Manhole Inspection Form
A visual glance from street level doesn't tell you what's actually failing underground. Document condition, defects, and confined-space entry details before anyone climbs down, not after.
Before anyone climbs into a manhole, OSHA's permit-required confined space standard, 29 CFR 1910.146, treats it as exactly that: a confined space requiring atmospheric testing for oxygen, toxic gases, and flammability, a written entry permit, a dedicated attendant, and a rescue plan in place before entry happens, not after someone's already inside. Manholes are one of the standard's named examples for a reason, asphyxiation and toxic gas exposure in confined spaces are a leading cause of on-the-job fatalities, and an inspection form that jumps straight to "condition of structure" without documenting the entry itself is missing the part that actually keeps someone alive.
Typeform's manhole inspection form captures the entry permit details, atmospheric readings, and attendant sign-off before it asks about structural condition, coating, infiltration, or corrosion, using the standardized defect categories most municipal and utility inspection programs already work from. Conditional logic can route additional questions for a confined-space entry versus a visual, from-the-surface inspection, so the form doesn't ask for readings that were never taken.
Every submitted inspection becomes a timestamped record of what was tested, who entered, and what was found. That's the file you want if a worker safety incident gets reviewed, a defect goes unaddressed until it fails, or a regulator asks to see your confined-space entry and inspection records side by side.
A manhole inspection form documents the condition of a manhole, structural integrity, corrosion, infiltration, coating, along with the confined-space entry details required before anyone goes inside: atmospheric readings, entry permit, and attendant sign-off.
Because under OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.146, a manhole is a permit-required confined space, and entry without documented atmospheric testing, a permit, and an attendant is a safety violation independent of whatever the inspection finds once someone's inside. Skipping that documentation leaves you with an inspection record but no evidence the entry itself was done safely.
At minimum, oxygen level, flammability or combustible gas concentration, and toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide, tested before entry and again periodically while someone's inside, since conditions in an enclosed underground space can change quickly. The specific thresholds and retesting intervals should follow your confined-space program, not a one-time reading at the start.
Capture enough to document both the entry and the condition found:
- Manhole ID, location, and date/time of inspection
- Atmospheric readings and entry permit confirmation
- Attendant name and rescue plan confirmation
- Structural condition: corrosion, infiltration, coating, defects observed
- Inspector's name and sign-off
Yes. Many municipal and utility inspection programs use NASSCO's Manhole Assessment and Certification Program (MACP) coding to describe defects consistently across inspectors and over time, and a form can be built around those same categories so a defect gets recorded the same way whoever's doing the inspection.
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