Open Standby Fire Watch Courses
Standby Fire Watching Training
Standby Fire Watch Training: A study by the Fire Protection Association, looking at the ten-year period between 2000 and 2008, found that hot works caused a total of £70m worth of damage, including 164 individual fires that caused over £250,000 worth of damage each.
In response to these figures, the Hot Work Permit Scheme was introduced, to ensure that workers, and their supervisors, had the correct skills and understanding of the risks involved in safely conducting hot works and reduce the chances of causing a fire. This hot work permit has become widely accepted across the construction industry.
Availability
Who Is Standby Fire Watch Training For?
Hot work permit training, also known as the Hot Work Passport, is aimed at operatives who are conducting hot work, as well as managers, supervisors, and site safety officers who are overseeing the work and who are responsible for the overall health and safety of the site.
While a permit is not strictly compulsory, many companies, and their insurers, will not allow you to conduct hot works without one, so it is an essential qualification for anyone interested in gaining work in this field.
Standby Fire Watching
HOT WORKS ARE DEFINED AS WORK THAT INCLUDES:
- Gas/electric welding cutting apparatus
- Blowlamps/blowtorches
- Bitumen/tar boilers
- Grinding wheels and cutting discs
- Brazing and soldering
- Any temporary operation or task that involves open flames or the production of heat or sparks.
The hot work permit is a legal document and defines individual responsibility, and therefore liability, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) order 2005, CDM Regulations 2015, and the Health and Safety at Work act 1974.
What Will I Learn?
Candidates will learn how to work safely in a hot works environment, including how to assess the risks, prepare the workspace, perform the work safely and monitor the workspace afterwards.
The course will outline your responsibilities to yourself, to those around you, and to the building or construction site in which you are working. It can be tailored to the specific requirements of individual industries and workplaces, to focus on the day-to-day risks encountered by the workforce.
What Does The 'Hot Work Permit' Training Cover?
Hot work permit training covers the entire job, from planning to post-work protection, including:
Risk Assessment
- Identifying the precise risk of fire
- Identifying sources of ignition and flammable materials
- Identifying the risk to people working nearby
- Recording the findings of the risk assessment
Fire Prevention Measures
- Deciding if work could be carried out elsewhere
- Clearance and protection of the work area
- Protection of composite panels and voids
- Assessment/clearance of escape routes
- Removal of non-essential personnel
- Equipment used for hot work
- Gas welding and cutting apparatus
- Electric welding and cutting equipment
- Bitumen tar boilers
- Grinding wheels and cutting discs
Precautions Following Hot Work
- Clearance of the area including hot tools and waste materials
- Arranging fire watch for at least 60 minutes.
Course Duration
Hot work permit training takes 7 hours and is usually completed in one day. Start times can be varied for in-house training to meet the demands of shift work and staff availability, while open courses generally run from 9 am to 5 pm.
Course Assessment
The course is continually assessed to ensure that all candidates have understood the information at each stage.