This document outlines General Electric's (GE) hot work procedure. It establishes guidelines for welding, cutting, and other hot work to prevent fires. A permit is required for hot work outside of designated safe areas, and it must be inspected and approved by a qualified supervisor. Precautions include clearing combustibles, ensuring fire equipment is available, and assigning a fire watch during and after the work. Personnel must be trained on the procedure and permits verified before beginning any hot work.

1. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
1. PURPOSE
1.1. This procedure establishes guidelines, precautions, and work procedures for the General Electric (GE) hot work activities
that may present fire hazards from open flame, sparks, or embers, including electrical and gas welding, cutting and
grinding operations. This procedure outlines the requirements for permitting and inspection, to establish the proper
precautions for the prevention of fires during hot work activities.
1.2. EHS Procedures are not intended to supersede or replace any applicable regulatory requirements. In the event of
conflict between GE EHS Procedures and Governmental standards (i.e. country-specific, Federal, State, County, and City
regulations, codes, statutes, rules, and orders), those of the governing authority prevail. Where governmental standards
are less than those required in the procedure, the operation shall implement the more stringent requirement. Additional
or more stringent customer requirements shall be evaluated by EHS to ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory,
customer & GE requirements.
1.3. Each P&L and/or operation must review and make necessary adjustments to procedures to ensure compliance to
regulatory expectations. Appendix A shall be used by the P&L to input further expectations and Appendix B will be used
by the operation.
1.4. Items that need removed from EHS Procedures must not be deleted but identified by using the strikethrough feature of
Word.
2. SCOPE
2.1. This document applies to operations as defined by the business.
2.2. Newly acquired P&L’s shall comply with this procedure in accordance with a schedule approved by the applicable EHS
Team and shall follow the timetable outlined by their specific business.
3. DEFINITIONS
Term Definition
Business Defined as Oil & Gas (O&G), Power & Water (PW) or Energy Management (EM).
Hot Work Hot work is any temporary or permanent operation involving open flames or producing heat and/or
sparks, including but is not limited to: brazing, cutting, grinding, soldering, torch applied roofing and
welding.
P&L Defined as a component of the Business. (Ex. Thermal or Renewables for PW, Drilling & Surface or
Subsea Systems for O&G, Digital Energy or Industrial Solutions for EM).
Operations Fixed or dispersed locations where GE work is performed.
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2. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
4. PROCEDURE
4.1. Designated Areas
4.1.1. Operations may elect to designate specific areas to be a safe for non-permitted hot work. Designated areas
must be approved by the responsible leader and EHS professional and detailed on Appendix B.
4.1.2. Designated areas must:
4.1.2.1. Not contain combustible and flammable material within 35 feet of the area,
4.1.2.2. Be free of combustible atmospheres,
4.1.2.3. Be provided with weld curtains or barriers,
4.1.2.4. Have an adequate number and type of fire extinguishing systems available (e.g. fire extinguishers,
sprinklers, etc.),and
4.1.2.5. Be clearly marked and identified (e.g., signage, floor markings, etc.)
4.1.3. Operations shall perform hot work activities in a designated area, when practical.
4.1.4. A hot work permit is not required for activities being performed in a designated area except when such hot work
is being performed on equipment which may contain or may have contained a flammable gas or liquid.
4.2. Permit Process
4.2.1. When Hot Work shall be performed outside of a designated area, the employee (either GE or Contractor) must
notify a Qualified Hot Work Supervisor, detailed in Appendix B, that a Hot Work Permit is needed.
4.2.2. The employee and Qualified Hot Work Supervisor are responsible for completing the Factory Mutual (FM) Hot
Work Permit or equivalent document. An example of the FM Hot Work Permit is provided in Appendix C.
4.2.3. The employee and the Qualified Hot Work Supervisor shall inspect the Hot Work Zone to evaluate whether the
activity can be safely conducted.
4.2.4. Inspection shall cover all items listed on the permit and include any special procedures where applicable.
4.2.5. All welding or allied process equipment must be erected, installed, assembled, started, operated, used, handled,
stored, stopped, inspected, serviced, tested, cleaned, adjusted, carried, maintained, repaired, and dismantled in
accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.
4.2.6. The Qualified Hot Work Supervisor shall perform a combustible gas test before issuing a permit where
flammable gases may be present.
4.2.6.1. Work in the area shall be prohibited when the lower explosive limit (LEL) is greater than 10% and/or oxygen
content is greater than 21%.
4.2.7. Prior to beginning any hot work activities, all hazards shall be corrected and special precautions implemented
as specified on the permit.
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3. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
4.2.8. The Qualified Hot Work Supervisor shall verify that all fire suppression systems present in the area are fully
operational. If fire suppression systems cannot be operational, additional protective measures shall be put in
place.
4.2.9. If a hot works process is performed above an area where a worker may be present, the personnel performing
the work must ensure that adequate means are taken to protect a worker below the operation from sparks,
debris, and other falling hazards.
4.2.10. Personnel performing the work are responsible for checking the permit to see if it is current, valid, and properly
signed. Work shall not begin if any signatures are missing, work/site conditions have changed, or the permit is
incomplete or has expired.
4.2.11. The permit shall remain accessible or posted within the job area until all work is completed.
4.2.12. Permitted activities must include a fire watch. They are required to monitor the activity being performed,
throughout all break and lunch periods, and for at least 1 hour following the completion of the permit.
4.2.13. The Fire Watch shall have an appropriately rated fire extinguisher immediately accessible.
4.2.14. If the Fire Watch observes a potential fire hazard or conditions change, he/she shall notify the personnel
conducting the Hot Work activity to stop working and address the situation. The Fire Watch shall notify the
Qualified Hot Work Supervisor of the potential hazard and confirm necessary controls were implemented prior
to restarting the activity.
4.2.15. The Fire Watch shall respond to a fire within the limits of his/her emergency response training and the capacity
of the equipment available (i.e. for incipient stage fires only).
4.2.16. The fire watch shall report all fires and use of the fire extinguisher to the Qualified Hot Work Supervisor as soon
as possible.
4.2.17. Following completion of the hot work the area shall remain under surveillance (e.g. guard tours, supervisor in
area, etc.) for 3 hours. During the surveillance periodic regular visual checks of the area will be made to ensure
that there are no signs of potential fire.
4.2.18. Permits are valid for one shift and one job only. If the permitted activity carries over onto another shift or
individual, another permit shall be issued with the same degree of inspection and control as the preceding shift.
4.2.19. Operations must have a process, detailed in Appendix B, to conduct periodic audits of active permitted hot work
activities to verify proper execution of the requirements.
4.2.20. Contractors performing hot work shall be advised on the location of flammable materials or hazardous
conditions of which they might not be aware, the hot work permitting process, and the fire watch requirements,
as part of their pre-job briefing at the site (see GE EHS10 – Contractor Safety).
4.2.21. GE employees who perform hot work activities at customer sites shall take the necessary steps to understand
the customers’ requirements. If customers hot work permit procedure is as stringent as the GE procedure it
may be used as a substitute.
GE PROPRIETARY UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED OR
TRANSMITTED ELECTRONICALLY
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4. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
5. RECORDS
5.1. Records shall be maintained in accordance with Corporate Record Retention Policy.
6. RESPONSIBILITIES
Role Description
Business
Leadership/EHS shall:
• Update this procedure as necessary
• Provide technical support, as required
P&L Leadership/EHS
shall:
• Ensure implementation of the procedure
• Provide technical support to operations, as required
• Review this procedure and Appendix A on a periodic basis and/or as part of the
investigation of any hot work incident.
Operations shall: • Implement the requirements of this procedure
• Ensure that all personnel are trained in this procedure and adhere to all of its
requirements
• Ensure all personnel assigned to perform Hot Work are qualified
• Review this procedure and Appendix B on a periodic basis and/or as part of the
investigation of any hot work incident.
Employees shall: • Notify the Qualified Hot Work Supervisor prior to performing hot work activities
• Obtain and comply with the Hot Work Permit
• Comply with the requirements of this procedure
• Communicate concerns to supervisor or EHS professional
7. TRAINING
7.1. Personnel responsible for designated aspects (i.e. Qualified Hot Work Supervisor, Welder, & Fire Watch) of this procedure
shall be trained to safely perform their duties. Periodic refresher training will be completed as needed.
7.2. Gensuite Training Tracker shall be used to identify, schedule and track required training.
8. APPENDICES
8.1. Appendix A – P&L Specific Information
8.2. Appendix B – Operation Specific Information
8.3. Appendix C – FM Hot Work Permit Example
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5. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
Appendix A – P&L Specific Information
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6. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
Appendix B – Operation Specific Information
Name of Qualified Hot Work Supervisors:
Designated Hot Work Areas:
Area Name: Description:
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7. Hot Work Procedure
Proc. #: EHS 13.A
Rev.: 1.1
Appendix C- FM Hot Work Permit Example
GE PROPRIETARY UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED OR
TRANSMITTED ELECTRONICALLY
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