Hot works method statement example
Finished method statements for common jobs: the steps in order, who does each, and the emergency arrangements. Read one, download it, or build your own.
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- Electrical second fix and testing in a house refurbishmentLived-in 1970s house, accessories and consumer unit fitted, one circuit dead at a time, tested dead then live before handover.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Hot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouseSteel brackets cut out and replaced on a live bay, with a permit for each shift and a separate fire watcher.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Erecting an independent tied scaffold on a two-storey houseIndependent tube and fitting scaffold to a TG20 compliance sheet, family at home, rescue kit on the wagon.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Stripping and re-tiling a pitched roof from a scaffoldLived-in house, tiles, battens and underlay off, one section made weathertight each day.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Digging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drainBeside a lived-in house, services located first, excavator then hand tools, trench sheets and props before anyone goes in.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Repainting occupied officesWater-based paint from a podium, walls filled and sanded first, one bay screened off at a time while staff work on.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Bathroom first and second fix in a lived-in houseOnly bathroom replaced, press-fit pipework under the floor and in a duct, tested before anyone closes it up, suite fitted after tiling.5 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Tarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly openOld surface tested and planed off, private retail car park, laid bay block by bay block with shoppers around.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Unloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loaderPacks of blocks and plasterboard landed on a small building site, on a standing lift plan reviewed for this site.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Cleaning the outside of a two-storey office with a water-fed poleAll from the ground, in an open office set back behind its own car park, on cold November mornings.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- MIG welding a pump frame in a plant roomMIG welding bare mild steel at floor level in a closed plant room, with on-torch extraction, while the retail park keeps trading.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Stripping out a vacant single-storey workshopOffice ceiling, partitions, carpet and benches out by hand, building empty, every service including the fire alarm disconnected on a certificate, lit by roof lights and a 110 V string.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Skimming and patching walls in an occupied houseGround floor living room of a 2006 house, family at home, plaster mixed in the room with the door shut, from a hop-up.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Building a garden wall in blockwork and facing brickA 5 m long, 1 m high wall, one brick thick, on a foundation already in, laid from the ground.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Core drilling a flue hole through a cavity blockwork wallOne 125 mm wet core, rig fixed to the inner leaf, through an external wall of a single-storey extension, with the core caught outside.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Replacing damaged ceiling tiles and grid in an occupied office, out of hoursLike-for-like tiles and tees on the existing hangers, from a podium, with the offices empty and the fire alarm left live.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Clearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladderEight ladder positions of under 15 minutes each, one hand on the ladder, with a stand-off keeping it clear of the gutter.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Laying a block paved patio in a lived-in gardenDug out by hand to 250 mm, sub-base compacted, blocks laid on sand and cut wet, family at home.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Hanging office doors in existing linings, out of hours in a working buildingSix heavy non-fire meeting room doors, trimmed and routed on trestles after the staff have gone.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
Hot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouse
Steel brackets cut out and replaced on a live bay, with a permit for each shift and a separate fire watcher.
What to change
- Company, people, site and dates
- Who issues the permit, and who is fire watcher
- What is stored and how it burns
- Detector and sprinkler zones
- Indoors or outdoors: fume control changes
- Hot works finish time against site closing time
- Emergency arrangements
Sources
- HSE HSG168: fire safety in construction
- HSE: other welding risks
- HSE: mild steel welding fume
- Fire safety risk assessment: factories and warehouses
Checked
The same sheet as text
Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.
Hot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouse
Job details
- CompanyHollins & Reed Fabrications Ltd
- Site and work areaUnit 3, Canal Side Business Park, Stockport: Bay 6
- Planned dates12 to 14 October 2026
- CustomerThornley Vale Estates Ltd
- In charge on siteDan Hollins
- TeamThree people: Dan Hollins leads and welds; Tom Ellis cuts and grinds; Priya Shah is the fire watcher and does no hot work.
- WorkHot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouse
- Risk assessmentHot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouse: worked example RAMS, a separate document
Work and boundaries
- Grind/cold cut, fuel-gas cut, arc weld. Areas: Bay 6, steel beam over grid lines 12 to 16; The floor below and around the work, and the far side of the Bay 6 partition
Working arrangement
- Access: a podium.
- Working height: brackets at about 2.5 m.
- Ground or floor: level concrete slab.
- Gas set: Oxygen and propane.
- Other people will be using the area.
- The warehouse keeps trading; Bay 6 is closed to trucks and staff, behind barriers and screens, while we work. The engineer’s drawing rules out bolting the new brackets, so heat is needed for this work and no other. Hot work runs only on the shift manager’s permit for this bay and this shift, shown at the work. It stops two hours before the end of the working day. Two extinguishers stay at the work. The fire watcher stays for at least an hour after the last hot work, and there is one more check two hours after it. Which detectors go off, and who puts them back on and when, is agreed with the shift manager first.
Emergency arrangements
- Fire: break the glass at call point CP14, by the Bay 6 door, and leave. Priya Shah raises the alarm first and tackles a fire only if it is safe; while the zone’s detectors are off she is the detection for that zone. Gas off at the cylinder if you can do it safely. Muster at Yard B and report to the shift manager. Tell the fire service the cylinders are on the trolley at Bay 6. First aid: J. Patel, goods-in office, including burns. Priya Shah rings 999; J. Patel meets the crew at gate 2 and goods-in stops all trucks.
Planned method
- 1. Set up the work areaConfirm the work area and scope before starting. Keep other people outside the active work area. Keep entrances and escape routes clear.
- 2. Keep people clear of the workAgree how people get past or around the work while it is going on. Put barriers or signs where a route crosses the work. Do not leave open work unattended.
- 3. Check the wheel and guardCheck the wheel type, speed and mounting before use. Fit the guard and side handle; stop if the guard cannot stay between you and the wheel.
- 4. Check the welding equipmentInspect the machine, leads, holder, torch and connectors before plugging in. Withdraw damaged equipment from use.
- 5. Check for asbestos before you disturb anythingCheck the asbestos survey covers exactly what you will disturb, to the full depth. Register only, or nothing: get a refurbishment survey or a sample first. Read what it says about old lagging, boards and panels around the steel and pipework. No survey, or a material you do not recognise: stop and get it checked.
- 6. Find and isolate hidden servicesFind cables and pipes before you disturb anything: drawings, then a detector. Mark what you find. Not sure what is there? Turn the supply off, or do not start. Have cables and gas isolated by the right person and prove them dead before you start.
- 7. Stop things falling on people belowKeep people out of the area below the work so nobody walks under the tools, hot metal and slag. Keep toe boards and guards in place on any platform, and lanyard tools where you can.
- 8. Set up access equipmentUse access equipment suited to the task and work area. Check the equipment before use. Keep the area below the work controlled.
- 9. Carry the steel, tools and metal parts safelyPlan the route, clear it, and get help with anything long or heavy. Store materials close to the work so nobody carries further than they need to.
- 10. Check and clean the metal before cuttingRemove dirt and grease where the method allows. Do not flame cut a former fuel or chemical container without safe certification.
- 11. Prove it dead before you cut into itMetalwork often carries cables, conduit or trunking. Get the circuit switched off, locked off and proved dead first. Do not cut, grind or weld on anything still live.
- 12. Clear combustibles before hot workWalk the area with the site contact. Check around the work, below it and on the other side of any partition. Move combustible material away, or cover it with flame-resistant covers. Protect openings with non-combustible board. Agree which detector zone is isolated, who isolates it and who puts it back on. Place at least two suitable extinguishers at the work and post a fire watcher who is not doing the hot work.
- 13. Assess vibration from the grinderNote how long each person's hands are on each tool while it runs. Take the tool's vibration figure from the maker or HSE's table and check it fits how you use it. Points per hour times hours on the trigger, added up for the day, gives the exposure: 100 points is the action value, 400 is the limit. HSE's vibration calculator does the sum. Over 100, cut it with lower-vibration kit or less time, and never pass 400. Write the result down. Sharing the work does not replace this.
- 14. Check the gas set before lightingBring only the cylinders the job needs, secured upright on a trolley, and check the torch, hoses, regulators and connections. Keep oxygen fittings free from oil and grease.
- 15. Fit flashback arrestersFit the correct arresters to the oxygen and fuel hoses near the regulators. Check the torch, hoses and arresters before use.
- 16. Check for gas leaks safelyTest suspected leaks with leak fluid, never with a flame. Keep hose runs protected from hot metal, sharp edges and traffic.
- 17. Control the flame and slag pathWork out where the flame, slag and sparks can go, including the far side and lower levels. Protect openings with non-combustible board before the torch is lit.
- 18. Set up the cut safelyClamp the piece so it cannot twist or close on the blade. Support the offcut before the final part of the cut.
- 19. Protect eyes and control sparksWear suitable eye protection and keep people out of the spark and fragment line. Keep the sparks inside the cleared area.
- 20. Clamp the return to clean work metalClamp the current return close to the weld on clean metal. Do not use a handrail, pipe or building frame unless it is the workpiece.
- 21. Screen the arc from other peopleSet a welding screen around the work before striking the arc. Wear the correct welding filter and covering clothing.
- 22. Capture welding fume at sourcePosition LEV at the arc and keep your head out of the plume. Where LEV cannot provide enough control, as is often the case outdoors, wear RPE with an APF of at least 20. Tight-fitting RPE needs a face fit test and a clean shave.
- 23. Get the hot-work permit for this place and shiftGet a permit for this location and this shift, once the area is cleared and the fire cover is in place. It states the place, the times, the precautions, how to raise the alarm, who is in control and who authorised it. Keep a copy on display at the work.
- 24. Work under the permitDo only the cutting, grinding, welding or heating the permit covers. Grinding sparks are hot work too. Keep the fire watcher on duty during the work and through every break. Stop hot work two hours before the end of the working day.
- 25. Shut down the gas setShut off the gas at the cylinder when the cutting finishes. Purge the hoses, then stow the cylinders.
- 26. Complete the fire watch before handbackKeep a continuous fire watch for at least an hour after hot work stops, then make at least one more check two hours after finishing. Inspect behind walls, below floors and in voids before closing the permit. Have the detector zone put back on as soon as the work stops, and sign off the permit.
- 27. Clear and hand back the areaRemove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the customer or whoever runs the site when the work is complete.
What a finished method statement says
- The job and its boundariesWhat is being done, where, and what is not your work.
- How the work area is set upAccess, shared spaces and who else is around.
- The steps, in the order they happenOne action to a step, from arrival to sign-off.
- Who does each stepThe people in charge and the skills each step needs.
- What happens if something goes wrongWho to call, where to go and how help gets in.
Method statement or risk assessment: which one is this?
This is the method statement: how the job is done, step by step. The risk assessment says what could go wrong and what controls it.
Method statement example questions
Are these real jobs?
No. Every job, company, person and address here is made up, and every page says so.
Can I send one as it is?
No. Your site, your people and your emergency arrangements will be different. Change it to fit your job first.
Where is the risk assessment that goes with it?
In the Hot works RAMS example. The method statement names it on page one.
Word or PDF?
Both. Word if you will change the wording yourself, PDF to read or print. Or press Use this and edit it in the builder.
Does a method statement need a risk assessment?
A method statement names the risk assessment it rests on. CDM 2015 does not set a form for either document.
Where is the blank?
On the method statement template page. These examples are all filled in.