Welding 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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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
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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
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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

MIG welding a pump frame in a plant room

MIG welding bare mild steel at floor level in a closed plant room, with on-torch extraction, while the retail park keeps trading.

See the risk assessment Download PDF Download Word

What to change

Company, people, site and dates
Who issues the permit, and who is fire watcher
What captures the fume: outdoors, extraction cannot be relied on and RPE does the work
Whether the steel is painted: paint means a different fume and a prepared surface
The size of the room and how air gets in: a small closed space may be a confined space
Whether the frame carries any part of the building: then an engineer decides first
What is stored or lagged near the work
Emergency arrangements

Sources

Checked 2 November 2026

The same sheet as text

Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.

MIG welding a pump frame in a plant room

Job details

CompanyHollins & Reed Metalwork Ltd
Site and work areaPlant room, Kingsway Retail Park, Stockport
Planned dates10 and 11 November 2026
CustomerKingsway Retail Park Management Ltd
In charge on siteDan Hollins
TeamTwo people: Dan Hollins welds; Priya Shah is the fire watcher and does no hot work.
WorkMIG welding a pump frame in a plant room
Risk assessmentMIG welding a pump frame in a plant room: worked example RAMS, a separate document

Work and boundaries

MIG weld a new steel pump frame. Areas: Plant room, new pump base frame on the existing plinth

Working arrangement

Access: the floor or ground.
The work area will be kept clear of other people.
The retail park keeps trading. The plant room, about 8 m by 6 m and built in 2009, is closed to everyone else while we work, with the door shut and the low and high louvres kept clear. The facilities manager issues the hot-work permit and walks the room with us. The screen keeps sparks off the low louvres, so they are not boarded. The pump maker’s drawing calls for a welded base frame, so bolting will not do, and the frame is too big for the door in one piece. The sections are cut in our workshop and welded here, so nothing is cut on site. A fault that would need grinding out stops the work and is reported. Our weld procedure covers the joints and how the steel is cleaned. The frame stands on the existing plinth and carries only the pump: no part of the building rests on it. The lagging on the pipes nearby is covered before we start. Dan Hollins wears flame-resistant overalls and gauntlets. Both of us wear powered air helmets, because the room is small and fume can linger. Priya Shah stays behind the screen by the door, where she can see the work. Hot work stops at 15:00, the watch runs to 16:00, and the last check is at 17:00.

Emergency arrangements

Fire: shout, break the glass at the call point outside the plant room door, and leave down the service corridor. While the detectors are off, Priya Shah is the detection for that zone: she raises the alarm first and tackles a fire only if it is safe. Close the gas cylinder if you can do it safely. Muster at the rear service yard and report to the facilities manager, who tells the fire service the shielding gas cylinder is on the welding trolley in the plant room. Burn or anyone taken ill: first aider S. Okafor, facilities office. Priya Shah rings 999, or Dan Hollins if she cannot. The facilities team meets the crew at the service yard gate and walks them down the corridor.

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. Check the welding equipmentInspect the set, leads, torch, gas hose and connectors before plugging in. Check the wire feeds cleanly and the extraction runs. Withdraw damaged equipment from use.
3. Check for hidden servicesFind cables and pipes before you disturb anything: drawings, then a detector. Mark what you find. Nothing on this job is cut into or isolated. Not sure what is there? Do not start: ask the site contact.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Clean the steel and clamp the partClean the steel at each weld as the weld procedure says. Clamp the part in place before you strike the arc.
7. 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.
8. Secure the shielding gas cylinderBring only the cylinder the job needs and secure it upright on the welding set trolley, before use. Close the cylinder valve before connecting or disconnecting anything, and at the end of each shift. Keep the hose free of kinks and clear of hot metal.
9. Screen the arc from other peopleSet a welding screen around the work before striking the arc. Wear the correct welding filter and covering clothing.
10. Capture welding fume at the torchUse the on-torch extraction on every weld, set up to the maker’s instructions. Any air it discharges into the work area must be filtered. The torch does not catch all of it, so the welder also wears a powered air welding helmet with an APF of at least 20. Keep your head out of the plume.
11. 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.
12. Work under the permitWeld only what the permit covers. 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.
13. Check each finished weldLook over every finished weld before you move on. Put right small faults on the spot, such as a poor stop or start. If you see a crack, stop and report it. Keep a record that the welds were checked.
14. 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.
15. 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.

See both together in the Welding RAMS example.

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 Welding 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.