Hot Work or Fire Watch Training?
A hot work job needs more than one kind of trained person. This course covers the work itself, and a separate course covers the person posted to watch for fires.
- Hot Work Training. You are on it. Two hours across 29 CFR 1910.251 to 1910.255 for anyone performing hot work or working near it: hazards, permits, ventilation, cylinders and PPE.
- Fire Watch - General Industry and Construction. One to two hours for the person posted to watch rather than to work. When a watch is required, what they do while the work runs, and the half hour after it stops. View the Fire Watch - General Industry and Construction
- Welding, Cutting and Brazing Safety. Thirty minutes on the welding work itself, referenced to 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Q and NFPA 51B. The short refresher rather than the full awareness course. View the Welding, Cutting and Brazing Safety
- Confined Space. Hot work inside a tank, boiler or vessel is two hazards at once. This course says plainly to be confined space trained first, and that a confined space permit may be needed alongside the hot work permit. View the Confined Space
Most crews need this course for the operators and the fire watch course for whoever takes the watch. A worker who does both jobs takes both.
What Goes on a Hot Work Permit?
The permit is the control the whole system hangs on. 29 CFR 1910.252(a)(2)(iv) requires the area to be inspected before cutting or welding is permitted, with the precautions designated preferably as a written permit.
- Somebody signs it, and that somebody has a name. The course calls them the Permit Authorizing Individual. They inspect the area, confirm it is free of combustibles, review the job safety analysis with the operators and the fire watch, and sign before any work begins.
- It is good for one day. NFPA 51B has the permit dated and valid for a single day of work, with the location, the floor level and the type of hot work recorded on it. A permit is not a standing arrangement.
- It records the fire watch decision. The permit confirms the fire watch is present during the work and for 30 minutes after, that they have extinguishers, that they can raise the alarm and reach the fire department, and whether more than one watch is needed above, below or next door.
- It closes out. The fire watch inspects the area and the adjacent areas 30 minutes after the work, confirms it is safe, and the completed permit goes back to management with the PAI signing off the date and time.
If your site does hot work without that paperwork, the permit is the first thing to fix. The course includes a sample permit to work from.
“In Part 4, on the Employer Responsibilities slide, the text inside the main circle is incorrect. It should be Employer, not Employee. Please fix this. Thank you.”
Good course
Good
effective
Great