Hot Work Assessor

The demand for a Hot Work Assessor is extremely high, especially in the Oil&Gas (O&G) & Shipyard Industry. The reason is, a lot of cutting, welding, gouging, grinding of metal is involved in these two mentioned industry. A Safety Assessor certification can be obtained from NTUC LearningHub. So, what is the standard procedure?

1. Hot work permit will be raised by the supervisor responsible for the work in the daily safety committee meeting.
2. Hot work assessor will then check if any incompatible work conducted within the period of hot work. (eg: spray painting in the adjacent or in the actual tank). Coordinating the works will be recommended.
3. Hot work assessor will then conduct check on the location of hot work to be conducted. Ensure that you check not only at the actual location but also at the adjacent location.
4. Ensure that any fire protection requirements (e.g fire cloth) are in place before the work is allow to proceed.
5. If the cleaning job or fire-protection placement are unsatisfactory, reject the hot work permit. Request improvement before conducting the 2nd check.
6. Repeat step 4 & 5 until satisfactory.
7. Allow hot work in confined space for up to 7 days. Non-confined space for up to 14 days.
8. Supervisors are to renew the permits if expired. Expired hot work permits are not allowed to be use.
9. After the hot work had completed. The supervisor shall inform the Safety Committee & return the hot work permit to the Hot Work Assessor for record keeping.

So, is it very dangerous? Well, the answer will be yes if you are not willing to spend quality time in addressing the status of the area where hot work is going to be conducted. For example:

Cutting of vertical metal panel will require your full attention. You'll be surprise that the cutting sparks can fly or travel up to 15 metres or more. Mainly depends on the height of work to be conducted. Any oil, sludge residue or fuel fumes will be ignited if the sparks falls on it. Hence, proper & thorough cleaning is required. The greatest obstacles that you will be facing will be from the Project Engineer. He/she might attempt to save cost in cleaning the oil/sludge area & rush you to approve the work. Hence, you (as a safety officer) need to check & inspect until you feel confident & satisfied with the condition before you sign the hot work permit. Remember, once signed, you are responsible for any mishap occur from the hot work.

You might wanna note that a fire watch is mandatory required whenever a hot work is being conducted. The Fire watch shall be equip with a working fire extinguisher & to stand-by at the hot work area at all times. His duty is to extinguish any open flame that occur during the course of hot work. Notwithstanding, he's required to monitor the hot work after completion for a consecutive 4 hours.

So, that's the brief explanation of a Hot Work Assessor. I would recommend that conduct regular inspection of hot work to improve your judgement. In this field, experience is everything. It's perfectly alright to be extra careful. Don't let peer pressure get you. Remember, it's you who sign the permit. Not them. They just want to complete their job ASAP. Be firm! All the best to you.