If it’s your site or sites, then it’s your rules mate; Suppose it all boils down to……………………………………wait for it.....................................wait for it…………………………………………………………………….........yup you know it coming………….........Risk Assessment ;-) On a more serious/helpful note, then I work in a manufacturing environment and have in the past had cause to use such a heater (due to normal heating system failure); and we did so under such a permit (as it was not for us a routing occurrence). So if you are using them daily for long periods (weeks/months) then a hot work permit might not work as well as desired (in my opinion work permits should not be used for normal daily activities, as they can otherwise loosing there effectiveness /end up being ignored).

A hot work permit for using a propane heater? You're kidding right?? I thought it was March the 1st today not April 1st.

Sorry, should have read......."or the best way of controlling the use of the temporary heater".

If anything a Confined Space permit is more apposite. Seriously these heaters can be the cause of fatalities if the cabins are not ventilated sufficiently and many site cabins on a cold rainy day are not!!! Bob

May I suggest that if you are not aware of the hazards associated with LPG heaters on construction sites then you will have a blasé attitude toward them. I have seen them explode in a fire situation, they take off like missiles and land where the heck they like, they can slice off an arm, (I've seen the result of that myself), and they can produce a flame thrower style effect that can reach many metres away. The misuse I have seen ranges from using the heater to dry fresh plaster and mortar, with the heater place in amongst timber and other combustibles and also too close for comfort to flammables. I even once witnessed a female worker in a factory walk past such a heater and the plastic carrier bag she was carrying just vaporised with the contents falling to the floor. Whether or not you decide to issue a Hot work permit or not there should at least be a risk assessment, and fire risk assessment for the use of such equipment.

No one disputes that propane heater can be dangerous - from both a fire and carbon monoxide issue - but a PTW is not the way to control their use and IMO shows a lack of understanding of what a PTW is for.

They had an Idea of controlling something which is potentially dangerous, by using a document which ensures that the adequate controls are in place before usage is allowed. May not be the right document for the job, but at least it shows that they thought about the risks. I would rather see some control than no control. So IMO not a bad idea

Firesafety I don't think anybody would disagree with what you say - but as Clairel and I have both indicated, the use of a PtW in this case is not the way to control the risk. See HSG250, if I remember correctly A 'mini' fire risk assessment would probably have been sufficient paperwork, from the information we have.

The HSE view is clear here http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis59.pdf Lets forget about permits and FRAs you really ought to be thinking this through. Purpose built cabin designed for gas heating with the cylinder external and fixed pipework. Without this you really are close to the wind. Bob

fiesta - By site heaters do you mean ones which are commonly referred to as torpedo heaters? i.e. ones which basically comprise a horizontal cylinder with a naked flame inside (akin to the back end of a mini-jet engine) and fuelled usually by propane from a separate cylinder or paraffin (kerosene) from a tank beneath the cylinder. During my years as an HSE inspector I saw a fair number of torpedo heaters in various workplaces as they were apparently a cheap and quick way to heat sizeable indoor workspaces - and also noisy, emitted notable quantities of water vapour and could be smelly, especially if the burners weren't kept clean or correctly adjusted. From recollection the main concerns about such heaters were the stability and integrity of the cylinders and hoses for propane fuelled ones, and keeping them positioned so that the heat emitted didn't impinge on combustible items or employees, etc. Even so, as routinely used heating appliances they're not appropriate subjects for Hot work Permits. Similar considerations also apply to LPG cabinet type heaters i.e. ones usually fuelled by butane from cylinders inside their casings.