Confined Space Rescue Plan: A Step-by-Step Workflow [+ Checklist]

In early 2017, a utility worker in Florida entered a manhole and was overcome by toxic gases. Two coworkers went in after him. All three died. OSHA's investigation found multiple violations, from missing entry permits to absent rescue equipment, that left the crew with no safe way to respond.

Most companies have a rescue plan meant to keep scenarios like this from unfolding. But protecting people takes more than a document on file. A rescue plan has to be built around the real configuration of each space, shared with the responders who'd execute it, and rehearsed on actual facility conditions.

In this guide, we share a step-by-step workflow for building a confined space rescue plan that will keep your team and facility prepared.

1. Define scope, roles, and written requirements

Before getting into space-specific planning, start with the compliance foundation. OSHA requires a written plan as part of any Permit-Required Confined Space (PRCS) program, under 29 CFR 1910.146 for general industry and 1926 Subpart AA for construction.

The rescue plan has to be on-site for the duration of any entry and must document six elements:

1. Rescue procedure. The specific method for removing an incapacitated entrant, either mechanical retrieval from outside the space (non-entry) or physical entry by a trained rescue team.

2. Designated rescue service. Whether rescue will be handled internally or by an external provider. If external, you have to contact and evaluate the service in advance.

3. Roles and responsibilities. Documented duties for every person involved: entrants, attendants, entry supervisors, and rescue team members. Entry supervisors authorize entry, verify conditions, and terminate operations when needed.

4. Equipment requirements. The retrieval and rescue gear required for each space, i.e., harnesses, retrieval lines, lifting devices, anchors, and any space-specific equipment.

5. Communication protocols. How entrants and attendants stay in contact during entry.

6. Training and drill documentation. Rescue teams must practice permit space rescues at least once every 12 months through simulated operations.

These elements also inform the entry permit: the document an entry supervisor signs off on before anyone goes into the space. The permit applies the plan to a specific entry. 

2. Accurately map your facility

If a rescue team shows up and the space doesn't match the documentation they planned around, the rescue takes longer. In confined space emergencies, longer means more exposure, worse outcomes, and more people at risk.

A space-specific map needs to account for:

• Entry points and access constraints such as hatches, manways, ladder wells, pinch points

• Internal configuration including elevation changes, obstructions, compartments

• Staging areas for rescue equipment, where a tripod, winch, or stretcher realistically fits

• Attendant position and line-of-sight

• Retrieval anchor points

Documenting all of this manually often involves repeated walkthroughs. For facilities with dozens of confined spaces, that becomes a resource drain, and every additional visit invites potential risk.

3D digital twins solve this by creating a photorealistic, dimensionally accurate virtual replica of each space. You can capture a confined space once and reuse the model for diagrams, permits, training, and rescue planning without sending anyone back inside. 

JFC & Associates, a facilities management consultancy, uses Matterport digital twins to give technicians visibility into confined and hard-to-reach spaces before they enter. Their teams connect the models with asset management platforms like IBM Maximo to see how each space is configured, identify what equipment is present, and show up with the right people and tools.

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3. Identify hazards and set monitoring thresholds

Every confined space has a unique hazard profile. Your rescue plan has to name the hazards present in each space and at what point they trigger action from entry supervisors, attendants, and rescue teams.

Space-specific hazard categories include:

• Atmospheric: Oxygen deficiency, toxic gases, and flammable vapors. Atmospheric hazards are the leading cause of confined space fatalities.

• Engulfment: Loose materials like grain, sand, or liquids that can flow into the space and trap an entrant.

• Mechanical and electrical: Unguarded machinery, energized equipment, and stored energy that requires lockout/tagout before entry.

• Configuration: Inwardly converging walls, tapered floors, and restricted movement areas that can trap entrants or complicate retrieval.

You also need to establish acceptable entry conditions for each space across hazards. For atmospheric conditions, OSHA sets specific limits.

These hazards and thresholds should live alongside your spatial data, not in a separate binder that falls out of sync. Matterport Tags let you pin hazard locations, monitoring points, and acceptable thresholds directly in the digital twin, so anyone reviewing the space for permits, briefings, or rescue planning sees the complete risk profile in context.

4. Choose your confined space rescue strategy

The method you choose for getting someone out determines who else is at risk during the rescue. Your plan has to match the method to the space and explain the rationale behind it.

There are two commonly recognized approaches:

• Non-entry retrieval is the default under OSHA. In this method, a harness and retrieval line are attached to the entrant before they go in. If something goes wrong, the attendant or rescue team extracts them mechanically. You're only exempt from using it if the equipment would increase risk or wouldn't contribute to the rescue. 

• Entry rescue is for the spaces where mechanical extraction won't work, such as horizontal runs, multiple compartments, tight bends, or internal baffles. It requires a trained and equipped team ready to enter the space and physically remove the entrant. 

Calling 911 is an option, but OSHA is clear that listing a phone number alone doesn't meet preparation standards. Very few fire departments will be trained in or familiar with your specific space, and emergency response times can exceed the survival window. 

If a facility chooses to designate an external rescue service, there are requirements that must be met. Planners must: 

• Evaluate their response time

• Give them access to your spaces for pre-planning

• Confirm their equipment matches your hazards

• Establish communication protocols

Access to spaces for pre-planning is especially critical. External rescue teams need spatial familiarity with your facility before an emergency, not during one. 

Sharing a digital twin gives them a way to study entry points, interior layouts, and hazard zones remotely. Plus, Automated Measuring lets them verify clearances for retrieval systems and stretcher paths without a site visit. This means the rescue team arrives well-oriented and pre-planning requirements are met.

5. Build team proficiency with simulated drills

Regular rescue drills are a critical requirement for any risk-related facility. But the standard isn't just frequency, it's proficiency. Your team has to demonstrate capability for the specific types of spaces they may enter.

Drills need to reflect that through:

• Scenario variety: Loss of comms, atmospheric alarm, entrant incapacitation, vertical extraction. If your team could encounter it, have them rehearse it.

• Documentation: Every drill needs sufficient records for an audit, including who participated, what scenario, what space, and what was learned.

The challenge is that live drills in confined spaces are disruptive, expensive, and carry their own exposure risk. For rarely entered or high-hazard spaces, you're putting people into the same environments you're trying to protect them from.

Between annual live drills, teams can build and maintain readiness using Matterport digital twins to:

• Walk through assigned positions and responsibilities on the current layout

• Agree on and practice communications protocols

• Rehearse retrieval scenarios from the entrant's likely location

• Run "what-if" tabletops that simulate specific scenarios such as a blocked corridor, an entrant at the far end of a vessel, or new equipment in the space

• Practice attendant comms scripts, route decisions, and equipment staging checks

• Document tabletops as part of proficiency evidence

Jotavirtual, for example, uses Matterport digital twins to create interactive training that improves retention and increases training efficiency by 30%. You can check out the video below to learn more.

6. Keep rescue plans current as conditions change

Rescue plans expire every year under OSHA's annual review requirement. However, they can become obsolete a lot sooner, so revisions should be made whenever conditions shift. 

In practice, four situations should trigger a review of your rescue plan:

• Any physical change to the space: New equipment, relocated machinery, modified access points, or altered interior configurations.

• Any change to rescue service: Personnel changes, equipment updates, or response capability modifications.

• Any monitoring threshold change: New chemicals introduced, process changes affecting atmospheric conditions, or updated hazard assessments.

• Any incident or near-miss: Incidents should trigger immediate review.

Beyond triggers, every plan needs version control basics: a designated owner, a review date, a change log, and a clear link to the current permit packet and contractor distribution list. If you can't tell when the plan was last updated or who approved it, it's not audit-ready.

Keeping the spatial documentation current is the hardest part. It means scheduling walkthroughs, re-measuring, updating diagrams, and redistributing them every time something changes.

Matterport collapses that into a single step. You can recapture the space with a Pro3 camera, or have Capture Services send a technician, and the updated model replaces the old one. Every plan, permit, and training scenario built on it automatically reflects current conditions. 

Digital Twin Imaging (DTI) built their entire workflow around this. They've captured 60+ public buildings and created detailed 3D models annotated with AED locations, fire extinguishers, exits, and hydrants. When something changes, every stakeholder, from school administrators to fire marshals, sees the current version without stepping foot onsite.

“Our partnership has shown exponential value, as accuracy is everything when lives are on the line, and immersive digital twins are becoming essential for emergency preparedness.” - Dr. Maria Bell, Robotics Surgeon with DTI

Put your rescue plan to work with Matterport

Regulatory compliance gets you a plan on paper. Spatial accuracy, shared access, and a current reference make it executable. 

Matterport's 3D technology supports every step of the workflow. Here's what confined rescue planning looks like when it's built on a digital twin:

1. Capture an accurate 3D model of each confined space.

2. Create and maintain a confined space inventory with linked models.

3. Verify clearances for retrieval systems and stretcher paths with Automated Measuring.

4. Tag entry points, hazards, anchor locations, and LOTO points directly in the model.

5. Share the digital twin with internal rescue/ERT teams and contractors for familiarization and pre-job alignment.

6. Share the digital twin with external rescue services for pre-entry spatial familiarity.

7. Attach space-specific rescue procedures and equipment checklists to the model so plan and visuals stay together.

8. Remotely review plans, confirm staging, and run pre-job briefings with all stakeholders.

9. Rescan after modifications and retrain on the updated model to keep plan, permit, and training in sync.

Request a demo to see how Matterport's 3D digital twins support confined space documentation, remote coordination, and scenario-based training.