Posted By Deborah Bolton
HSE's guidance has and always will be that vehicle inspection pits should be covered unless in use - & then if you are not using the full length a means of fall provention will be needed on the unprotected area. If you are unable to cover them then you need to look at some means of temporary/demountable edge protection to prevent falls into them, this should be supported by visible edge markings such as a hatched yellow area. The reliance on on edge marking alone is not considered to be sufficient. NB opening comment made on basis of 4 years previous employment with the Inspectorate.

Posted By Nick Higginson
Duncan

HSG67 "Health & Safety in Motor Vehicle Repair" says the following

"People are also injured when they fall into pits, and not only those unfamiliar with the premises, but also employees who momentarily forget the presence of an unfenced pit. Fence or board pits when not in use. Keep the time they are left uncovered with no vehicle over them to a minimum - during such times use pit lighting and mark pit edges to indicate the hazard. Restrict access to areas where pits may be unfenced."

I can find no reference to edge protection.

Similarly, the free checklist (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg356a.pdf) tells you to mark edges of pits and cover when not in use. Customer access to areas where pits are uncovered should be controlled.

Go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/ for the HSE website area.

Regards

Nick

Posted By Duncan
Thanks a lot nNick for taking the time to respond excellent.
Duncan