Permit to Work Template

Work through it per task: the work type, the header, the controls for the type, the gas test where the type is the confined space or the hot work, the sign-off, and the system audit. The work type is the point, because the controls are per type, and the template carries the controls for the hot, the confined, the electrical, the height, and the cold work. Print it for the task, sign it, post it at the location, and file it. The 20-point audit is the check that the permit system itself is working, and the template carries it, because the permit is only as good as the system around it.

How to use the template

1. Select the work type — the hot, the confined, the electrical, the height, the cold
2. Set the header — the permit number, the area, the issuer, the receiver, the time
3. Work the controls for the type — the isolation, the gas test, the emergency
4. Issue the permit — the issuer signs, the receiver signs, the permit is posted and logged
5. Close the permit — the work complete, the area checked, the permit cancelled and returned
6. Run the 20-point system audit at the interval, and file the permit and the audit

Worked example

A permit to work for the tank cleaning: the type the confined space, the header the permit number, the area the day tank, the issuer the shift supervisor, the receiver the cleaning foreman, the time the one shift; the controls the isolation blinded and locked, the gas test O2 20.8, LEL 0, CO 3, H2S 2 all pass, the attendant posted, the rescue the tripod and the BA; the sign-off the issuer and the receiver; the close the work complete, the area checked, the permit cancelled. The permit in the file, the audit at the interval, and the system is the record that the permit means something.

Standard & legal context

The permit to work is the standard high-risk control in the UK, the HSE process safety practice and the HSG100, and the OSHA process safety standard 1910.119 and the HAZWOPER 1910.120 in the US. The ISO 45001:2018 clause 8.1.3 and the management of change carry the duty at the management system level. The 20-point system audit is the check that the permit system is working, and the template carries it, because the permit is the interface, and the system is the audit.

Common mistakes

1. The rubber stamp — the permit signed at the office without the area check is the document the investigation quotes back
2. The extension by the tick — the permit is valid for the shift, and the extension is the re-issue with the re-test, not the line added
3. The gas test once — the confined space is tested before and during, and the single test is the one that misses the drift
4. No system audit — the permit is the interface, and the system is the audit, and the permit without the audit is the one that becomes the rubber stamp