In June 2023, the Bureau of Indian Standards published the Indian Standard: Work Permit System — Code of Practice, defining critical workflows on how organizations in India can follow a systematic method to assess risks and authorize entry and activity at workplaces. The aim of the certified procedure is to ensure the usage of a safe system of work accompanied by clear understanding and transparent communication between all working departments involved, to ensure workplaces are safe and healthy.
The Standard comes at a time when The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that around 2.3 million people around the world succumb to work-related accidents or diseases every year. It is critical for organizations and their workforces to adopt standardized & uniform safety procedures to prevent such work-related accidents and keep the workplace environment safe & healthy.
By adopting a Safe Work Permit System, organizations across the world have been able to keep their workforce accountable and ensure workplaces are safe and healthy.
Safe Work Permit Procedures
Organizations often categorize their work permits into cold work, hot work, confined space, excavation, electrical work permit, work at height, and radiography permits depending on their industries and the nature of their operations.
The following procedures are involved in the Safe Work Permit process across industries.
- Request and Issuance of Work Permit
- Compliance of Agreed Conditions in the Permit During Work Execution
- Closure of Permit when the Job is Completed
Several stakeholders are involved throughout these Safe Work Permit procedures including the issuer of the permit who is responsible for and controls the entire work permit process, acceptor/executor who is responsible for executing the work, and others like the area in-charge, area operator/technician, gas tester, maintenance technician/contract supervisor, etc.
The ‘Safe Work Permit’ is itself a printed document that emerges from conditions agreed upon by the Issuer and the Acceptor including the procedures to be adopted while executing the job, the preparations required before the job is carried out, and any special requirements like Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needed for employees.
A printed copy is then held by the Issuer, Acceptor, and the safety department each to ensure that the permit is both displayed clearly when the actual job is conducted and additionally maintained for record-keeping.
Challenges with Manually Managing Your Safe Work Permit System
Manually managing your Permit to Work program can result in human errors, high costs, and resources involved in the issuance of the Work Permit, compliance of the work conditions agreed upon by the Issuer & the Acceptor, printing and record-keeping the Safe Work Permit, and closure of the permit – ensuring that all necessary stakeholders are informed and engaged!
Digitally transforming your Permit to Work program can help overcome these limitations and increase process efficiencies in your Safe Work Permit program management.
The Advantages of Digitalizing Your Safe Work Permit Programs
See below as we explore the power of digital transformation in accelerating your Permit to Work Systems and ensuring that workplaces are safe!
1. Expediting the Permit Application and Approval Processes
Permit to work programs are paper-intensive and involve employees navigating a maze of paperwork throughout the permit application, approval, and issuing processes. The process often leads to delays and increased risks on the job, obstacles that digital transformation can streamline by offering the benefits that follow.
- Increased Efficiency and Speed Digitalizing your permit applications and approvals can significantly reduce the time it takes to get your work done. With manual processes, it could take days for the acceptor to prepare the correct documents, ensure they are authorized by the issuer, and distribute the printed permits to appropriate stakeholders. With a digital Permit to Work software, employees can submit permit requests from their phones or tablets, and supervisors can review and approve them right away with digitalized signoff processes. This means that tasks can start sooner, without any delays.
- Improved Accuracy Digital Permit Application forms help to reduce mistakes and omissions that are common in handwritten forms. Because digital forms have required fields, auto-fill options, and drop-down menus, you can be sure that all of the important safety information is included. This helps to reduce the risk of overlooking important safety details.
- Enhanced TransparencyDigital platforms make it easy to see the status of permit applications, so everyone involved knows what’s going on. This transparency helps to prevent misunderstandings and unauthorized work.
2. Improve Communication and Collaboration
We now know that there are multiple stakeholders involved in issuing and closing the Safe Work Permits. This means that efficient communication and collaboration are the foundation of a strong Safe Work Permit program. Digital Permit to Work Software can make it easier for your teams to communicate and collaborate, share information, and get feedback on permit applications. Issuers can use the system to quickly track the status of permit applications and approve or deny them. With built-in email notifications, a digital Permit to Work solution can keep your team current, informed, and safe!
This improved communication and collaboration can help to ensure that permits are issued accurately and efficiently. It can also help to identify and mitigate potential hazards.
3. Enhance Visibility and Control
Digital Permit to Work Software can provide organizations with greater visibility and control over their permit programs. Organizations can use the system to track all permit applications, approvals, and completions. They can also use the system to generate reports on permit activity. Additionally, stakeholders will be able to quickly generate and print site-specific permit documents with custom fields & prepopulated key work details, including those that adhere to standards like the Indian Standard: Work Permit System — Code of Practice.
This improved visibility and control can help organizations to identify and address any problems with their permit program – from keeping track of completed permits and permit-related site activities to identifying related hazards, control measures, and equipment, empowering you to prevent work from starting at locations where safety is compromised, until those issues are resolved. You will also have visibility into reports on in-progress and completed work.
Digitally Transforming Your Safe Work Permit Program with Benchmark Gensuite
Adopting a digital Permit to Work Software can help you seamlessly oversee any type of job work requiring a permit, including Confined Space, Rooftop Entry, Hot Work, Working at Heights, and more, and ensure safe work conditions are maintained across operations.
With Benchmark Gensuite’s intuitive digital Permit to Work solutions that can be tailored to your needs, you can empower your workforce to be more proactive with a streamlined, transparent workflow that leverages digitalized signoff processes & recordkeeping, intuitive dashboards, email notifications, and the ability to initiate permit requests for review.
Click the link below to learn more! https://benchmarkgensuite.in/app/permit-to-work/