Hot Work Safety Dos and Don’ts | Welding and Cutting Safety Precautions

Hot Work Safety Dos and Don’ts 

Hot Work Safety Dos and Don’ts | Welding and Cutting Safety Precautions

Hot Work Safety Do's and Don'ts: Work such as welding, soldering, cutting, grinding, chipping, breaking, hammering, vehicle operation, etc. that use an open flame or generate sparks or may generate sparks and present a potential risk of fire and explosion are categories as hot work.

Unsafe hot work responsible for many destruction of industrial plants and fatalities. Performing hot work in hazardous facilities is risky job and must require compliance with a robust work permit system and other management procedures.

Management must develop, establish, and maintain the robust work permit system and must educate workers before performing any hot work in a combustible or flammable atmosphere. The prime safety precautions when performing hot work are to be sure to either remove combustible or flammable material or to positively isolate it.

The hot work permit system enables the organization to identify workplace fire hazards and facilitate a robust risk assessment to provide the preventative and safety controls for the safe execution of the welding, cutting, grinding, etc. job.

These Hot Work Safety Dos and Don'ts are prepared based on our extensive experience in the oil and gas industries, which will help you educate your workers and thus prevent fires or explosions incidents while performing hot works.

Hot Work Safety Dos and Don’ts

Here are the Hot Work Safety Dos and Don'ts that can be shared or communicated to workers during the Toolbox Talk Meeting. It can also be displayed in the workplace to remind workers of safety precautions when performing welding, grinding, cutting, soldering, etc. work at all time.

Dos

1. Follow hot work permit for work such as welding, cutting, grinding, vehicle entry into oil and gas facilities.
2. Only let qualified welders, gas cutters and fitters for hot work in restricted area.
3. Remove all combustible or flammable materials from the area and ensure that the LEL is zero throughout the work.
4. Before starting hot work, positively isolate the piping, equipment, and vent pressure vessels.
5. Be sure to purge piping and equipment carrying flammable materials.
6. Ensure a good cleaning of the area before the work.
7. Carry out welding, grinding, cutting work inside the welding booth only to contain the sparks.
8. Make sure the availability of fire extinguishers and charged fire hose near hot work booth.
9. Wear appropriate PPE, such as welding shield / google, face shield, leather gloves, aprons etc.
10. Keep fire watcher nearby to aide in a fire emergency.
11. Properly earth and ground the welding equipment.
12. Keep welding machines away from process equipment or hazardous areas.
13. Take all precautions in accordance with the approved work permit and risk assessment.
14. The welder and helper must have adequate ventilation and respirators.
15. While performing gas cutting work, ensure flash-back arrestor present at both ends i.e. torch and cylinder side.
16. Limit the entry of people into the hot work area by providing safety barriers and signs.
17. Protect nearby gas lines and equipment from falling sparks, hot materials, and objects.
18. Cover neighbouring flanges of the oil pipeline with fire blankets.
19. Combustible floors should be kept moist with water or covered with fireproof blankets or damp sand.
20. Cover the floor opening or gratings with fire blankets to prevent the spread of sparks from one level to a lower level.
21. Inspect the area post hot work for any smoldering.
22. Carry out housekeeping after finished of work and close the work permit.

Don’ts

1. Don’ts use normal glasses for welding work.
2. Don’ts use damaged cables and hoses.
3. Don't allow the welding slag to scatter haphazardly everywhere.
4. Don't join the welding cables, use single length cables.
5. Don’ts weld or cut in pipes or areas of unknown equipment.
6. Never shut off the gas supply by folding or crimping the hose.
7. Don’ts stand on a wet surface during electric welding.
8. Don’t let the hose come in contact with oil or grease.
9. Don't do the hot work with flammable materials such as oils rags, paints etc. in the vicinity.
10. Don’ts cool the electrode holders by immersing them in water.
11. Don’ts cut or weld on empty paint or chemical drums.
12. Don’ts place cables and pipes in the hallways to avoid tripping.
13. Don’ts keep gas cylinders in a confined space.
14. Don’ts connect return cables from welding machines to the platform / scaffolding.
15. Don’t use hydrocarbon pipeline as grounding for welding work.
16. Don’t leave the smouldering after finished of hot work.

Summary

Hot work includes welding, soldering, cutting, grinding, excavation in petroleum industries, vehicle entry into petroleum facilities, and photography in petroleum processes. If proper precautions are not taken while performing hot work, the result can be catastrophic.

 Removing combustible or flammable materials from the hot work area is the primary preventive measure, but if this is not possible, isolate it with a fire shield or fire blanket. Hot work should be performed inside the welding booth not only to contain sparks, but also to protect the eyes of workers in the vicinity from exposure to bright lights.

The safety dos and don'ts of hot work should be communicated to all involved workers, including welders, fitters, gas cutters, and helpers during the safety toolbox talk meeting so that they must understand the hazards and safety measures to avoid unwanted incidents.

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