Confined Space Rescue Cover
for Energy from Waste Shutdowns

• Project Type: Confined Space Standby Rescue Cover
• Location: Energy from Waste facility, Lanarkshire
• Client: The plant operator and its outage contractors
• Duration: Multiple outages from April to December 2025, 37 site visits and over 110 man-days
• Team Deployment: Rescue trained IRATA teams of 3

Overview

During planned shutdowns at an Energy from Waste facility in Lanarkshire, Think Access’s Scotland team provided dedicated standby rescue cover for every trade working inside the plant’s confined spaces, including the gasifier, transition duct, boiler and scrubber.

Across two major outages our rescue teams logged more than 110 man-days at the plant, standing ready at vessel entries while scaffolders, welders and refractory specialists worked inside. The service runs alongside the hands on work covered in our gasifier maintenance and clean down case study.

The Challenge

An EfW outage packs dozens of workers into spaces that were never designed for people. Vessel internals are reached through tight hatches, work happens at height inside them on scaffold and ropes, and the atmosphere has to be monitored continuously.

The law is explicit: no one enters a confined space without suitable rescue arrangements in place, and those arrangements cannot simply mean calling the fire service. A casualty inside a gasifier needs trained people at the hatch, with rigged equipment, in minutes. For a plant operator, providing that capability in house for a short outage is impractical, which is where a dedicated standby team earns its place.

The Solution

Think Access supplied rescue trained IRATA technicians in teams of three, embedded in the outage from the first entry to the last.

Across the outages our teams delivered:

• Pre-rigged rescue systems at each active vessel entry, proven before every shift’s first entry
• Standby cover at the gasifier, transition duct, boiler, screen and scrubber, moving with the work as trades progressed through the plant
• Site wide rescue cover coordinated through the permit office, so simultaneous entries in different vessels were always covered
• Cover for scaffolders erecting and striking inside vessels, welders and refractory installers at the work face and inspection teams
• Daily liaison with the shutdown management team, with cover flexed across day and night shifts to match the programme

Between entries the teams maintained equipment, walked the changing work fronts and re-rigged rescue systems as scaffolds grew and moved inside the vessels.

Results

Every confined space entry across both outages was made with a trained rescue team and rigged systems standing by at the hatch. No rescue was needed, which is exactly the outcome everyone wants, and the readiness was real rather than paper based throughout.

The operator met its legal duties without diverting its own staff, the outage contractors worked knowing cover was in place, and the programme never waited for rescue arrangements to catch up with the work.

Confined Space Rescue Teams for Industrial Shutdowns

Think Access provides rescue trained IRATA standby teams for confined space and work at height activities during shutdowns, outages and construction works across Scotland and the UK. If your next outage needs credible rescue cover, contact Think Access to discuss your requirements.