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General HSE Management & Emergency

Stop Work Authority

Practical HSE guidance for empowering workers to pause unsafe work and restart only after controls are restored, with field-ready controls, verification points and stop-work triggers.

Independent HSE guide7 min readControlled Risk

Overview

Stop Work Authority should be managed through a planned system of work: identify the task-specific hazards, eliminate exposure where practical, use engineered or collective controls before relying on PPE, verify critical safeguards before starting, and stop the task when controls are missing or conditions change. This guide applies those principles specifically to empowering workers to pause unsafe work and restart only after controls are restored.

Main Hazards

  • • Production pressure discouraging intervention
  • • Work restarting before the reason for the stop is resolved
  • • Uncontrolled changes, unclear responsibilities or missing communication
  • • People entering hazards without adequate planning or verification
  • • Delayed response to changing conditions, incidents or warning signs

Required PPE

  • ✓Site minimum PPE as required by the task and work area
  • ✓High-visibility clothing where vehicle interaction exists

Essential Controls

  1. 1Make clear that any worker can pause work when a serious hazard or failed critical control is observed.
  2. 2Require reassessment, corrective action and authorization before restart when the stop involved a critical hazard.
  3. 3Define responsibilities, critical controls and stop-work triggers before work begins.
  4. 4Communicate the plan in a way workers can understand and verify understanding.
  5. 5Use field verification, observations and supervision to confirm controls remain effective.
  6. 6Learn from deviations, near misses and incidents and close corrective actions.

Common Mistakes

  • ×Using paperwork as proof that field controls are effective
  • ×Continuing after conditions change without reassessment
  • ×Closing actions administratively without field verification
  • ×Failing to involve the people who perform the work

Pre-work Verification

  • ✓Roles, hazards and critical controls are understood
  • ✓Worksite conditions match the approved plan
  • ✓Stop-work and emergency communication are known

Escalation & Emergency Response

When critical controls fail or conditions become uncertain, stop the activity, make the area safe, notify the responsible supervisor/HSE function and restart only after reassessment and authorization.

Technical References

OSHA links lead to official US regulations. Always confirm local legal requirements, scope of applicability, and site-specific procedures. Other listed sources remain informational references until their official links are verified.

OSHA General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1)

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