MidCoast Water General Manager Neil Hanington said that their team developed the project to redesign traditional manhole covers with a polyethylene manufacturer in the Manning-Great Lakes region, near Port Macquarie in New South Wales, was conceived to eliminate the safety risks for workers and reduce potential WorkCover claims.
“The lifting and moving of manhole lids has been a manual handling risk for the water and sewerage industry for many years,” Mr Hanington said.
“The weight of the traditional covers – about 38 kilograms – poses a manual handling risk for staff.”
Traditional covers often leak and allow stormwater to enter the wastewater network. The concrete used in the covers is prone to corrosion, jamming of the cover into the surround and rusting of lifting lugs.
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“The new cover weighs 14 kilograms and is made from a non-corrosive material, which provides a watertight seal. It is lockable, non-slip, cost-effective and environmentally friendly,” Mr Hanington said.
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