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RMEHS.005
Effective Date: December 1998
Southern Methodist University (SMU) recognizes that there is a potential for injury to people and damage to property that can result from fire or sparks that arises when hot work is performed outside of a designated safe hot work area. This operating procedure establishes a permit authorization system to ensure that all hazards are evaluated and that appropriate safety measures and controls are taken prior to and during any operation that uses an open-flame or spark-producing apparatus.
This operating procedure is written in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) workplace standard, 29 CFR 1910.252, Welding, Cutting and Brazing and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) code standard 51B, Fire Prevention in Use of Cutting and Welding Processes.
This operating procedure shall apply to all SMU personnel and all contract personnel working at all University-owned properties.
3.1 Designated Safe Hot Work Area -- areas that have been designed and constructed for performing open-flame or spark-producing work.
3.2 Fire Watch -- trained personnel who are in attendance during the entire hot work operation and are immediately available to extinguish a fire or take other effective action if needed.
3.3 Hot Work -- any work using an open-flame or spark-producing apparatus. Hot work includes, but is not limited to, welding, cutting, burning, grinding, and any related heat-producing jobs that could ignite combustible materials or flammable atmospheres.
3.4 Hot Work Operator -- Any employee or contractor who operates an open-flame or spark-producing apparatus or performs any hot work as defined in 3.3.
3.5 Hot Work Permit - A special permit issued by the RMEH&S Fire Safety Group which authorizes specified hot work at a specific location and time. (See Appendix A.)
4.1 Departments -- are responsible for ensuring that the requirements of this operating procedure are understood and practiced by their employees. Any department that employs an outside contractor who will be performing any hot work, as defined, must comply to the requirements of this procedure. Specific responsibilities of the department conducting or coordinating any hot work operations include:
Contact the facility manager or person responsible for the area in which the welding is to take place, inform that person of the scope of work to be performed and determine if they have any specific concerns about the procedure.
Determine the combustible materials and hazardous areas present or likely to be present in the work location.
Protect combustibles in the work location by:
moving the work to a designated safe hot work area or a location free of combustibles;
if the work cannot be moved, have the combustibles moved to a safe distance from the work or have the combustibles properly shielded against ignition; or
schedule the hot work during a time when the combustibles are not likely to be in the area.
Obtain a HOT WORK PERMIT from the RMEH&S Fire Safety Group for any work that is to be performed outside of a designated safe hot work area.
Ensure that workers are provided with and using proper safety equipment, including personal protective equipment and fire extinguishing equipment.
When required, designate a responsible person to serve as a fire watch.
Ensure that the work area is given a final inspection one-half hour after completion of the job to detect and extinguish possible hot spots or smoldering fires. The fire watch shall be released after the final inspection.
4.2 RMEH&S Fire Safety Group -- is responsible for the development and maintenance of this operating procedure, providing resources for equipment and personnel training, and for auditing all operations to ensure compliance to this procedure. Specific responsibilities include:
Review and approve, in coordination with a departmental representative, locations approved for hot work operations (designated safe hot work areas).
Maintain a list of designated areas.
Periodically inspect designated areas to be sure that conditions have not become unsafe for welding and/or cutting.
Issue a HOT WORK PERMIT for work being done outside of the designated safe hot work areas, after the area has been inspected and approved by RMEH&S.
Provide training for fire watches, and ensure that the proper fire fighting equipment is in working condition, and is available to standby personnel.
Suspend welding and cutting work if conditions become unsafe for the work being performed.
4.3 Fire Watch -- a fire watch shall be required whenever hot work is performed at any location on campus other than designated safe hot work area. The fire watch shall be any employee or contractor designated by the individual or department requesting the hot work permit, but shall not be the actual employee(s) who is performing the hot work operation. Specific responsibilities include:
Having fire extinguishing equipment readily available and be trained in its proper use and limitations.
Being familiar with facilities and procedures for sounding an alarm in the event of a fire.
Correcting or stopping any conditions which may lead to a fire and reporting conditions to their department at the earliest opportunity. Attempting to extinguish fires appropriate to the available equipment and level of training, or otherwise activate the fire alarm system.
Remain at the work site to monitor for smoldering fires while work is in progress and for at least thirty (30) minutes following job completion. If the fire watch must leave the work site, all cutting and welding must stop.
4.4 Hot Work Operators -- shall obtain proper authorization to perform hot work operations via the HOT WORK PERMIT and shall handle the equipment safely and use it so as not to endanger lives and property. The operator is also responsible for:
Ensuring full compliance with the requirements of this procedure.
Be fully qualified to perform required hot work and verify that their equipment and tools are in good working order.
Using appropriate safety equipment, including eye and face protection, hand protection, body protection, head protection, hearing protection and respiratory protection, as needed.
Avoid welding or cutting operations where conditions ARE NOT SAFE.
Stop work when conditions change from those set when work was approved. If the designated fire watch must leave the work site, operations shall cease and the operator shall remain at the work site for at least 30 minutes following job completion to monitor for fires.
5.1 Permissible Areas -- routine hot work operations shall be allowed without the requirement of a permit only in areas that have been designated as a SAFE HOT WORK AREA. For the purpose of this operating procedure the following campus areas are designated as SAFE HOT WORK AREAS:
| Building Name | Specified Locations |
| Dawson Service Center | Welding shop and garage |
| Patterson Hall | Central Plant machine rooms and maintenance shops |
| Meadows -- OFAC | Basement -- welding shop and foundry Scene shop -- welding area |
| SEAS -- Laboratories | Lab 3 -- machine and fabrication shops |
5.2 Permit-Required Areas -- in areas where it is not practical to move the work to a designated SAFE HOT WORK AREA, hot work shall only be permitted once the area is made fire safe by removing combustibles or protecting combustibles from ignition sources.
Hot work operations are strictly prohibited under the following conditions:
In areas not designated as SAFE HOT WORK AREAS where a proper hot work permit has not been obtained;
In sprinklered buildings while such protection is impaired;
In the presence of explosive atmospheres, such as mixtures of flammable gases, vapors, liquids, or dusts with air; On or in any drum, container or vessel that has not been properly cleaned to remove any possible explosive atmospheres that can develop inside from residual contents; or
In areas near the storage of large quantities of flammable or combustible materials that canreadily ignite.
6.1 Preparation of work area -- Before a hot work permit is approved and issued, the department or individual requesting the permit shall verify that:
All welding and cutting equipment to be used is in satisfactory condition and in good repair.
Any combustible materials such as paper clippings, wood shavings or textile fibers on the floor are swept clear for a radius of 35 ft. Floors constructed of combustible materials are properly protected by either wetting the surface or covered by fire-resistant shields. Where floors have been wetted down, personnel operating arc welding or cutting equipment shall be protected from possible shock.
All combustible materials are relocated at least 35 ft horizontally from the work area. Where relocation is not practical, the combustible materials shall be protected with flame-proof covers or otherwise shielded with metal or fire-resistant shields or tarps.
Openings or cracks in walls, floors or ducts within 35 ft of the work area are tightly covered to prevent the passage of sparks to adjacent areas. Where hot work is done near walls, partitions, ceilings or roofs of combustible construction, fire-resistant shields or guards are provided to prevent ignition.
If hot work is to be done on a metal wall, partition, ceiling or roof, that precautions are taken to prevent ignition of combustible materials on the other side, due to conduction or radiation, such as relocation or covering the materials. If the combustible materials can not be relocated or protected, a fire watch shall be provided on the opposite side of the wall where the work is being performed.
No hot work is attempted on a metal partition, wall ceiling or roof having a covering, nor on walls or partitions of combustible sandwich-type panel construction.
Hot work is not undertaken on pipes or other metals that are in contact with combustible walls, partitions, ceilings or roofs, if the work is close enough to cause ignition by conduction.
Nearby personnel are suitably protected against heat, sparks, slag, etc.
Where hot work is to be done in close proximity to a sprinkler head, that the head is covered by a wet cloth to prevent activation. The cloth must be removed immediately at the conclusion of the hot work.
6.2 Designation of Fire Watch -- The department or individual requesting the hot work permit is responsible for designating a fire watch. The fire watch shall:
Have fire extinguishing equipment readily available and be trained in its use.
Know how to activate the building’s fire alarm system, if applicable, or who to notify in the event of a fire.
Watch for fires in all exposed areas, and try to extinguish them first only when obviously within the capacity of the equipment available, or otherwise sound the alarm immediately.
Monitor the work area for at least 1 hour after completion of the hot work to detect and extinguish any smoldering fires that may be identified. The facility manager will continue to monitor the area for an additional 4 hours.
6.3 RMEH&S Notification and Approval - Once the work area has been properly prepared the department or individual requesting the hot work permit shall complete the hot work permit form (see Appendix A) and contact the RMEH&S Fire Safety Group for final review and approval. The Fire Safety Group shall:
Review the permit request and verify that all necessary precautions have been properly taken. If necessary, a visual inspection may be conducted prior to final approval.
Verify that the buildings fire sprinkler system is operational, where applicable. Determine if the work area has any fire alarm detectors that need to be disabled to prevent false alarms, and appropriately disable only those devices that could be accidentally activated.
Verify the location, start time and duration of the hot work operation. A hot work shall only be valid for the time duration identified. No hot work permit shall exceed an 8-hour period. If additional time is needed, the requester must notify RMEH&S for an extension or issuance of a new permit.
Once approved, the permit shall be posted at the work area for the durationof the job.
7.1 Work Stoppage -- - When work is stopped for an extended period of time the equipment must be shut down and secured to prevent accidental sparking. If the work stoppage will exceed the original duration time of the hot work permit, the requester must notify RMEH&S to have the permit extended or to request issuance of a new permit.
7.2 Confined Spaces -- Any hot work that is to be performed in a confined space shall be conducted in accordance with the University Operating Procedure, RMEHS.003, Confined Space Entry Permit Program.
7.3 Welding or Cutting on Containers -- - No cutting, welding, or other hot work is to be performed on any drums, tanks, containers or any vessel that may have contained chemicals or materials that when heated may produce flammable, explosive or toxic atmospheres if the container has not been thoroughly cleaned and prepared.
7.4 Hot Tapping -- - Hot work that must be performed on any utility piping used for the transmission or distribution of flammable gases or liquids shall only be performed by a crew qualified to make hot taps.
7.5 Outside Contractors -- - Contractors shall perform all hot work procedures in accordance with this operating procedure or be able to demonstrate that they have a comparable procedure that meets or exceeds the requirements of this operating procedure.
Personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, respiratory
protection and protective shields and barriers, shall be used and maintained
in a sanitary and reliable condition. Selection of appropriate devices should
be made in accordance with the University Operating Procedure, RMEHS.004, Personal
Protective Equipment hazard Assessment and Selection Program. Outside contractors
are required to provide their own protective equipment and shields,
and no University equipment or tools are to be loaned to outside contractors
Appendix A -- Hot Work Permit Form PDF FILE, RMEHS.005A. This form will download to your computer in PDF format. If you have trouble viewing the form, download the free Acrobat Reader program.
Questions, please contact
James Oravsky 214-768-4203
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