ASTM Committee C27 approved a fabricated metal access hatch standard specification to minimize maintenance expense and improve public safety. ASTM C1802 is the first specification in the precast concrete industry that covers design, testing, manufacturing, selection, and installation of fabricated metal access hatches for utility, water, and wastewater structures. Hatches covered under this standard are a vital component of all utility distribution systems, providing vertical access to junctions and equipment for electric, telephone, cable, fiber optic, water and wastewater.
Hatches seen on utility structures at H2 Pre-Cast.
ASTM C1802 provides:
- Guidelines that standardize the minimum load level criteria for structural design of fabricated metal access hatches
- Guidelines for loading, required load placements and required load cases
- Guidelines regarding the selection of access hatch load levels based on actual conditions of the hatch’s placement location to avoid failure due to overloading
- Marking of hatch manufacturer with traceable manufacturing dates and/or serial numbers
- Clear access labeling and marking instructions that include load levels to help assure that inappropriate locations are not selected for hatches
- Instruction for prototype and production testing of hatches to prove designs and production quality
- Hatch manufacturing quality control procedures to assure proper grades of materials and quality of fabrications
- Instruction for proper hatch installation
ASTM Committee C27 approved C1802 at its 2014 ASTM Committee Week meeting in New Orleans, La. The Utility Structures Subcommittee C27.10 is directly responsible for the specification. Tom Elliot of Jensen Precast wrote the original document.
For more information about ASTM C1802, visit www.astm.org/Standards/C1802.htm.
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