Hot work permit software
Hot work permits with the paperwork in before the welder arrives
You issue hot work permits on paper, and after a fire or an insurer’s visit the question is who authorised the job, what they had read and whether the contractor was on site when the permit says. This is the hot work permit in the Permit to Work module on our sign in kiosk, where those three things are one record.
Permit to Work is in early access and has not yet run at a customer site. Last reviewed 2 October 2026.
How it runs
One hot work job, from the request to the gate
- 1
Your manager raises the job
Hot work is one of the permit types. The request names the job and the place, and a link goes to the contractor’s office by email.
- 2
The contractor’s office completes it
Before anybody travels, the office completes its part of the request from that link and uploads the insurance, the RAMS and the COSHH assessments.
- 3
A manager authorises
A manager at your site reads what was uploaded and authorises the permit on the dashboard, or sends it back. Each step is logged with a name, a role and a time.
- 4
The engineer signs in at the kiosk
On the day the engineer enters the company name, a six digit code and their own name on the iPad at your door. They are on the fire roll call while they are on site.
Permit to Work in full, with the ten minute walkthroughVisitor sign in and permit to work on one kiosk: nine questions to ask before you buyThe free paper hot work permitIn pilot: documents asked for only when they expireHot work fires in factories and warehouses: the figures by year and by fire and rescue service
What the guidance says
Hot work permits, in HSE’s words and RISCAuthority’s
Two free documents say what a hot work permit is for. Neither tells you to buy software, and a paper permit can do everything they describe.
Separate permit forms may be required for different tasks, such as hot work and entry into confined spaces, so that sufficient emphasis can be given to the particular hazards present and the precautions required.
HSE, HSG250, Appendix 2, paragraph 2
Hot work permits, typically coloured red or red-edged, are more generally applied to any type of work which involves actual or potential sources of ignition and which is done in an area where there may be a risk of fire or explosion, or which involves the emission of toxic fumes from the application of heat. They are normally used for any welding or flame cutting, for the use of any tools which may produce sparks and for the use of any electrical equipment which is not intrinsically safe or of a suitably protected type.
RISCAuthority, RC7, recommendation 4.7.1.3
A separate permit should be used on every occasion that hot work of any type is undertaken within or upon the fabric of established buildings or any structures or plant, including plant in the open.
RISCAuthority, RC7, recommendation 4.7.5
The completed form should be returned to the issuer and retained for future reference.
HSE, Guidance on permit-to-work systems: a guide for the petroleum, chemical and allied industries (HSG250), first edition, published 2005, free on hse.gov.uk. It was written for those industries, and HSE says following it is not compulsory. RISCAuthority, RC7: Risk control for hot work, Version 9, published 2023 by the Fire Protection Association, free on thefpa.co.uk. RC7 says of itself that it does not represent a pan-insurer perspective and that individual insurance companies will have their own requirements, so read the hot work conditions in your own policy. Both read on 2 October 2026. General information about published guidance, not fire safety advice.
What it costs
The platform, and the module on top
The kiosk platform is £150 a month plus VAT, with setup from £599, and the iPad and stand are included. Permit to Work is £150 a month during early access. Sites that join during early access keep that price for their initial term. Prices exclude VAT.
Being straight with you
What this is not
- Arrival and departure happen at the kiosk iPad at your door. This is not a phone-only permit app, and there is no version of it without the kiosk.
- It does not decide whether the precautions are adequate, who is competent to issue a permit or how long a fire watch lasts. Your fire risk assessment and your insurer’s conditions do.
- It produces a record of who authorised what and when. It does not make a site compliant with anything.
- If you issue a few hot work permits a year, paper is fine, and our free template is the place to start.
Before you ask
Questions about hot work permit software
Can we issue a hot work permit from a phone, without the kiosk?
No. Your managers work in a browser and the contractor’s office works from a link in an email, but the engineer’s arrival and departure are recorded at the kiosk iPad at your door. Permit to Work is a module on the kiosk platform and is not sold without it.
Does the contractor need an app?
No. The office completes its part and uploads its documents from a link in an email, and the engineer signs in on the kiosk with the company name, a six digit code and their own name. Nobody downloads anything.
We issue a few hot work permits a year. Is this worth it?
Probably not. A paper permit that is filled in properly is a good record for a handful of jobs, and the free hot work permit template on this site has the fire precautions already printed on it. This is for a site that issues them most weeks and has started losing track of the paper.
Is it only for hot work?
No. Hot work is one permit type in the Permit to Work module, beside confined space, working at height, electrical isolation, plant and machinery, and general maintenance. Which types are switched on is set up with you and does not change the monthly price.
Next step
Tell us how hot work is permitted at your site today
Fifteen minutes on the phone, or an email. How many hot work jobs a month, who issues the permit and what your insurer has asked to see. We will tell you straight whether the module is worth your time yet.
Book a 15 minute callIf the paper permit is doing the job, keep using it. We will say so.
Would rather email? [email protected]
Or ring 0115 727 0698