# Treat utility vaults, manholes and pits as permit-required confined spaces until the employer has evaluated them > OSHA lists underground vaults, manholes and pits as confined spaces. Before cabling or fiber crews enter one, the employer must have identified whether it is permit-required, and entrants need training, a permit, atmospheric testing and continuous contact with an attendant. - Canonical URL: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/confined-space-entry-utility-vaults-manholes-cabling-crews/ - Publisher: Detection Systems & Engineering (DSE Security) - Author: DSE Security Editorial Team - Published: 2026-10-18T21:00:32+00:00 - Modified: 2026-10-18T22:22:06+00:00 - Last reviewed by DSE: 2026-10-18 - Resource type: Checklist - DSE priority: Important - Topics: Business Continuity, Networks & Infrastructure - Reading time: 2 minutes ## What you need to know OSHA lists underground vaults, manholes and pits as confined spaces. Before cabling or fiber crews enter one, the employer must have identified whether it is permit-required, and entrants need training, a permit, atmospheric testing and continuous contact with an attendant. ## Potentially affected Fiber, copper, low-voltage and security contractors who pull cable through underground vaults, manholes, handholes, pits, tunnels or equipment housings, and the facility owners who host that work. ## DSE recommendation DSE recommends that no technician enter a vault, manhole or pit unless the employer’s confined-space evaluation and entry procedure for that space are on hand. ## Article OSHA lists underground vaults, manholes and pits as confined spaces. Before cabling or fiber crews enter one, the employer must have identified whether it is permit-required, and entrants need training, a permit, atmospheric testing and continuous contact with an attendant. ## Source facts OSHA’s [Permit-Required Confined Spaces QuickCard](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/confined_space_permit.pdf) describes a confined space as one with limited openings for entry or exit, large enough to enter and work in, and not designed for continuous occupancy, including underground vaults, manholes, pits and underground utility vaults. OSHA’s [confined spaces page](https://www.osha.gov/confined-spaces) adds equipment housings, ductwork and tunnels to the examples. A permit-required space may contain a hazardous atmosphere, material that can engulf an entrant, a converging shape that could trap or asphyxiate, or other serious hazards such as exposed live wires. The employer must identify these spaces and inform exposed employees of their existence, location and hazards. The QuickCard tells workers not to enter a permit space without training and a permit to enter, to identify physical hazards before entry, and to test and monitor for oxygen content, flammability, toxicity or explosive hazards before and during entry. Entrants use the employer’s fall protection, rescue, air-monitoring, ventilation, lighting and communication equipment and maintain contact at all times with a trained attendant. ## Applicability Use this for any job that requires entering a space below grade or inside equipment. General industry, construction and maritime work have separate OSHA confined-space standards, and state-plan states such as Michigan enforce their own versions. ## DSE recommendation DSE recommends that no technician enter a vault, manhole or pit unless the employer’s confined-space evaluation and entry procedure for that space are on hand. Ask the facility owner or utility for known hazards and existing permit procedures, include a calibrated gas monitor, ventilation, retrieval equipment and an attendant in the job plan, and stop work if monitoring readings change during entry. ## Verification Before each entry, confirm the permit is completed, the gas monitor’s calibration and bump test are current, and the attendant and rescue arrangements are in place. Keep completed permits with the job record and review a sample each quarter. ## Official references [OSHA — Permit-Required Confined Spaces QuickCard (OSHA 3214)](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/confined_space_permit.pdf). [OSHA — Confined Spaces](https://www.osha.gov/confined-spaces). Reviewed October 18, 2026. ## Primary reference - Name: OSHA — Permit-Required Confined Spaces QuickCard (OSHA 3214) - Authority: Occupational Safety and Health Administration - URL: https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/confined_space_permit.pdf - Source publication date: Not stated by the source ## Citation and use Preferred citation: “Treat utility vaults, manholes and pits as permit-required confined spaces until the employer has evaluated them,” DSE Security, https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/confined-space-entry-utility-vaults-manholes-cabling-crews/ Publishing principles: https://update.dsesecurity.com/updates/dse-updates-editorial-methodology/ Usage and citation policy: https://update.dsesecurity.com/usage/ Copyright © 2026 Detection Systems & Engineering. All rights reserved.