Welding or Hot Tapping on Equipment

API Publ 2201, Procedures for Welding or Hot Tapping on Equipment in Service, 4th ed., September 1995. 

The development and implementation of safety procedures for non-routine work are required by OSHA and EPA. These specifically include hot work (such as welding), lockout or tagout, line-breaking, and confined-space entry. Other examples of non-routine work for which procedures should be developed would be excavation, electrical hot work (on energized conductors), hot-tapping (on pressurized piping), and, in some instances, personal protective equipment. 

Hot tap—A procedure used in repair, maintenance, and services activities that involves welding on a piece of equipment (pipelines, vessels, or tanks) under pressure, to install connections or appurtenances. Commonly used to replace or add sections of pipeline without the interruption of service for air, gas, water, steam, and petrochemical distribution systems. 

Hot tap A procedure used in the repair, maintenance, and service activities that involve welding on a piece of equipment under pressure in order to install connections or appurtenances. If hot tap operations are performed at a location, a supervisor for the hot tap must be appointed and an instruction sheet for the hot tap prepared. 

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