on the job. This hands-on training will be in addition to the normal classroom training.
Many North Carolina businesses take the safety of their workers as seriously as SPX does. Preventing work-related injuries in industries where harm can come to employees every day they are at work is the responsibility of not only the company, but the employees as well. Not only do employees need to be trained on the safety procedures for their jobs, but rescuers also need to know what they will be getting themselves into in order to avoid further injury to the victim or the rescuers.
Source: Richmond County Daily Journal, “RCC Partners with Emergency Services Company on safety training,” July 11, 2013
