Hot work in Indiana and Illinois can mean many things, like working in the extreme heat of steel mills, commercial bakeries, or on road work crews in the middle of August. However, from the perspective of industrial experts, safety agencies, and those advocating for on-the-job accident victims and their loved ones, “hot work” has a specific meaning. It involves some very dangerous and high-risk undertakings for workers in construction as well as mining, mills, manufacturing, and maritime endeavors.
What is Hot Work?
The Environmental Protection Agency defines hot work as “… work involving electric or gas welding, cutting, brazing, or similar flame or spark-producing operations.” Examples of industrial hot work include:
- welding
- riveting
- cutting
- grinding
- drilling
- soldering
- brazing
- torch-applied roofing.
It is covered by a series of industrial safety regulations overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”). For marine operations, as an example, 29 CFR 1917.152(a) covers maritime hot work as “riveting, welding, flame cutting or other fire or spark-producing operation” which may occur on board or at various shipyard or dock locations.
Hot work is very dangerous because not only is it (1) a life-threatening risk for the individual worker but (2) it involves the possibility of fire or explosion in the workplace, where a great many people may be seriously injured or killed. These can be devastating industrial accidents.
A few examples of industrial worksites where hot work poses a risk to employees on the job include construction, steel production, shipping, food processing, paper manufacturing, waste treatment, fuel storage, motor vehicle manufacturing, and oil and gas production.
Hot Work Oversight: Employers’ Duty of Safety and Care
Protecting against the risks of a deadly accident involving hot work is the duty of the employer, owner, and operator of the work site. This is a multi-faceted responsibility that must be respected with all reasonable and proper safety steps. This legal duty may include the following:
Hot Work Permit
It is the responsibility of the employer to determine whether or not a legal permit is needed for any hot work to be done on the job site. Harvard University, for instance, has an online hot work policy delineating when a permit is required (“designated hot work areas” do not need a special permit).
To the extent that a hot work permit is required, the permit issuer will oversee the hot work after investigating the job site and deciding upon all necessary safety precautions that must be undertaken before the hot work can commence. Once the hot work permit is signed, a properly trained and approved hot work operator can begin work.
Training and Supervision of the Hot Work Operators
The company duty of care and safety extends not only to the confirmation of the hot work area itself, but also of the individuals who will be performing these tasks. No matter the type of hot work (welding, grinding, etc.), the hot work operator must be:
- Trained with how to perform the hot work tasks with current industry safety standards;
- Educated on all known safety risks involved with the tasks at hand;
- Provided with hot work equipment that has been inspected and deemed safe for use;
- Provided with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”); and
- Protected by restricted access to the hot work area.
Oversight of the Hot Work Operations
While the hot work is being done, the company has an extended responsibility to make sure that things remain safe and secure as the work progresses. This includes:
- Keeping alert for any fire hazards that may start a blaze, such as sparks or smoldering materials;
- Placing, as well as maintaining in proper operation, fire equipment such as fire hoses and fire extinguishers at the hot work area;
- Having a hot work supervisor at the site with authority to stop hot work if dangers are identified; and
- Educating all at the hot work site of steps to take in the event of risk or danger, including emergency procedures and exit protocols.
Catastrophic or Deadly Hot Work Injuries on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
Whether at work in a steel mill, construction site, auto manufacturing plant, or marine facility, workers in Indiana and Illinois face the risk of serious or fatal injuries caused by hot work failures on the job site.
Hot work operators may suffer serious or fatal burns where the tragedy involves the individual worker and the loss suffered by loved ones in the aftermath of death. In other industrial accidents, hot work can cause horrific worksite disasters where a number of workers in or near the hot work area are severely injured or perish.
In these preventable accidents, legal investigations must be undertaken to determine if these workers were victims of hot work management failures on the part of the employer.
Oversight and control of hot work on any industrial job site is a very distinct and detailed legal obligation imposed by the state laws of Indiana and Illinois, and in some instances by federal law. Negligence, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death protections may provide avenues for justice to hot work accident victims if evidence reveals things like:
- Company failure to get a hot work permit;
- Company failure to take reasonable and necessary steps to hire, train, and educate those tasked with the hot work;
- Employer failure to provide hot work equipment that was in proper working order;
- Employer failure to monitor and approve the hot work area as safe prior to commencement of the hot work;
- Employer failure to inspect and approve the hot work area as safe during hot work operations;
- Company failure to restrict the hot work area; and
- Company failure to provide fire protection equipment in good working order.
For more, read:
- Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents
- Explosives and Fire: Workplace Explosion Accidents
- Construction Worker’s Risk of Dying on the Job Jumps 41% According to New Report
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care
- The Jones Act vs. the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for Maritime Workers.
Hot work endangers workers every day on the job here in Indiana and Illinois because it is a vital component of so many of our important industries, from shipping and transport, to steel, construction, and manufacturing. Welders and other hot work operators should be aware not only of the risks they face at their workplace, but the complex duties of care and safety their employers are legally required to maintain. Please be careful out there!
