Permit To Work

Date:               October 2023

Issue:              No. 4

Subject:          Permit to Work systems (PTW)

This document forms part of the National Ice Centre’s organisational written safety policy arrangements. 

Departments, services or teams may consider it appropriate to develop additional guidance and systems of work on specific work related activities. 

Where proposals, additional guidance or changes to systems of work will have an impact on health, safety and welfare, this will be discussed and agreed at the Health & Safety Committee.

If you have any questions or require further information or support on the contents of this document, please contact the NIC Health & Safety Advisor or Corporate Safety Advice.

Currently there are 5 types of Permits to Work that are required by NIC.  These are:

• Working in a Confined Space
• Hot Working
• Working on a live Electrical Supply
• Working at Height
• Working on Gas Supply

The Permit to Work must be completed in all circumstances where the above activities are likely to cause injury to the person completing the work or any other person who is likely to be affected by the activity.

This should be clearly identified within the associated method statement or risk assessment that has been completed

A further permission to work document is also available that can support the permit to work system and highlights the people involved and a simple set of controls for consideration as a signed formalised document.

Premises Management must ensure that a ‘Permit to Work’ is in place for all confined spaces work.

Confined spaces, by their very nature, can be difficult to access or egress.

In the event of an incident it may not be possible for anyone working in these conditions to ‘self-evacuate’ to a place of safety.

It is, therefore, extremely important to ensure that working in these environments is strictly controlled and has a ‘system’ that identifies procedures needed before work can commence particularly for assisted emergency evacuations.

Examples of confined spaces

• Sewers
• Silos
• Large tanks
• Loft spaces
• Lift shafts
• Swimming Pool balance tanks

Hazards That May Be Present in a Confined Space That May Be Present in a Confined e

The air in confined spaces may, due to a lack of circulation, may be low in oxygen content, high in carbon dioxide levels or contaminated by other gases (i.e. Methane) which occur naturally.

Fungal spores and slippery surfaces may also be present where the environment is substantially high in moisture presence.

Controls

• Confined space working should not be undertaken by ‘Lone Workers’
• Atmospheric testing should be completed before entering potentially gaseous spaces
• A means of communication between the confined space worker and a second person must available and used
• On-site monitoring to ensure work is carried out in accordance with the Permit to Work and the Method Statement
• A ‘rescue plan’ is developed and the appropriate resources provided to facilitate this plan.

Premises Management must ensure that a ‘Permit to Work’ is in place for all hot work activities.

Hot Work comprises work activities that involve the application or generation of heat during their execution.  Such activities include cutting, welding, brazing, soldering and the use of blow-lamps.

Hot Work, in the main, is associated with the application of heat either directly to, or adjacent to plant, tanks, vessels, pipes etc, that contain or have contained any explosive, flammable or toxic substance.

However, for completeness, due to the fire risks intrinsic to any Hot Work Activity, and the risk of personal injuries due to hot debris, toxic fumes etc. permits to work are required for the following activities;

Examples of hot work

Grinding of metal using hand held appliances with abrasive wheels

• Soldering, using blow lamps
• Cutting, using Oxyacetylene
• Working with bitumen boilers
• Welding (electrical or gaseous)
• Any other equipment producing flame, intense heat or sparks

Hazards

The hazards arising from hot work comprise:

• The ignition of flammable vapour within a confined space can produce pressures well above the safe working pressure of most types of tank used for liquid storage. Even tanks designed to be pressure vessels are not normally designed to withstand shock pressures generated by an internal explosion.  An explosion within a tank is therefore liable to cause violent failure of the vessel.  Parts of the tank may be propelled as missiles, and a flame front, hot gases and burning liquid may be expelled.
• The risk to the building or surroundings as a result of work activities that generate sparks and heat, such as Grinding, Burning and Welding etc., in areas containing combustible and flammable materials.
• Risk of eye injury including ultra-violet damage (i.e. “arc-eye”), burns and heat exhaustion.
• Asphyxiation by gases and vapours and/or asphyxiation or poisoning by toxic fumes.

Controls

• Hot work must only be carried out by a competent person
• Area must be checked to identify potential flammable substances and surfaces before work can commence
• Where present, the above substances must either be removed, suitably covered or ‘damped down’
• Person undertaking the hot work must have received ‘Fire Awareness’ training
• A suitable fire extinguisher must be to hand
• Work area to be inspected 60 minutes after completion of work to ensure the area has ’cooled down’ and presents no combustion risk

Premises Management must ensure that a ‘Permit to Work’ is in place for all live electrical work.

The Electricity at Work Regulations, 1989, applies wherever the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 applies and wherever electricity may be encountered.

The Regulations are primarily concerned with the prevention of danger from electric shock, electric burns, electrical explosion or arcing, or from fire explosion initiated by electrical energy.

The Regulations are supported by a Memorandum of Guidance (ISBN 0 11 883963 2) and Planning Units where the use of electrical systems and electrical equipment forms a major part of the work of the Planning Unit (area) should have a copy of the Memorandum available, for relevant staff to consult.

The Regulation does not distinguish between systems of different voltages; they apply equally at all voltages, including batteries and are constrained only by what might be appropriate to prevent danger or injury.

Every work activity, including operation, use and maintenance of a system and work near a system, shall be carried out in such a manner as not to give rise, so far as is reasonably practicable, to danger.

Hazards

The hazards from with electrical systems/appliance comprise:

• Electric shocks
• Burns
• Explosions
• Fires
• Disruption of IT Systems

Controls

• Electrical work shall only be carried out by a competent person. General guidelines for competence are set out below:

• Practical experience in working with electricity and an adequate knowledge of hazards.
• Knowledge of current safety standards and a clear understanding of the precautions required to avoid danger.

• The ability to recognise whether it is safe for work to continue, particularly in respect of unfamiliar equipment and unfamiliar locations.
• Adequate precautions shall be taken to prevent electrical equipment, which has been made dead, from becoming electrically charged during that work.
• Once the circuit or equipment to be worked on or near has been identified it shall be disconnected from every source of electrical energy.

Premises Management must ensure that a ‘Permit to Work’ is in place for any work at height where there is a significant risk of injury to either colleagues or others.

The Working at Height Regulations 2005 require that, ‘every employer shall ensure that work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely otherwise than at height’.

There will be occasions where this is not practicable and in cases where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.

As well as a permit to work, all work at height will be supported by a risk assessment. A method statement will also be required where the work is complex, very high risk or of long duration.

Hazards

Falls of persons from height

• Falls of materials from height
• Unauthorised access to a place of work at height
• Safe access and egress
• Rescue of injured persons

Controls

• Permit to work where applicable
• Fall prevention measures
• Netting/segregation
• Removal of access equipment when not in use
• A suitable, secure means of access and egress
• A rescue plan

Premises Management must ensure that a ‘Permit to Work’ is in place for all Gas work.

Gas safety is extremely important and any work to either gas installations or pipe work must be controlled.  To support this, all gas related work within the National Ice Centre must be done under a Permit to Work and only done by a suitably qualified and competent person.

Examples of Gas Appliances / Installation

• Replacement of a fixed gas installation (boiler / cooker etc)
• Connection of any new gas installation
• Alterations to any gas supply or pipe work

Hazards That May Be Present from Gas That May Be Present in a Confined Space

Work where gas may be present increases the risk of fires / explosion, both during the work itself and post completion of the activity.

Controls

• Power tools used on any gas related activity must be non sparking where a potentially explosive atmosphere could exist
• The working area must be adequately signed to prevent unauthorised access to the working environment
• The person completing the work must hold a valid ‘Gas Safe’ registration card.
• Post works leak testing needs to be completed by the engineer on any new gas pipe installation or components where a leak may be present.
• In all cases where a leak test fails, the item must be identified, isolated and locked off from the main supply until the issue is remedied