Hennig Hilft

Advancing Pit Safety Across Industries: Wastewater Treatment

March 19, 2019

Employees of water treatment plants are exposed to hazardous surroundings which can have significant health risks. Workers are exposed to toxic substances including chemicals and biological materials during water treatment. There are high levels of biological agents such as airborne bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxic gases (hydrogen sulphide and methane) present in clarification tanks. Another problematic safety issue is clamorous noise caused by the water purification process, which can cause hearing impairment over time. People are often required to work on catwalks above open pits which may lead to injuries caused by slips, trips and falls. There are multiple channels where the water is cleaned, and most of the time there are no barriers to protect people from falling in. All of these safety concerns caused several companies to contact Hennig about means of protecting their employees and complying with (OSHA) safety standards.

In the past, a typical solution to this safety issue was using metal grates, stationary cover panels or mesh panels. While providing an adequate barrier, they were quite cumbersome to install and move because doing so required a crane. Additionally, they are not designed to be walked on or support any weight.

Today, water treatment facilities are increasingly implementing pit covers as a new safety feature to ensure employee safety. Many water treatment and pollution control plants have contacted us to customize covers for them.  They felt it was necessary especially since many of them have moved towards using ultra-violet devices instead of chemicals to treat the water.  It requires a stable support to safeguard workers from falling into the reservoir when the device is lifted from the water. Hennig designs custom pit cover solutions for each specific request. Our engineers draft retractable walk-on pit covers that are designed to hold a substantial amount of weight and can therefore be walked on without damaging the cover. Hennig uniquely designs pit covers that are more compact and durable.

 Each time a new pollution control/water treatment company reaches out to Hennig for a pit cover system, we view it yet as another exciting and challenging opportunity to make customer’s safety a top priority by outfitting them with the best safety solution.

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