Cold Work Permit

Last Updated on June 12, 2024 | Permit Management

Every worksite has potential hazards that can turn into ‘little accidents.’ And sometimes, these minor accidents can have catastrophic consequences.

In each of these risky circumstances, we must take preventive measures to reduce the chance of such unforeseeable accidents. And this starts with having a systematic safety protocol for every job that starts with a work permit.

While many place emphasis on jobs involving fire or other ignition sources, we need to equally recognize and prioritize the hazards related to cold works too.

Table of contents:

What Is a Cold Work Permit?
Why Do You Need a Cold Work Permit?
What Are the Types of Cold Works That Require Permits?
What Does a Cold Work Permit Contain?
How Does a Cold Work Permit Work?
Cold Work Permit Template

What Is a Cold Work Permit?

A Cold Work Permit is a crucial safety document in industrial operations, specifying conditions and precautions for tasks that don't involve fire risks or high temperatures. It ensures that non-hot work activities, such as mechanical repairs or routine maintenance, are conducted safely, minimizing potential hazards in the workplace.

There are several types of cold work jobs happening in plants:

Rolling
Spinning
Drawing
Extruding
Pressing

In a typical working environment, cold work activities involve working on pipelines, adding values, spades or blanks, erecting scaffolding, adding insulation, or involving any mechanical or civil maintenance work without using any flaming materials.

In some industries, cold work can also include working with corrosives, resins, solvents, chemical cleaning, radiation or electrical equipment.

Any work permit that sets the guidelines for performing these cold work activities under a controlled environment comes under a cold work permit. A cold work permit will contain every precautionary measure the employees need to follow when involved in cold works.

Every employee should obtain a permit before starting the job and follow the instructions to a ‘T’ to create a safe working atmosphere.

Why Do You Need a Cold Work Permit?

To put it simply, a cold work permit is essential for the safety of both the workers involved in the job as well as those in the vicinity. In a volatile atmosphere, a simple overlook of the permit protocols can lead to disastrous results.

Even when there’s no risk of ignition involved, the use of heavy machinery and handling of toxic or dangerous metals and chemicals will pose a risk to everyone in the facility. When we go by the book and follow the cold work permit protocols, we can minimize the chances of such unwanted accidents and ensure the safety of everyone.

What Are the Types of Cold Works That Require Permits?

In a normal working place, the usual cold work jobs involve changing the electrical wiring, changing the pipelines, taps or values and some rare jobs in confined spaces, whereas, in an industry, there are a lot more cold work activities happening in a day.

During every one of these jobs, the workers have to adhere to the safety protocols, wear proper PPE and take extreme precautions before, during and after any cold work.

Here are some of the standard cold works that happen in an industry:

Energized electrical work
Movement of heavy equipment within a plant or a location
Working from heights
Confined space cold works
Jobs involving toxic substances
Jobs involving radiation sources
Underwater cold works
Excavation activities
Sandblasting
Hydroblasting

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Free Permit templates to start with. Available on web and mobile.

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What Does a Cold Work Permit Contain?

A cold work permit will contain all the necessary prerequisites for conducting the job safely like:

The date when the job has to be conducted
The location of the job
The duration of the job
The name of the person responsible for the job
The job description
Hazards and risks of the job
PPE requirements
Details of the person applying the permit and approving the permit
Requirements for conducting the Cold Work monitoring and fire monitoring protocols
Cold Work checklist before starting the job
Cold Work protocols for jobs in confined spaces and walls/ceilings
Risk assessment documents, if needed
Final checkup after the job
Handover procedures and cancellation protocols

How Does a Cold Work Permit Work?

In most industries, the operator or the person responsible for asset management issues a cold work permit. If more workers are involved in the cold work with individual responsibilities, then the operator(s) will issue individual cold work permits.
Once the cold work permit is filled, the operator will check and provide authorization to perform the task. If any changes are to be made, the operator will ask the responsible person to make the edits.
As soon as the operator signs the permit and authorizes the work, the worker responsible will also sign it, acknowledging their responsibilities.
Once the permit is approved and signed by both parties, it will then be entered in a directory outlining the scope and location of the work.

The worker can begin the job at the site after getting the permit. This permit is usually valid for one whole shift or for the entire duration of the job, based on permit conditions.

Cold Work Permit Template

A cold work permit prepares the entire team to be cautious about the job, understand the risks, and take precautions. Every cold work requires a permit irrespective of the size or nature of the job.

But if the cold work permits are entirely on paper, it can take quite a lot of time to get approval and start the job. And this could mean the loss of your employees’ productive hours.

But with an online cold work permit template, like the one on Safetymint, you can get a cold work permit approved within minutes! Safetymint’s cold work permit comes in a fully customizable format that can be edited based on your organization’s requirements. We have several pre-created online forms for the permit to work template including the following: