Every day, companies make considerable efforts to comply with regulations, ensure safe operations, protect the health and safety of employees and respect the environment. Among all the control and prevention measures implemented in place, the work permit is a key tool for managing safety at work.
A work permit is a document that is not driven by regulation (although it may recall the electrical consignment procedure for example), nor by insurers (although it resembles a fire permit but for risks other than fire).
The work permit is a document drawn up by some companies in order to better control their activities and the inherent risks. It defines the tasks to be performed, the associated hazards and the safety measures to be implemented.
In terms of form, work permits are traditionally in paper form or office file format. This type of format has the disadvantage of limiting overall efficiency. As EHS, we are often confronted with frustrations related to this type of process:
The consequences of these constraints can be dramatic and the frequency and severity of workplace accidents are closely linked to safety management on construction sites.
In the oil and energy sector, for example, issues related to safety and risk management are crucial. Inadequate work permit procedures have contributed to devastating industrial accidents in recent years, such as explosions, gas leaks and fires in some companies around the world (see Health and safety executive report).
So can we make it easier to manage work permits? In the digital age, some companies chose to implement the digital work permit.
Firstly, let us explain what we mean by a digital work permit system. Often, companies translate this as simply using a computer as a means of generating and printing a paper version of a work permit rather than doing it manually in the form of a paper-based work permit.
A digital work permit is way more than that. It provides a consistent and efficient visual interface for work management and monitoring and enables fast and effective decision making.
It provides users with complete visibility regarding the status of all permits, regardless of location, via specific access rights. This facilitates the management of safety instructions and the implementation of actions against risks. In addition, the digital tool enables real-time monitoring of the expiry of documents (e.g. overdue work permits) or staff training and authorisations.
In practice, what are the operational advantages of a digital work permit compared to the paper version?
As mentioned earlier, the manual preparation of work permits can be tedious and very slow, with the risk of information loss.
There are so many potential benefits of choosing the digital work permit, here are some examples:
In the end, digitised work permit is a very effective option for many companies where permits are regularly requested. The benefits of digitisation are numerous, both in terms of operational efficiency and in the collection of valuable information.
One criterion not to be overlooked in the choice of such a solution is to ensure that it complies with the company's OHS requirements and that it provides a high level of user-friendliness. The digital solution must satisfy all the company's stakeholders, from the operational staff in the field to the management and middle management.