SSOW stands for safe system of work. It is the formal procedure that results from examining a job and deciding how it will be done without harm: the sequence, the equipment, the people, the controls and the checks. The phrase comes from the common law duty on an employer and is carried into section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which names systems of work that are safe and without risks to health.
How one is built
Assess the task rather than the workplace in general. Identify the hazards and who is exposed. Decide the controls in the proper hierarchy. Write the sequence down as a method statement. Brief the people who will do it. Then check, during and after, that the system is being followed and that it works. The last step is the one that turns a document into a system.
Written, verbal and permit systems
Not every safe system needs paper. A simple, familiar, low risk task can be controlled by a verbal system that everyone knows. As risk rises the system becomes written, and at the top it becomes a permit, where a named person authorises the work to start, defines the conditions, and takes it back at the end. Choosing the right level matters: permits for everything devalue the permit.
Hot works, and why it gets a permit
Hot work is anything producing heat, sparks or flame: welding, cutting, grinding, brazing, soldering, using a blowtorch on a roof. It is a leading cause of serious building fires, and the danger is rarely at the moment of work. It is in the smouldering that starts in a void or under insulation and shows itself an hour later, which is why the fire watch after work stops is the part of the permit that actually matters.
What the hot works permit and assessment must control
Removing combustibles from the area or protecting them, checking for voids and hidden combustibles behind and below the work, isolating or covering detection so a false alarm is not defeated by disabling the system, having the right extinguisher immediately at hand, a defined stop time before the end of the working day, and a fire watch continuing for a set period after work finishes with a documented final check.
Questions people ask about ssow
What does SSOW mean?
Safe system of work: the formal procedure setting out how a task will be carried out safely, derived from the risk assessment.
Is a safe system of work the same as a method statement?
The method statement is usually the written form of it. The system is the whole arrangement including the briefing, supervision and the checks that it is being followed.
Do hot works always need a permit?
Not by statute, but a permit is the recognised control and insurers commonly require one. The greater risk is at the end of the job, which is why the permit sets a stop time and a fire watch period.
Who authorises a permit to work?
A named, competent person with the authority to stop the work, who is not the person carrying it out. Self-authorised permits defeat the purpose of the system.