Manholes as confined spaces
We are updating our confined space inventories. We have questions on the inventory about how the spaces is secured and marked. Some ask me about securing manholes and whether just the weight of the cover is enough to secure it. I don't think we can use that weight to say it's secured.
Anyway, does anyone know a good way to secure manholes and mark them as required by the regs?
Comments (8)
I’ll have to check tomorrow what type of markings we have on ours, but we’ve never secured further than just positioning the cover back over the manhole.
It’s a good question! I’ve never thought about it before
As far as marking, we always used a stencil and spray painted the warning on it.
In the eyes of compliance, simply the weight of the manhole would suffice. There's manholes up and down thousands of roads with nothing securing the covers. However, if you want to go above and beyond, they do make bolt-down coversif that's a route you want to take. I've had that at a few of my facilities, but the cost to replace each lid with a bolt-down one can get costly (~$150-$200 each) depending on how many you have.
If those sewers/manholes are considered Permit Required Confined Spaces by OSHAs definition then you need a sign saying so.
If they do not meet the definition of a permit required confined space but the entity who is responsible for those spaces (owner…etc) considers them a permit required space then a sign is not required.
What OSHA requires you to do and what a customer wants you to do are sometimes not the same thing.
Manhole covers by their nature are difficult if not impossible to remove without a device, tool or equipment. This is the street cover that is horizontal and will withstand the weight of the heaviest vehicle without damage or displacement.
Second, unless you are assigned work to disturb this cover why would anyone touch such a cover. Basic job orientation should cover something of this nature.
Beyond securement, most facilities I have overseen work in identify their covers by # with the list being part of a confined space list. No signage, in many cases, inside either as the signs deteriorate quickly due to the conditions of the space.
Sidebar. Remember that these spaces are / will always be Permit Required. Sanitary and Storm get pockets of H2S gas that can never be controlled.