Workplace Is the tunnelling work carried out in a remote or isolated place? How location accessible is it in an emergency and how far away is it from medical facilities? Can a person be rescued immediately without relying on emergency services? Are there areas where special emergency provisions like emergency rescue cages and the means to extract people from difficult locations like the base of a shaft needed? Have safe places and assembly points been identified? Escape routes Table 5 lists questions and information on escape routes. Roles and Who should be allocated roles and responsibilities in an emergency e.g. area responsibilities wardens? Who has the relevant skills for specific actions in an emergency? Training Who requires regular and on-going training? When should this be provided? Does the training include an understanding of the emergency plan and actions to be taken in an emergency, escape options and emergency equipment? How will workers who enter the tunnel be trained in entrapped procedures, like remaining calm, alert and making conservative decisions? Communication How: can workers doing tunnelling work communicate in an emergency will clear lines of communication between the person authorised to the emergency response and people at the workplace be maintained, and will alarms be activated and who will notify people at the workplace? Is there a system in place to identify who is underground, like tag boards or electronic tagging? Have you clearly displayed the workplace site plan showing where fire protection equipment is stored, the location of emergency exits, assembly points and emergency phone numbers? Rescue Has rescue equipment been selected based on the nature of the work and the equipment control measures used? Can it carry out the planned emergency procedures? Is rescue equipment kept close to the work area so it can be used quickly? Capabilities of Are rescuers properly trained, fit to carry out their task and capable of using rescuers rescue equipment? Have emergency procedures been tested to demonstrate they are effective? First aid Is first aid available for injuries associated with falls, cuts and crush injuries? Are trained first aiders available to use the equipment? Roles for the Can you rely on local emergency services for rescue? Other arrangements local emergency should be made if they cannot respond within a suitable time. services How will the local emergency services be notified of an incident?
Workplace location Is the tunnelling work carried out in a remote or isolated place? How accessible is it in an emergency and how far away is it from medical facilities? Can a person be rescued immediately without relying on emergency services? Are there areas where special emergency provisions like emergency rescue cages and the means to extract people from difficult locations like the base of a shaft needed? Have safe places and assembly points been identified? Escape routes Table 5 lists questions and information on escape routes. Roles and responsibilities Who should be allocated roles and responsibilities in an emergency e.g. area wardens? Who has the relevant skills for specific actions in an emergency? Training Who requires regular and on-going training? When should this be provided? Does the training include an understanding of the emergency plan and actions to be taken in an emergency, escape options and emergency equipment? How will workers who enter the tunnel be trained in entrapped procedures, like remaining calm, alert and making conservative decisions? Communication How: can workers doing tunnelling work communicate in an emergency will clear lines of communication between the person authorised to the emergency response and people at the workplace be maintained, and will alarms be activated and who will notify people at the workplace? Is there a system in place to identify who is underground, like tag boards or electronic tagging? Have you clearly displayed the workplace site plan showing where fire protection equipment is stored, the location of emergency exits, assembly points and emergency phone numbers? Rescue equipment Has rescue equipment been selected based on the nature of the work and the control measures used? Can it carry out the planned emergency procedures? Is rescue equipment kept close to the work area so it can be used quickly? Capabilities of rescuers Are rescuers properly trained, fit to carry out their task and capable of using rescue equipment? Have emergency procedures been tested to demonstrate they are effective? First aid Is first aid available for injuries associated with falls, cuts and crush injuries? Are trained first aiders available to use the equipment? Roles for the local emergency services Can you rely on local emergency services for rescue? Other arrangements should be made if they cannot respond within a suitable time. How will the local emergency services be notified of an incident?
guide-tunnelling.docx