Help Your Workers Avoid Hot Work Incidents
Editor’s note: This new feature in Safe Supervisor will provide supervisors with information they can use to train workers on particular hazards.
The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) says more than 60 workers have lost their lives in the last two decades as a result of explosions and fires related to hot work involving tanks.
Hot work involves tasks such as burning, welding, cutting, brazing, grinding and soldering. Although workers in the oil and gas industry are potentially at greater risk for incidents involving hot work, because they regularly handle flammables, workers across a wide range of industries may also be at risk for injury or death when performing hot work on or near tanks.
A CSB bulletin entitled “Seven Key Lessons to Prevent Worker Deaths During Hot Work in and Around Tanks” can help supervisors train workers on hot work hazards and best practices to avoid injuries or fatalities. Here they are:
1. Use alternatives to hot work: Whenever possible, workers should be encouraged to avoid hot work and use alternative methods. For example, it’s likely safer to dispose of a tank and replace it than to attempt repairs involving welding or other hot work methods
2. Analyze the hazards: Before allowing workers to engage in hot work, supervisors or safety managers need to perform a hazard assessment identifying the scope to the work, any potential hazards and methods of controlling those hazards.
3. Monitor the atmosphere: Many deadly incidents involving hot work have occurred as a result of workers only conducting gas monitoring before starting to weld or cut into a tank. Workers need to be trained in how to conduct gas monitoring, using a properly calibrated combustible gas detector not only prior to, but DURING hot work activities, even in areas where a flammable atmosphere is not anticipated.
4. Test the area: In work areas where flammable liquids and gases are stored or handled, workers need to receive training on how to purge or drain all equipment and piping before hot work is conducted. When welding on or in the vicinity of storage tanks and other containers, workers must properly test and monitor not only the tank or container being worked on, but also all surrounding tanks or adjacent spaces, for the presence of flammables and eliminate potential sources of flammables.
5. Use written permits: Ensure that qualified personnel familiar with specific site hazards review and authorize all hot work and issue permits specifically identifying the work to be conducted and the required precautions.
6. Train thoroughly: Supervisors need to train workers on hot work policies and procedures, proper use and calibration of combustible gas detectors, PPE, and job-specific hazards and controls, in a language they can understand.
7. Supervise contractors: Supervisors need to provide safety supervision for outside contractors conducting hot work. Inform contractors about site-specific hazards including the presence of flammable chemicals.
