R1000 (Online) / R1500 (Classroom) per person
Permit to Work Systems
This course will teach you how to monitor, report and make recommendations on the requirements applicable to permit to work systems in a working environment.
Some of our clients
Why do you need a permit to work system
The Safe Work Permit is an agreement between the issuer and the receiver of the document, that certain preparations, precautions, conditions and limitations that need to understood and adhered to before any maintenance may commence.
The Safe Work Permit will record:
1) The steps that need to be taken to prepare the equipment, building, or area for the work
2) The steps/ safety precautions, safety equipment or specific procedures that must be followed
Once the above is completed correctly, the worker may then complete the work safely.
Note: The Safe Work Permit helps to identify risks and hazards, but it does not by itself make the work or environment safe and free from risks or hazards
HAZARDS
The person working on the machine is to be safe guarded. Most routine work has safe procedures that need to be followed. Should there not be procedures, safe work permits should be used.
RISK
The worker may be at risk if the machine that they are working on, is started up unexpectedly. Machinery and equipment that pose a danger, should they be started up, need to be isolated by blanking, blinding or a power lockout system. These procedures can be clearly defined in a Safe Work Permit.
CONDITIONS
Some work conditions, such as confined space entry, flammable or explosive situations, exposure to harmful substances or high voltage electrical equipment and the transfer of hazardous work from one work shift to the next, places the worker and others in safety and health risks. These conditions need a Safe Work Permit.
In short, if your company has new work processes that pops up, let's say you service a new type of machine every month, or you have to go to a client's premises and do work in a confined space, you need a safe work permit system, it safe guards all from the hazards and risks involved with completing work where you could not do a hazards and risk assessment. Basically when a new hazard or hazards are introduced, and it's not covered by your safe operating procedure, you need to conduct a safe work permit system.
Here is a little story from an actual event that took place at one of our clients and what transpired because they did not follow a safe work permit process.
They grind up and recycle polystyrene, and remold them into big blocks for re-use. One of their big grinders got jammed whilst trying to grind up a big piece of recycled polystyrene, which is fed from the top into the machine, and one of the employees got into it to try and fix the issue.
The employee did unplug the machine, however, the floor supervisor walked past, noticed the machine was not on and saw that it had a load in it, he then discovered that it was not plugged in and turn the machine back on.
We need not finish the ending of that story, but you can pretty much foresee what happened to the poor employee inside.
Remember the law states that the employer needs to establish a work environment that is safe and without hazards or risks to the employees, and provide supervision and training for the maintenance of good health and safety practice in the workplace. The law, in the form of the Occupation Health and Safety Act states, that the employee in this story, would never have been in that situation if it were not for the employers work processes, there the law deems that it is the employer that put the risk in the employees day to day tasks, therefore, in turn, the law will ask the employer, "Did you ever tell him about those hazards?", "Did you ever tell him not to go into the machine?", "Employer, what steps did you take to remove the hazards and risks associated with that task?"
If any answers to those questions is, "None your honor", it will most certainly mean a minimum of 2 years in jail time and a massive fine (This is stated in the safety act as well) and this will be for all involved.
What do we mean by all involved, every single person that instructed that employee to go into the machine, and every single person in management that neglected to tell him about the hazards and risks.
Want more info on legal liability, have a look at our legal liability course by clicking here.
However, all the above can be avoided, simply implement a safe work procedure, that way you can ensure that there would have been a risk assessment done, and a safe operating procedure (SOP) drawn up, all employees inducted onto the SOP prior to the employee stepping into the grinder, and safe lockout and tagout procedures would have been implemented to prevent anyone from switching the machine on until work was completed and it was safe to do so.
Click here to make your booking for a Safe Work Permits course.
Our course is accredited with SAIOSH, the South African Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
What is a permit to work
A Safe Work Permit is a written document that authorises specific work, at a specific work location for a specified period of time. The main purpose of these work permits is to ensure the controlling and coordinating of work to establish and maintain safe working conditions. The work permits will ensure that all foreseeable hazards are identified and controlled and the appropriate work precautions are identified, so as to ensure that a safe work environment is maintained.