ISO 45001 Permit to Work Template

Introduction

In the modern environment, all the organizations want to ensure the safety and well-being of their workers. In this regard, many companies use occupational health and safety standards, and OSH 3000 is the most popular and widespread standard internationally. At the same time, organizations can implement additional operating procedures to ensure the safety and health of their employees. In particular, when performing highly hazardous tasks, for the staff to have work permits is extremely important. They allow people to perform the most dangerous activities without causing harm to themselves or others. This article aims to provide an explanation of how the Permit to Work template is integrated into the standard ISO 45001 and discuss its benefits and contents.

ISO 45001 and Permit to Work Basics

Before discussing the relationship between ISO 45001 and the Permit to Work system, it is needed to examine in detail what each of these standards refers to.

ISO 45001 Standard

ISO 45001 is the international standard concerning occupational health and safety (OHS). In particular, this standard outlines the activities that an organization needs to do to keep its employees healthy and safe while performing their work (ISO 45001, 2018). Mostly, this document is focused on the management of hazards and risks in the workplace, including the provision of training to employees. Therefore, by integrating the requirements of this standard into the company’s operations, one can ensure that workers know the dangers involved in their activities and how these dangers can be addressed to mitigate the risks.

Permit to Work (PTW) System

A Permit to Work is a formal process that is used to control highly hazardous operations. At the same time, this term encompasses a set of accompanying documents that contain information about the dangerous activity, such as the work itself, the associated hazards, safeguards, and other aspects. In accordance with ISO 45001, operational controls should be applied to ensure the safety and health of employees and workers. They are needed to ensure that all the steps for the management of hazards and risks have been taken. When it comes to highly unsafe activities, which can bring significant harm to people and the environment, the Permit to Work system is the best option to ensure that the job is done safely.  Thus, it is vital to implement a Permit to Work system to ensure that the most dangerous tasks are done safely.

Why Permit to Work Is Needed for High-Risk Activities

As was mentioned above, the Permit to Work system should be utilized when employees perform highly hazardous tasks. There are several examples of such operations, and they are as follows:

• Confined space entry: working in an enclosed environment poses serious dangers.
  
  

• Hot work: hot work involves the use of open flames or hot surfaces that can cause fires.
  
  

• Work at height: operating at elevated levels has a significant risk of falling.
  
  

• Excavation: digging activities can lead to cave-ins or damaging underground utilities.
  
  

• Live electrical work: working with electricity is dangerous and can cause serious harm if electricity is not properly shut off.
  
  

• Isolation and lockout: to prevent machinery from operating during maintenance or repair, it should be isolated. This activity can result in a fatal accident if done incorrectly.
  
  

• Entry into hazardous areas: working in spaces with harmful substances can be extremely unsafe.
  
  

• Handling hazardous substances: working with deadly materials is the opposite of safe.

It is worth noting that these are only a few examples, and the list of activities that are hazardous is much larger. In addition, a Permit to Work system should be issued for all special operations that can be performed without it. The introduction of such a document allows one to ensure that all measures for the management of hazards and risks have been taken and that the work will be completed without causing harm to people or the environment.

Moreover, issuing Permit to Work becomes essential when the work goes beyond normal operations, requiring more resources than usual. The main advantage of the Permit to Work system is that it reduces the risk of accidents and incidents occurring. Another benefit of this system is that it ensures that the work will not result in adverse consequences, which is vital for high-risk activities. In addition, introducing this document ensures that all staff members understand the work, safety procedures, and their responsibilities. Finally, the utilization of Permit to Work makes the operation of the enterprise safe and compliant with all relevant standards and regulations.

ISO 45001 Compliant Permit to Work Template Sections

As was stated above, when performing highly hazardous activities, it is vital to issue a Permit to Work. In this regard, it is important to know the necessary aspects that this document should include. In particular, there are several sections that must be present in this type of Permit to Work template.

Permit to Work should have comprehensive sections, covering all the details about the job to ensure that it is performed safely. The sections that must be present are as follows:

1. Identification and Validity of Permit

When creating a Permit to Work template, the following information should be included in the Identification and Validity section:

• Permit number: it is the unique number of the Permit to Work.
  
  

• Date and time of issue: the date and time when the Permit to Work was issued.
  
  

• Validity: the start and end dates and times for the Permit to Work.
  
  

• Location: the place where the Permit to Work is issued.

2. Scope of Work and Location

In the Scope of Work and Location section, the following aspects should be covered:

• Work description: a brief description of the work to be performed.
  
  

• Equipment / machinery: a list of all the equipment and machinery that will be used.
  
  

• Work location: the exact location where the work will be performed.

3. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

When developing a Permit to Work template, the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment section should include the following:

• Hazards: a list of all the potential hazards associated with the work.
  
  

• Risk assessment: a reference to a completed risk assessment for the work.
  
  

• Consequences: possible consequences that the hazards listed can have.

4. Control Measures and Safe Work Procedures

The Control Measures and Safe Work Procedures section should contain the following:

• Precautions: measures that should be taken to eliminate the hazards listed in the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment section.
  
  

• PPE: a list of personal protective equipment; measures that should be taken to ensure that the work is performed safely.
  
  

• Fire extinguishers: fire safety measures.
  
  

• Reference to SWMS / JSA: reference to the Safe Work Method Statement or Job Safety Analysis.

5. Personnel and Competencies

In turn, the Personnel and Competencies section should contain the following:

• Work team: a list of all the people that will be involved in the work.
  
  

• Competency: confirmation that the workers listed will be able to safely perform the work.
  
  

• Roles and responsibilities: a list of workers’ roles and responsibilities.

6. Authorization and Sign-Offs

The Authorization and Sign-Offs section should have the following:

• Requesting authority: name of the person who requested the work.
  
  

• Issuing authority: name of the person who issued the work permit.
  
  

• Receiving authority: name of the person in charge of the work team.
  
  

• Isolation authority: name of the person who isolated the machinery or equipment.
  
  

• Revalidation / extension sign-off: names of persons who revalidated or extended the Permit to Work.

7. Emergency Procedures

When developing a Permit to Work template, the Emergency Procedures section should also be included. This section should contain the following:

• Emergency contacts: emergency contact information.
  
  

• Evacuation procedures: instructions for evacuating the work area.
  
  

• First aid: first aid details.
  
  

• Special procedures: emergency procedures for specific situations.

8. Handover and Shift Change Procedures

The handover and shift change procedures should also be included in the Permit to Work template. They should contain instructions for handing over the Permit to Work from one team to the other.

9. Permit Closure and Reinstatement

In addition, the Permit Closure and Reinstatement section should have the following:

• Closure: signatures of the receiving and issuing authorities to confirm that the work has been completed.
  
  

• Area reinstatement: confirmation that the work area is safe.
  
  

• Isolation removal: confirmation that all the machinery and equipment have been returned to their normal state.
  
  

• Cancellation: Permit to Work cancellation.

Having outlined the major sections that should be covered by the Permit to Work template, it is possible to proceed to the development of this document.

Implementation and Maintenance of ISO 45001 Permit to Work

When developing a Permit to Work template, it should be customized according to the needs of the organization. In addition, the template should be compatible with all the other documents that the company utilizes. Thus, the Permit to Work template should be developed considering the other aspects of the occupational health and safety management system.

When using the Permit to Work template, all the personnel that are involved in the Permit to Work process should receive training. They should be familiar with all the procedures and instructions, as well as have the competencies needed to perform the work safely. In this regard, before utilizing the Permit to Work template, it is vital to ensure that all workers will be trained and assessed for their competencies.

Finally, to ensure that the Permit to Work system is working properly, it is needed to review and update this system from time to time. In particular, audits of the Permit to Work system should be conducted to ensure that all the activities are performed in accordance with the issued instructions and that the work environment is safe.

What Are the Benefits of an ISO 45001 Compliant Permit to Work

This article has illustrated that the utilization of Permit to Work when performing highly hazardous activities is of paramount importance. It is needed because when such operations are performed, there is a significant risk that they will result in adverse consequences, such as harm to people or the environment. In addition, such activities usually require more resources to be operated, which makes the chance of something going wrong higher.

By issuing Permit to Work, an organization ensures that the work will be performed safely, which minimizes the possibility of an accident occurring. Finally, by issuing Permit to Work, a company shows that it is concerned about the safety and well-being of its employees, which improves the organization’s reputation.

Thus, an organization should issue Permit to Work when highly hazardous activities are performed to ensure that these operations will be carried out safely and without failures.

Conclusion

This article has shown that the Permit to Work system is an essential procedure that should be implemented by an organization to ensure that the most hazardous activities are performed safely. It is vital to develop a Permit to Work template that will contain all the necessary sections and aspects to ensure that the work will be carried out safely. In addition, the developed Permit to Work template should be compatible with the rest of the occupational health and safety documentation utilized by the organization. Moreover, it is of paramount importance to ensure that all the personnel that are involved in the Permit to Work process are adequately trained to perform their activities in accordance with the developed Permit to Work template. Finally, the Permit to Work system should be updated and revised from time to time to ensure that all the activities are in line with the issued Permit to Work instructions.