Free hot work risk assessment template

What is a hot work risk assessment template?

A hot work risk assessment is the upstream analytical document that justifies issuing a hot work permit. It is the written evaluation of every fire, explosion, vapour and personnel exposure hazard associated with a specific welding, oxy-cutting, grinding, brazing or soldering task, scored before any controls are applied and re-scored after controls have been agreed. Unlike the permit (which is the per-task authorisation that confirms controls are in place at the start of work), the assessment is the prior thinking that decides whether the work should proceed in this location at all, what vapour controls and atmospheric testing are required, how many fire watch personnel must be assigned and for how long, what hot work alternatives have been considered (substitution to mechanical fixing, cold work or relocation to a designated workshop) and what residual risk the supervisor and PCBU are accepting before the permit is written.

The assessment sits at the head of the hot work permit-to-work chain used on Australian construction, mining, processing, marine and facility sites. It is anchored against AS 1674.1 (Safety in welding, brazing, cutting and allied processes - Fire precautions), AS 1674.2 (Electrical hazards), NFPA 51B (Standard for Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting, and Other Hot Work), OSHA 29 CFR 1910.252 (Welding, cutting and brazing - General requirements), UK HSE HSG250 (Guidance on permit-to-work systems), and the UK COSHH framework for solvent and vapour exposure. WHS Regulations 2011 Chapter 3 Part 3.1 also requires the PCBU to identify reasonably foreseeable hazards and apply the hierarchy of controls before the work begins. WHS coordinators, fire wardens and major-project HSE managers complete the assessment at the planning stage, attach it to the permit register and re-run it whenever the location, fuel load, ventilation, adjacent process or fire watch staffing changes materially. Without a documented assessment, a regulator investigating a hot-work fire will find the permit has no evidential basis and the duty holder cannot demonstrate the reasonably practicable test under WHS Act 2011 Section 18.

Learn more about compliance and inspections in MapTrack.

Benefits of digitising forms in MapTrack

When you move your assessments from paper to MapTrack, you get:

• Field users can easily scan a QR code to complete a form on mobile. Unlimited users.
• Automatically get alerts when faults are identified.
• Link every form digitally as a PDF to the relevant asset, location or person.
• Receive a digital PDF copy with every submission to your email.
• Ability to share forms digitally.
• Build conditional logic (show or hide questions based on answers).
• Take pictures or attach photos. Not possible with a paper-based form.
• Electronic signatures.
• Edit forms later without reprinting.
• Restrict permissions (who can view, complete or approve).
• Build forms with AI (describe what you need and MapTrack suggests the form).
• Escalate critical hazards instantly to safety managers via push notification.
• Maintain an auditable safety register that satisfies WHS regulator requests.
• Correlate incident trends across sites with built-in safety analytics.

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What to include in a hot work risk assessment template

This hot work risk assessment template covers 10 key areas:

• Task identification: site, exact location, asset or structure, work description (welding cutting grinding brazing soldering), method, equipment, expected duration and the contractor or trade involved.
• Personnel and competency: hot work operator name and licence, fire watch person identification and training, permit issuer and supervisor, plus any specialist (rope access, confined space, atmospheric tester) supporting the task.
• Fuel load and combustibles: written inventory of combustible materials within the AS 1674.1 11 metre envelope and the NFPA 51B 35 foot envelope above, below and adjacent to the work, including hidden combustibles in cable trays, ceiling voids, insulation, fuel tanks and conveyor systems.
• Vapour and atmospheric hazards: COSHH-style assessment of any solvents, fuels, gases, dusts, residues, paints or coatings present in the structure, plus the LEL, O2, CO and H2S testing strategy required before work and during work.
• Ignition source travel: assessment of how sparks, slag and molten material can travel from the work face, including penetrations, gaps, drains, downpipes and openings the assessor has identified for sealing or protection.
• Fire watch and emergency response: required fire watch headcount, position, equipment (extinguisher type and rating), duration during work and post-work watch period (minimum 30 minutes per AS 1674.1, 60 minutes for higher risk).
• Hierarchy of controls: documented consideration of elimination (no hot work), substitution (cold work, mechanical fixing), isolation (relocate to workshop), engineering (purge, ventilation, shielding), administrative (permit, training, supervision) and PPE.
• Risk matrix and ratings: inherent and residual risk scoring on a 5x5 matrix for each hazard category (fire, explosion, exposure, manual handling, electrical, hot surfaces, falling objects) with the residual band recorded.
• Adjacent area and occupancy: assessment of other workers, public, occupants, plant and stored goods within and beyond the spark envelope, including impact on sprinkler systems, smoke alarms and fire-rated penetrations.
• Sign-off and review trigger: assessor signature, supervisor or permit issuer countersign, valid-from and valid-to time, review triggers (change of location, change of method, change of personnel, change of conditions, incident) and link to the permit number raised against this assessment.

How often should you complete this assessment?

A hot work risk assessment must be completed before the permit-to-work is issued for any welding, cutting, grinding, brazing, soldering or spark-producing task on an Australian construction, industrial, marine or processing site. The assessment is task-specific and location-specific, so a new one is required whenever the work location changes, the method changes (electric arc, oxy fuel, abrasive grinding, induction heating), the structure or fuel load changes, the personnel change or the conditions change (weather, ventilation, adjacent process activity). The assessment must be reviewed and re-issued at the start of each shift if work continues into the following day and after any incident, near-miss or atmospheric anomaly. AS 1674.1 clause 1.4 and NFPA 51B section 5.2 expect the assessment to be reviewed annually as part of the site safety management plan and updated whenever standards, regulations or organisational procedures change. In MapTrack, the assessment is attached to the asset or location record and re-triggered automatically against the permit register so the operator never opens a permit without a current scored assessment behind it.

Applicable regulatory standards

This template aligns with the following regulations and standards:

• AS 1674.1-1997 (Fire precautions in welding cutting brazing)
• AS 1674.2-2007 (Electrical hazards in welding)
• NFPA 51B-2024 (Fire Prevention During Welding Cutting and Other Hot Work)
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.252 (Welding cutting and brazing - General requirements)
• UK HSE HSG250 (Guidance on permit-to-work systems)
• WHS Regulations 2011 Chapter 3 Part 3.1

Related resources

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• hot work permit
• hot work permit template
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• fire risk assessment template
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