New confined space rescue service in UK

Runcorn, UK - Engineering group the Engenda Group is launching a new company delivering confined space and height rescue services and training.

The new business, Column Rescue, will operate under the Engenda brand from a new £50,000 purpose built training centre of excellence in Hixon, Staffordshire.

It will provide training and rescue support for plant workers operating in the oil and gas, power, chemical, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors as well as emergency services.

Column Rescue will complement the work done by fellow group company and column turnaround specialists DTEC Site Services Ltd.

It is also being delivered as a standalone service and has been contracted to major blue chip companies across several UK sites in the upstream and downstream refining sector.

The HSE is strictly monitoring company’s compliance with the Confined Space Regulations that require a deliverable rescue plan and rescue cover for all confined space entries, explains Steve Colclough, operations director for both DTEC and Column Rescue.

“Many generic rescue plans rely heavily on dynamic risk assessment at the point of the incident,” said Colclough. “Valuable, possibly lifesaving, time is lost whilst the rescue team works out how they will carry out the rescue.

“In industrial complexes, all rescue missions are complicated in that they require broad experience and expert knowledge of the operating plant.”

Column Rescue is manned by industrial workers who have knowledge of workplace logistics so they can set about the rescue almost immediately. Rescue workers are trained to use all types of rescue equipment and ensure medical technicians are included in the rescue teams.

Engenda delivers mechanical, electrical and instrumentation (ME&I) engineering services to clients across the UK and Europe. It plans to exceed £25m turnover in its financial year 2012/13.

The group’s engineering businesses include Halton Fabrications and advanced control engineers ACES, both based in Runcorn. It also owns Stafford-based column turnaround businesses DTEC and Immingham-based electrical engineers Lectec.