Work Permits

Legal Requirements for Work Permits

Where highly hazardous or complex work is being carried out, the employer or principal should devise a safe system of work that identifies the hazards involved and ensures that the hazards, or combinations of hazards are appropriately controlled by agreed methods and precautions

Procedure for Work Permits

There are occasions when work (often maintenance related) requires a systematic approach to hazard management, to ensure all personnel in the vicinity are safe

Whenever work that involves energy systems, hazardous substances, hostile environments and serious failure modes (particularly where personnel are not within immediate contact of others), a Work Permit must be agreed by all parties

The Permit must be issued by a competent person and be displayed or carried at the site of the work. The Permit must include instructions for isolation of hazardous conditions and be accepted by the party doing the work

How to complete Work Permits using SafetyBase

Open a Work Permit file under the Hazards heading. SafetyBase prompts you to consider a range of potential hazards and control measures

If you have advanced versions of SafetyBase, they prompt a more exhaustive list of safety measures. You can print the Permit out, add signatures and dates and issue the Permit to the relevant people

Using Tasks while creating Work Permits

Tasks can be notifications, instructions, alerts or corrective actions associated with a particular file. You can add Tasks as you go during data entry, using the inline New Task button in your screen. You can also use the Toolbar at the bottom of your screen during data input, or the Tasks tab after you submit the file

As you create a file, SafetyBase may automatically set suggested Tasks, depending on some of your droplist selections. Watch for inline informational messages, which are there to alert you if a droplist might create an automatic Task

Please note that although these automatic Tasks may be created as helpful prompts, they do have generic wording, so you have the choice of creating Tasks yourself. This is advisable if you prefer the wording to be specific or personal. If appropriate, you can select the "Recurring" button, which lets you create a repeating schedule, (say, an inspection, review or check-up interval)

When any Task is set in the system, it will display in the form you created, a summary tab in the file and in the Task List of the person it is allocated to (Recurring Tasks don't show until they are due). Tasks are also e-mailed to the allocated person on the required number of days prior to the Due Date

A small number of tasks have been set as mandatory (example, reporting serious injuries to the statutory authority). These cannot be deleted

SafetyBase Tips and Tricks for managing Work Permits

• Attach an electronic document (example, an existing Work Permit): Use the Attach Documents inline button in the Toolbar at the bottom of your screen while entering data, or afterwards, using the tab. Browse to the document and submit it. The document will download and be available for viewing

• Link a relevant SafetyBase file (example, Accident Report, Hazard Analysis or similar file that has direct relevance): Use the Link Files inline button in the Toolbar at the bottom of your screen while entering data, or afterwards, using the tab. Select the SafetyBase file from the drop-lists and submit. The file will become linked

• Remember you can associate People with this file type, using the Associate People inline button in the Toolbar at the bottom of your screen while entering data, or afterwards, using the tab. This allows you to get reports on their safety history. If you wish, you can add contractors to your People list, so that their names can be directly associated with a Work Permit

• Check file history in the "Status Log" tab. This automatically records status changes to the file. If you would like to monitor the file, click the "Watch" button at the top of the file summary. This will place the file on your Watchlist and e-mail you whenever the file status changes