Award Winning Safety Solution For Manhole Construction
The client, consultant engineer, contractors and suppliers all have a duty to mitigate hazards on site whenever reasonably practicable. One such hazard identified is the risk of operatives falling through manhole openings particularly during the construction process and also in follow up maintenance work.
Working with partners Severn Trent Water, engineer Grontmij and contractor to the water sector, Morgan Sindall plc, FP McCann have designed a safety award winning solution. Easi-Safe is a temporary or permanent fall arrest system that allows for safe working around the manhole opening prior to the fitting of the ironwork.
In the construction of a manhole, operatives often work unprotected from the opening at surface level when the final stages of completion occur. This includes the final brickwork up to the manhole frame and the mortar bedding of the frame itself.
The galvanised mild steel grid is available in four standard sizes:
• 610mm x 610mm
• 675mm x 675mm
• 750mm x 600mm
• 1200mm x 675mm
The Easi-Safe grid is seated on load bearing corners cast into a standard range of manhole cover slabs. As a temporary fall arrest system, once the construction of the manhole is complete, the grid can be removed prior to the fitting of the ironwork. Alternatively, Easi-Safe can be a permanent fixture, left in place beneath the manhole lid. The spacing between the bars allows for ease of inspection and jetting of the manhole base during maintenance work.
