HSE PWT Procedures
INTRODUCTION
The PTW procedure is designed to achieve the applications of particular safety measures in a controlled sequence by the involvement of competent and responsible people.The Permit to Work procedure ensures that the responsibility and accountability for safe working practices is followed in a logical sequence to those responsible for the work being carried out at any given time and ensures that specified and effective safeguards are provided.
PURPOSE & SCOPE
The purpose of the Permit to Work System is to ensure that a safe working environment is achieved by providing management control over the various activities which may have hazardous interactions.
The system provides a formal and controlled process that identifies and communicates hazards and risks associated with planned activity, and ensure that appropriate precautions and measures are implemented so that the job can proceed and be completed safely. It is important to note that a Permit to Work is not a permission to carry out a hazardous job, but is an essential part of a procedure that provides instruction on how to carry out a hazardous job safely and in a managed and controlled way. The procedure has three key features:
- It allows those responsible for overall site safety to be aware of the various hazardous activities and to take a systematic overview which identifies interactions and allows priorities to be set for conflicting work tasks.
- It limits the potentially harmful effect of the actions of the person doing the work by specifying safety precautions and setting limits to the duration and extent of the work.
- It encourages formal and careful attention to Safe Systems of Work by requiring the signature of specified individuals who must confirm that all hazards have been identified and effective precautions taken.
- Inevitably, the Permit to Work System will not meet every work situation precisely, and special regulations may have to be issued to deal with exceptional cases.