Permit to work

A formal, time-limited authorisation for high-risk work, confirming that named precautions are in place before it starts and closed out when it ends.

A permit to work is a control for work whose risk depends on specific precautions being in place for a defined period: hot works, confined space entry, excavation near services, electrical isolation, work at height in certain circumstances, lifting operations, demolition, breaking ground, night works, asbestos, temporary works, live services. An authorised person who is not doing the work walks the job, confirms each precaution against a checklist, sets the start and expiry times, and signs. The person in charge of the work accepts by signature. When the work ends, both sign the close-out, having checked the area is safe.

The permit does not replace the RAMS; it sits on top of it for that shift. Its value is that it forces a second person to confirm the precautions at the moment they matter, and that it is time-limited: a new day is a new permit. The commonest failures are permits issued from the office without a walk round, permits that run for a week, and permits closed out without anyone checking the fire watch was done.

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