Why is permit monitoring important?
Permit monitoring is important to protect your employees, contractors and visitors. Failing to properly monitor work permits can lead to serious accidents which can cost lives, money, jobs and production. Actively monitoring work permits can also help to identify areas for improvement within the business such as organisation, awareness and competence whilst keeping employees and contractors safe on your site.
A permit-to-work is often required for a non-routine activity. These may include maintenance work, engineering work or inspections that may require individuals to work in a hazardous environment. Permits are effectively a means of communication between site management, plant supervisors and operators, and those who carry out the work.
More specifically, this could be:
- Work involving heat being used or generated (such as welding, flame cutting or grinding).
- Work which may create sparks
- Work involving the use of hazardous/ dangerous substances.
- Work involving breaking the containment of a flammable, toxic or dangerous substances.
- Work on high voltage electrical equipment.
- Working at height or in a confined space.
- -Working on or near to water.
- Work involving temporary equipment such as generators or welding equipment.
- Any work activity that requires additional safety precautions or personal protective
- equipment to be in place.
- Any other high-risk work activity.
What we will do to help
We can work with you during shutdowns or during everyday operations to ensure that employees and contractors are operating within the demands of the permit and following your procedures, understood through a simple consultation.
This may mean they are:
- In the right place, at the right time.
- Are properly informed, instructed, trained, and supervised.
- Have sufficient safety information, maintenance instructions, correct PPE, and equipment for use.
- Have received the correct permit for the type of work conducted.
- Are provided with sufficient information about the type of work required.
- Whether sufficient precautions are taken prior to initiating a work permit (isolation, draining, flushing, risk assessments, communication).
- Are aware of the type of environment they will be working in during the operation of a work permit.
