Names differ, roles don't
Every permit system shares out the same basic jobs, even if the titles change from one company or site to the next. HSE's guidance on permit-to-work systems (HSG250) lists alternative titles for each role. For example, the person it calls the issuing authority may be known as the permit coordinator on some sites.
What matters, according to HSE, is that roles and responsibilities are clear, with no important gaps or overlaps. Everyone should know who is in charge and who does what.
The main roles
Permit requester or originator
The person who needs the work done and prepares the request, often the supervisor or contractor responsible for the job. They describe the task, location, timing and hazards, and link the permit to the job's RAMS. For more on the stages, see how a permit to work works.
Permit authoriser
HSG250 says that where the potential for harm is particularly high, the permit should be seen by a second person before it is issued. This is the authoriser: someone independent of the person who prepared it, who checks the permit makes sense.
Issuing authority (permit issuer)
The person who issues the permit. HSG250 says they should confirm that all the precautions to be taken before work starts, including isolations, have been taken and will stay effective while the permit is in force. Issuers need enough knowledge of the plant and its hazards to do this properly. For electrical work, HSE's guidance (HSG85) says an electrical permit should only be issued by a designated competent person authorised in writing by the employer.
Area authority
On larger sites, HSG250 describes a competent person, the area authority, appointed to coordinate and control the issue and return of permits in an area. They need to know what work is happening, especially when containment is broken, at handover or when a permit is suspended.
Isolating authority and site checker
The isolating authority makes the isolations. The site checker carries out the checks listed on the permit, such as gas tests. On smaller jobs these may be the same person as the issuer.
Performing authority or permit holder
The person who accepts the permit on behalf of the people doing the work. HSE's guidance on managing contractors (HSG159) describes their signature as confirming they understand the work, the hazards and the precautions, and that the permit has been explained to all the workers involved.
Workers
The people doing the job. HSE says the people doing the job sign the permit to show they understand the risks and precautions. They must work within its limits and stop if conditions change.
Who carries overall responsibility
- Employers and site operators set up the permit system and keep it working. HSE says all users should be trained and the system should be effectively managed and reviewed.
- Principal contractors on construction projects must plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and organise cooperation between contractors under CDM 2015. A permit system is one of the ways they can do this.
- Clients and facilities managers may run the permit system on an operational site, because they control the building, plant and services that contractors work on.
- Plant operators need to know what maintenance is happening on their plant and for how long. HSE's guidance highlights making sure operations and maintenance staff know what each other is doing.
Working under someone else's permit system
If you are a small contractor working on a client's site, you will often have to work under their permit system rather than your own. Under CDM 2015, where more than one contractor is working on a project, each contractor must comply with directions from the principal designer or principal contractor and the relevant parts of the construction phase plan.
HSG250 says everyone working on site, including contractors and subcontractors, has responsibilities under a permit-to-work system. HSG159 puts it simply: contractors must know they cannot do anything unless they have been given a permit, or have been told they do not need one because it does not apply to that job.
A few practical tips:
- Ask before you arrive which permits the site needs for your work, and who issues them.
- Send your RAMS in advance. The issuer will want to see it.
- Allow time at the start of the shift. HSE notes that permits can pile up at the beginning of a shift, which puts pressure on everyone.
- Do not start until the permit has been issued and accepted.
- Stop and go back to the issuer if the job or conditions change.
- Hand back properly at the end. Do not just leave.
Industries that use permits
HSG250 was written for the petroleum, chemical and allied industries, but HSE describes it as applicable to all industries that use permit-to-work systems. Permits turn up wherever high-risk, non-routine work happens, including:
- construction, civil engineering and demolition
- manufacturing and engineering
- utilities, such as electricity, gas, water and telecoms
- facilities management in offices, hospitals, schools and retail
- food and drink production
- chemical, process and energy sites
How AutoRAMS helps
The AutoRAMS permits tool builds the separation of roles into the workflow:
- The creator drafts the permit, can link it to the job's RAMS, and signs it to submit for review.
- A company administrator, who must be a different person, approves it. The person who drafted it cannot approve it.
- A competent person on the ground completes a site verification checklist before issue.
- The named issuer signs and issues the permit.
- Each named permit holder gets their own emailed link, confirms their identity with a one-time code sent to their email, reads the permit, types their name and draws their signature to accept. The permit becomes active only when every holder has accepted.
People draw and save their own signature once, and every step is recorded in a time-stamped log. There are Construction and Manufacturing packs of permit templates, available as an add-on to an AutoRAMS RAMS package (Construction pack) or as a permit-only package (Construction or Manufacturing). If a client requires you to use their own permit system, follow theirs.
Please note: AutoRAMS is a tool for creating and recording permits. Your company and its competent people stay responsible for deciding when a permit is needed, for making and removing isolations, and for the work itself. Closing a permit in AutoRAMS is never the same as releasing an isolation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a performing authority?
The person who accepts the permit on behalf of the people doing the work. They sign to confirm they understand the work, hazards and precautions, and make sure the permit is explained to the team.
What is an area authority?
In HSE's guidance, a competent person appointed to coordinate and control the issue and return of permits in an area, so they know what work is happening there.
Can a contractor issue their own permits on a client's site?
Only if the client's system allows it. On most client sites the client or principal contractor runs the permit system, and contractors must follow their directions and site rules.
Who decides whether a job needs a permit?
The employer or site operator, through competent people who understand the work and the risks. Clients and principal contractors may also set out which activities need a permit on their site.
Do workers need to sign the permit?
HSE says the people doing the job sign the permit to show they understand the risks and precautions. Exactly who signs depends on your system, but the team must be briefed on its contents.