Efficiently and safely completing rescue operations from confined spaces including at height or underground.
Occupational Profile
The main duties and tasks of a Specialist Rescue Operative are to provide rescue cover to people operating at height, in a confined space, exceptional hazards or underground in a mine for example, and to efficiently and safely complete rescue operations from confined spaces including at height or underground. They will also be required to train others to operate competently in the rescue environment. This is with the aim of preventing accidents and incidents occurring. This will include, in the event of an accident or incident, carrying out rescues, saving and preserving lives. All of this will be achieved while complying with current legislation, company policies and procedures. Duties include carrying out preventative and routine inspections of competence and equipment. Furthermore, they are expected to report deficiencies, defects, conduct risk assessments, work alone and in a team, demonstrate a good knowledge and a strong discipline towards safety, health and environment. They will have behaviours associated with taking an acceptable risk within the job role but have an absolute understanding of what is not acceptable as a risk. This will be achieved by a detailed hazard identification and risk assessment capability which will take into account: The competencies (including knowledge, skills and behaviours) required to undertake the performance requirements of the job role safely and productively. The main sectors who would utilise the specialist rescue operative are utilities (water and power generation) and underground mines. Normally they will be required to operate in small teams for search and rescue purposes and have the ability to operate as part of a larger team when a casualty rescue and transport in respiratory protection is required. The role will require travel across the UK. In the role of a trainer, the candidates will be expected to take responsibility and operate alone. The training role will require the specialist rescue operative to be competent in the subject and have the ability to give examples, from their own personal experience to highlight issues of knowledge and performance requirements, the role requires maintenance of detailed and up to date record of continuing competence (CPD) in the job role.
Specialist Rescue Operatives provide immediate rescue cover for people who are carrying out work or operating at height or in a confined space. This will include any platform, wind turbine, chamber, tank, vat, silo, pit, trench, pipe, sewer, flue, well, underground mine or similar space in which by virtue of its enclosed nature, there arises a reasonably foreseeable specified risk.
Rescue cover will include taking preventative actions to minimise the risk to people operating with the confined space, exceptional hazard or underground environment. This will normally involve facilitating the escape and rescue of persons, including casualties, from the confined space and/or underground environment. This will normally involve the specialist rescue operative co-ordination with other small teams to carry out an effective rescue to locate missing and injured persons. This will include the use of environmental monitoring, respiratory protection (breathing apparatus including regenerative 4hr), specialist first aid, extraction and transport. The key to this will be communication requiring these small teams to come together and form a larger team to facilitate a complex rescue and transport of a casualty/casualties. The apprentice will be required to have the individual competences to ensure the team is effective.
The Specialist Rescue Operative will be competent at operating all available monitoring and rescue equipment, including that supplied to save and preserve endangered life.
The Specialist Rescue Operative will have the skills required to provide training and quality assurance to new specialist rescue operatives in a range of subjects which will normally be health and safety related. This will include but will not be limited to the health and safety at work act, the current mining and confined space regulations.
Summary of Standard
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/specialist-rescue-operative/
Full Standard
