Shutdown Emergency Response Services Perth | Safety Heights

Safety Heights and Rescue Training (RTO 52610) provides shutdown emergency response services for industrial and maintenance operations across Perth, the Kwinana Industrial Strip, Southwest WA, the Goldfields, and the Murchison region.

We supply trained standby rescue personnel, safety sentries, and emergency response teams (ERTs) for planned shutdowns, turnarounds, outages, and unplanned maintenance windows — wherever confined space entry, work at heights, hot works, or complex plant access creates a requirement for trained rescue capability on site.

Call 08 9437 9108 to discuss your next shutdown or contact us at chris@rescue-training.com.au.

What Is a Shutdown Emergency Response Service?

A shutdown emergency response service places trained, qualified rescue personnel on your site for the duration of a planned maintenance window, turnaround, or outage. Their role is not administrative — they are operationally ready to execute a rescue if a worker becomes incapacitated in a confined space, suspended at height, or injured in a complex access environment.

Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) and the WHS (General) Regulations 2022, a PCBU conducting confined space work must ensure a standby person is present and a rescue plan is in place before any entry begins. For height work, a practical rescue capability must exist before work commences. For most shutdown and maintenance operations involving multiple simultaneous confined space entries and elevated work, this means dedicated ERT personnel — not workers pulling double duty as rescuers while also doing maintenance tasks.

Safety Heights provides that dedicated capability.

What We Provide

Trained Standby Rescue Personnel

Every Safety Heights standby operative holds as a minimum:

• RIIWHS202E — Enter and Work in Confined Spaces (competent standby person, non-entry rescue)

• MSMWHS217 — Gas Test Atmospheres (competent atmospheric tester for entry permits)

• MSMWHS216 — Operate Breathing Apparatus (entry rescue capability in irrespirable atmospheres)

• RIIWHS204E — Work Safely at Heights (standby capability for elevated work)

• PUASAR032 or PUASAR025 — Vertical Rescue or Confined Space Rescue (active rescue execution)

• HLTAID009 — CPR (post-rescue patient management)

This is not a tick-box compliance crew. These are workers trained and assessed in the actual execution of rescue — including non-entry retrieval, BA-entry rescue, and vertical extraction.

Atmospheric Monitoring and Gas Testing

Continuous atmospheric monitoring throughout the shift using calibrated multi-gas detectors. Pre-entry testing for every entry — oxygen levels, LEL percentage, H₂S, CO — documented on the entry permit. Immediate alarm response protocols in place before the first entrant crosses the boundary.

Confined Space Entry Permit Administration

Safety Heights standby personnel are trained to administer the entry permit system — confirming isolation, verifying atmospheric test results, controlling access, and maintaining the entrant register throughout the shift. This removes the permit administration burden from your site supervisors and ensures every entry is compliant with Regulation 77 of the WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA).

Safety Sentries for High-Risk Work

For hot works, elevated maintenance, or any task requiring a dedicated safety observer under your site's permit-to-work system, Safety Heights provides trained sentries with the specific competencies required by your site safety management system.

Emergency Response Team (ERT) Coverage

For major shutdowns and turnarounds requiring a full emergency response team, Safety Heights can provide a multi-person ERT with defined roles — entry rescue, atmospheric monitoring, communications, and site liaison — for the full duration of the work window. ERT capability includes:

• Confined space entry rescue (PUASAR025)

• Vertical and rope rescue (PUASAR032)

• Breathing apparatus entry (MSMWHS216)

• Continuous atmospheric monitoring (MSMWHS217)

• CPR and post-rescue patient management (HLTAID009)

Industries and Sites We Support

Safety Heights shutdown emergency response teams work across:

Kwinana Industrial Strip The most concentrated heavy industrial precinct in Western Australia — refineries, chemical plants, port facilities, fertiliser manufacturers, and processing operations. Safety Heights is based in Naval Base, directly adjacent to this corridor. Mobilisation times are measured in minutes, not hours.

Perth Metropolitan Area Water and wastewater infrastructure, power utilities, telecommunications, civil construction, and manufacturing across the Perth metro area.

Southwest WA Industrial and agricultural operations including timber processing, grain handling, port facilities, and utilities infrastructure from Bunbury to Albany.

Goldfields Mining and processing operations across Kalgoorlie and the broader Goldfields region — gold, nickel, and lithium processing, underground mine operations, and surface plant maintenance.

Murchison Region Remote and regional mine sites and processing facilities requiring mobilised ERT capability for planned shutdown windows.

How Shutdown ERT Coverage Works

Pre-shutdown planning Safety Heights works with your shutdown coordinator prior to the maintenance window to understand the scope of work — number of confined space entries, elevated tasks, hot works, and permit-to-work requirements. We confirm the team composition, equipment manifest, and shift roster.

Mobilisation The team mobilises to site with all required rescue and monitoring equipment — tripods, davit arms, retrieval winches, BA sets, multi-gas detectors (calibrated), and PPE. No reliance on site equipment for rescue capability.

On-site operations The team integrates with your site's permit-to-work system, administering entry permits, conducting atmospheric testing, maintaining the standby position for every confined space entry, and remaining operationally ready throughout the shift.

Post-shift documentation Full shift records — atmospheric test logs, entry permit records, standby logs, and any incident or near-miss reports — provided to your shutdown coordinator at shift end.

Why Use Safety Heights Over a General Labour Hire Crew?

The difference comes down to what happens when the alarm goes off.

A general maintenance worker assigned to standby duty has a Certificate of Attainment and a hat. A Safety Heights standby operative has been assessed in the actual execution of rescue — non-entry retrieval, BA-entry in an IDLH atmosphere, vertical extraction, and CPR on an electrocution casualty. They have done the drill under assessment conditions, not just watched a video.

Under the WHS Act 2020 (WA), the PCBU is responsible for ensuring the rescue plan is practical — not just written. If an incident occurs and the investigation finds that the standby person was not genuinely competent to execute the rescue, the legal exposure falls on the PCBU, not the labour hire company.

Safety Heights operatives are trained by the same instructors who deliver rescue training to workers across WA's resources sector. The competency is real.

WA Legislative Framework for Shutdown Safety

Confined space entry during shutdowns:

• Part 4.3, WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) — entry permits (Reg 77), standby person (Reg 76), atmospheric testing, rescue planning

• WorkSafe WA Code of Practice: Confined Spaces (updated November 2024)

• AS/NZS 2865:2009 — Safe work in a confined space

Height work during shutdowns:

• Part 4.4, WHS (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) — fall prevention, rescue planning (Reg 38)

• AS/NZS 1891 — industrial fall-arrest systems

Hot works and general high-risk work:

• WHS Act 2020 (WA), Section 19 — primary PCBU duty of care

• Site permit-to-work systems and site safety management plans

Non-compliance with these requirements during shutdowns has resulted in WA prosecutions with penalties exceeding $600,000. The industrial manslaughter provisions of the WHS Act 2020 (WA) carry penalties of up to $10 million for a body corporate.

Emergency Response Plan Development

In addition to providing standby personnel, Safety Heights can assist your organisation to develop or review your Emergency Response Plan (ERP) for shutdown and maintenance operations — covering:

• Confined space rescue procedures

• Heights and vertical rescue procedures

• Atmospheric hazard response protocols

• Communication and escalation chains

• Equipment inspection and maintenance schedules

• Post-incident reporting obligations

An ERP that exists only on paper does not satisfy the WHS Act 2020 (WA) requirement for a practical rescue capability. Safety Heights can help bridge the gap between the document and the operational reality.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much notice do you need to mobilise a shutdown team?

For planned shutdowns, two weeks' notice is ideal — it allows us to confirm team composition, conduct a site-specific hazard review, and prepare equipment. For urgent or unplanned requirements, contact us directly on 08 9437 9108 to discuss availability.

Can you provide standby coverage for remote sites?

Yes. Safety Heights has mobilised teams across WA including the Goldfields and Murchison. FIFO and drive-in drive-out arrangements are available for remote sites. Contact us to discuss logistics and costs for remote deployment.

Do you supply all rescue equipment or rely on site equipment?

We bring our own rescue and monitoring equipment — we do not rely on site-supplied gear for our core rescue capability. This ensures our operatives are familiar with the equipment they will use in an emergency.

What certifications do your standby operatives hold?

At minimum: RIIWHS202E, MSMWHS217, MSMWHS216, RIIWHS204E, PUASAR032 or PUASAR025, and HLTAID009. Additional certifications (UETDRMP018, fire warden, site-specific inductions) are available depending on the role requirements.

Can you assist with developing our confined space rescue plan?

Yes. Safety Heights can review your existing rescue plan or develop one from scratch aligned with the WorkSafe WA Confined Spaces Code of Practice and AS/NZS 2865:2009. Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Do you cover the Goldfields and Pilbara?

The Goldfields yes — Safety Heights regularly supports operations in the Kalgoorlie region. The Pilbara can be accommodated for major planned shutdowns with sufficient notice. Contact us directly to discuss.

Book Shutdown Emergency Response Coverage

Safety Heights and Rescue Training (RTO 52610) Unit 3, 1216 Rockingham Road, Naval Base WA 6165

Call: 08 9437 9108 Email: chris@rescue-training.com.au Web: rescue-training.com.au

For planned shutdowns, contact us as early as possible. For urgent requirements, call directly.