Many hot work operations are performed by outside contractors, these include cutting, welding, joint soldering, paint removal, reroofing, etc. The tendency is to relax rigid procedures for contractors assuming they know their jobs. However, this practice has produced a discouraging loss history. Hot work by itself is a hazardous process. When outside contractors are involved, the risk of fire increases simply because contractors don’t understand the hazards at the facility. FM Global loss history shows the risk of fire can increase over 100% when outside contractors are involved in hot work WITHOUT facility supervision. Between 1995 and 2010, contractors have accounted for 66.5% of hot work losses at FM Global client properties. Continuing hot work losses show that contractors often don’t understand the fire hazards within a customer’s facility or how the hot work they perform can initiate those fires. (See Table 1.)
FM Global UPDATES their Hot Work Fire Statistics involving contractors (2013)
