Safety for Splicing

Purpose

Protect your eyes, skin and lungs at the splice bench, and work safely in manholes, vaults and aerial positions. Fiber scraps are glass needles that work into skin and eyes. Live fibers can carry laser light you cannot see. Manholes and vaults can hold air that kills without warning. These controls apply to every splice, every day.

When to Do It

• At the start of every splicing shift, in the tailboard (pre-job briefing), per the employer’s safety program.
• Again whenever the work position changes: bench to manhole, ground to bucket, or day to night, per the employer’s safety program.
• Previous step: SPL-01 Job Preparation. Next step: SPL-03 Closure and Cable Preparation.

Roles

• Lead splicer: runs the tailboard, enforces bench rules and stops work when a control is missing.
• Splicer helper: manages the shard container, ventilation and housekeeping.
• Manhole attendant: where the employer’s confined-space program or a permit requires one, stays at the opening while anyone is inside a manhole or unvented vault, watches the gas monitor and summons rescue per the employer’s plan. In a joint-use manhole shared with electric power, or where traffic, water or other hazards exist, the attendant or another employee trained in basic first aid stays in the immediate vicinity to give emergency help.
• Foreman: confirms training, testing equipment and the rescue plan are in place.

Equipment and Materials

• Safety glasses with side protection.
• Dark work mat, so clear fiber scraps are easy to see.
• Labeled, sealable fiber shard container.
• Multi-gas monitor that reads oxygen, flammable gas and toxic gas (such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide), calibrated and bump-tested per the manufacturer, and able to monitor continuously while people are inside.
• Ventilation blower and hose for manholes and vaults.
• Ladder for entering and leaving manholes deeper than 4 ft (Cited: 29 CFR 1910.268(o)(4)) (telecom maintenance, 29 CFR 1910.268(o)(4); for construction work, follow the ladder rules in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart X and the employer safety program).
• First-aid kit, and a crew member trained in basic first aid.
• Rescue and retrieval equipment required by the employer’s program.
• Safety data sheets (SDS) for gel cleaner and isopropyl alcohol.
• Fall protection and aerial equipment per AE-04.

Safety

Procedure

Hold Points

Records to Keep

• Tailboard sign-in sheet with the hazards discussed.
• Pre-entry atmospheric readings (oxygen, flammable, toxic) and times, plus continuous-monitoring readings or alarms, per the employer’s program.
• Gas monitor calibration or bump-test record.
• Any injury, near miss or exposure report.

Print a blank tailboard sheet for the briefing and the crew sign-in.

Common Mistakes

• Brushing scraps off the mat by hand. The glass goes into your skin. Pick scraps up with tape or tweezers and put them in the container.
• Looking into a fiber “to see if it is lit.” Laser light at telecom wavelengths is invisible. Use an optical power meter or a live-fiber identifier to check for light, never your eye.
• Skipping the atmosphere test because the manhole was fine yesterday. Air changes overnight. Test every entry.
• Generator beside the hole, blower downwind of it. The blower pumps carbon monoxide straight to the splicer. Put exhaust downwind and the blower intake upwind.
• Testing once, then putting the monitor away. Conditions change during a long splice. Keep monitoring continuously while anyone is inside.
• No attendant where one is required. In a permit-required confined space the attendant is the rescue plan. Do not enter without one.
• Solvents next to the oven. Keep flammables away from heat.

Standards and References

• 29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA: confined spaces in construction, the rule for construction work, including 1926.1203(e)(2)(iii) (test oxygen, then flammables, then toxics) and (e)(2)(vi) (continuous monitoring).
• 29 CFR 1910.268 § (o) (manhole guarding, testing, ventilation, first aid in joint-use manholes and ladders), for telecom maintenance work. OSHA scope decides: 1910.268(a)(2)(i) excludes construction work.
• 29 CFR 1910.268 § (b)(7) (minimum approach distances), for general-industry work.
• 29 CFR 1910.146 (permit-required confined spaces in general industry, including telecom maintenance). 1910.146(a) excludes construction work, which 1926 Subpart AA covers.
• ANSI Z136.2
• 29 CFR 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication) and the product SDS.
• Employer safety program, including confined-space entry and rescue procedures.
• AE-04 for aerial work rules.

On the Map

• Vault or Manhole: an enclosure large enough to enter, where guarding, atmosphere testing, continuous monitoring and ventilation are required by the OSHA rule that applies (see Safety) or by the employer’s confined-space program, plus an attendant where it is a permit-required confined space.
• Splicing Workstation: the bench where glass control, eye protection and housekeeping rules apply.

Related Tools

Not applicable: no FAHMY tool covers splicing safety. Follow the employer’s safety program.