Good tips indeed.
You may also consider, one manway per partition. That is, if you have baffle inside the vessel and you want to maintain both the sides, either you provide Manway on either side of baffle or you provide one man hole nozzle in the vessel and give a Man way in the baffle.
For tall columns (Process) with Beds/Limiters, then one man hole nozzle per Bed.
For tall towers/Columns with trays, consider giving man hole every 10m or near every process nozzle (Such as Reflux). You need a Platform near a Manhole and a ladder to reach the Platform (Man hole).
Also consider providing hand Grips inside the Vessel/Columns. This will help the personnel to come out easily and qickly.
If your operators are a bit oversize, consider 24". Most of the German design provides 24". 20" is ok for agile, young and energitic operator. If you are designing a vessel for 20 to 25 Years or you if you require future modifications etc in the vessel, then consider 24" manhole.
Good Luck
B.Moorthy
moorthykar@yahoo.com