UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION
COVER IDENTIFICATION

As usual, with most GPO, Post Office or BT equipment, there are markings on them which help identify the component.

Identification normally consists of the type number, date and manufacturer.

Covers markings can be found on a plate embedded in the concrete face, but many of the earlier covers are marked underneath, on the casting.

Drawing CN13687 (dated 1981) describes the embedded plate used on later Footway and Driveway covers.

Originally the covers were either for the footway or carriageway and called Cover, Joint Box or Covers, Manhole.

This then changed to Covers, Footway and Covers, Carriageway with a new designation called Covers, Driveway introduced later.

Circa the year 2000 the plates changed show the British Standard numbers (group and class) on them instead of the Footway or Carriageway designation.  See table below for further details.

Extract from CN13687
Confusingly, the "Size of Cover" should probably read "Size/Cover Number"

Typical Cover label
Made by SID in 1994
Driveway Cover No. 5

This is a Cover No. 5 with British Standard group and class
It is group EN128 and class B125
It is a Footway cover

An explanation of the British Standard EN124

BS EN 124 history & definitions

BS EN 124 (Gully Tops and Manhole Tops for Vehicular and Pedestrian Areas) superseded BS 497:1976 Specification for Manhole Covers, Road Gully Gratings and Frames for Drainage Purposes in 1994, and was updated to become BS EN 124:2015. It is the British adoption of the European standard for covers and gratings that separates products into a number of classes based on a static load test, and also groups the locations where each class should be installed (and the minimum class that should be used in each). It was produced and is published by the BSI Group.

The standard is split into one general part and five material-specific parts, and brings products made of different materials into the scope of BS EN 124.

• BS EN 124-1:2015 — Definitions, classification, general principles of design, performance requirements and test methods:
  • BS EN 124-2:2015 — Gully tops and manhole tops made of cast iron.
  • BS EN 124-3:2015 — Gully tops and manhole tops made of steel or aluminium alloys.
  • BS EN 124-4:2015 — Gully tops and manhole tops made of steel reinforced concrete.
  • BS EN 124-5:2015 — Gully tops and manhole tops made of composite materials.
  • BS EN 124-6:2015 — Gully tops and manhole tops made of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) or un-plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC-U).

BS EN 124 groups & classes

Let’s start by looking at the groups that BS EN 124 use to categorise the areas in which covers may be used. These range from Group 1, representing the least demanding environments, to Group 6 that represents the most demanding environments.

• Group 1 — areas where only pedestrians have access.
• Group 2 — car parks and pedestrian areas where only occasional vehicular access is likely (incl. driveways).
• Group 3 — car parks, forecourts, industrial sites and areas with slow moving traffic. Also in highway locations up to 500mm from the kerb and up to 200mm into the verge, excluding motorways.
• Group 4 — areas where cars and lorries have access, including carriageways, hard shoulders and pedestrian areas.
• Group 5 — areas where high wheel loads are imposed, such as loading areas, docks or aircraft pavements.
• Group 6 — areas where particularly high wheel loads are imposed such as aircraft pavements.

Next up the classes that BS EN 124 to rate a cover's static load capabilities, ranging from A15 to F900.

• Class A15 — covers and gratings capable of withstanding a 15kN test load.
• Class B125 — covers and gratings capable of withstanding a 125kN test load.
• Class C250 — covers and gratings capable of withstanding a 250kN test load.
• Class D400 — covers and gratings capable of withstanding a 400kN test load.
• Class E600 — covers and gratings capable of withstanding a 600kN test load.
• Class F900 — covers and gratings capable of withstanding a 900kN test load.

Classes are matched to their appropriate group to give the recommended minimum rating for each group.