No college employee, contractor, or subcontract shall perform hot work unless a Hot Work Permit is obtained prior to the hot work starting. Hot work is defined as work that consists of riveting, welding, flame cutting or other fire or spark producing operation. The college has classified areas on the campus that are designed for hot work, these spaces do not require a permit. Any other location on campus is required to have a permit and should give notice to the EHS office to follow the proper procedure. The hot work permit notification should be given to EHS 5 business days prior to the start of the hot work.
Prior to hot work starting:
- Clear the area of any unnecessary material such as equipment, waste or debris. This will keep fire safety risks to a minimum.
- Set up a designated area for the hot work, any inflammable or combustible materials should be covered with fire resistant material.
- Employees should be equipped with the knowledge, skills, experience, and training to complete the hot work.
- Proper protective equipment should be worn during hot work to prevent injuries such as fire resistant garments, face masks, eye protection, etc.
- A fire extinguisher must be available at the site where hot work is being carried out.
- Smoke/fire detectors need to be disabled that are located in the designated area. Please notify EHS of this so someone can disable the system.
Process once hot work has ended:
- A fire watch must be done for at least 30 minutes after the hot work has concluded to ensure there will be no fire.
- This consists of checking the floors above and below and the adjacent rooms to the designated area where the hot work occurred.
- The smoke/fire detectors that were disabled for the hot work process must be enabled back into the system. Please notify EHS when the hot work is done so we can turn it back on.