Why it is mandatory
- Work at height — once a fall is arrested the person hangs; delayed rescue makes suspension itself a medical emergency.
- Confined space — an unconscious person cannot get out; intervention from outside is the only route.
- Lifting and excavation — where entrapment is possible, the access route must be planned in advance.
What the plan must answer
| Question | Why |
|---|---|
| Who will rescue | Is the team on site or called from outside |
| With what equipment | Is it on site and ready to use |
| Within what time | Is the response time inside the suspension tolerance |
| How the alarm is raised | Communication route and emergency number |
| Where the casualty goes | First aid point and medical facility |
The template trap
Rescue plans are often copied from a template and published unfilled. The set we measured contained a live example: a rescue plan template left the emergency number field illustrated with another country's number. A wrong emergency number in a rescue plan is worse than no plan at all — it gives the confidence of having looked.
Plan and drill
A written plan that has never been tried is an assumption. The rescue arrangement should be exercised at least once with the real equipment; the first attempt usually shows that the timings are longer than anyone believed.
Link to the permit
On paper "is the rescue plan attached" is a reminder. In software it can be the gate in front of the approval step: no attachment, no approval. That is the difference between a plan existing and a plan being assumed to exist.