Recording certificates, isolation points and gas tests

A permit’s paper prerequisites (certificates), the on-site safety measures (isolation points) and the gas testing are recorded on the permit’s page in three separate boxes: Certificates · Isolation points · Gas testing. The boxes stand among the other blocks, in the grid — in the place and at the width the work permit template gives them. These rows are typically created while the issue is being prepared, and they stay part of the record after closing — so they are readable in every status; only editing them closes.

Before you start

• Permission: issuing a permit — ptw:issue. Anyone who can see the permit can read them.
• Status: the boxes can be edited from the draft up to an expired permit; on a handed-back, closed or cancelled permit they are read-only.

What the template asks for, and what the policy decides

Which certificate and which gas measurements a permit type needs is set by the work permit template. Whether a missing one blocks or warns at issue is set by the site’s policy (“Certificates required by the template are attested”, “Valid gas test (re-test on extension)”, “Contractor assignment with a reference number”).

A box is shown if the template says it should be (always, or opened by a “yes” answer), if the template’s requirements list asks for it (a certificate or a gas test), or if it already has a recorded row. If none of these holds, the box stays hidden — below the grid, in the “Record another register:” line, one button brings it up.

Steps

1. Find the box. If the box you need is not in the grid, click its name in the “Record another register:” line below the grid (for example + Gas testing) — the box appears in its place from the template. Only people who can edit the rows see this line.

2. Add the certificate. In the Certificates box, choose the Kind (Isolation certificate · Fire safety certificate · Confined space certificate · Work-area handover · Decontamination certificate · Contractor assignment), enter the Reference and, if there is one, the Valid until time, then click Add certificate.

3. Attest the certificate. The row’s Attest button is a signature in the chain (not a tick): the row then says attested, with your name, the time and which signature of the chain it is. If needed, you can upload a PDF or an image for the certificate with Attach file.

4. Add the isolation points. In the Isolation points box: Method (Blind flange · Lock-out / tag-out (LOTO) · Valve closure · Electrical isolation · Drain / depressurise · Other), What (for example “P-51 suction-side gate valve”), Reference — the physical identifier on site (blinding instruction number, lock-out log entry, or the LOTO padlock number) — then Add isolation point.

5. Record that it was applied. Once the isolation is in place, the row’s Record as applied button puts it into the applied state, with a name and a time.

6. Record the measurement. In the Gas testing box, enter the Measuring point, the Instrument, the measured values (O₂ (vol%) · LEL (%) · H₂S (ppm) · CO (ppm) · Toxic (ppm) and the toxic substance’s name), the Validity (minutes), and choose the Verdict (pass / fail). Click Record measurement.

7. At the end of the work, restore the isolations. The Record removal… button asks for confirmation — the isolation ends, and the equipment may be re-energised — and the row goes to restored.

A measurement cannot be deleted

A recorded gas test cannot be edited or deleted: the fact that a measurement was performed cannot be withdrawn. If you made a mistake, record a new measurement — the gate always looks at the latest one.

If it worked

Every row in the boxes shows its state: a certificate attested (name · time · signature in the chain: #…), an isolation planned → applied → restored, a measurement with its verdict and the end of its validity. The attestation and the steps also appear on the Signature chain card.

Common problems

What you see	Why	What to do
“… isolation(s) still in place. Restore them before hand-back or closing, or hand over the retained isolation in writing …”	An isolation was left unrestored. The system does not block this, because retaining an isolation can be deliberate.	Restore it, or document the handover.
“The file cannot be accepted: PDF or image, up to 8 MB.”	The attachment’s format or size is not accepted.	Upload a PDF or an image, 8 MB at most.
At issue, “Blocked by the policy: …” because of a certificate or a measurement	The template asks for it, the policy is on block, and the row is missing, not attested, expired — or the measurement’s verdict is fail.	Add it, attest it, or record a new measurement. On extension a new measurement is needed: an old one that is still valid is not enough.
You do not see the Certificates / Isolation points / Gas testing box	The template does not ask for it and it has no rows yet — the box is hidden.	Bring it up from the “Record another register:” line below the grid. If it is not there either, you cannot issue permits, or the permit is no longer in an editable status.

Worth knowing

• The system does not decide the threshold: the pass / fail verdict is entered by the person measuring; the system tracks whether there is a valid, complete measurement, and whether it was re-measured on extension. The Belongs to column shows whether a measurement belongs to the issue or to which extension.
• The isolation points are the isolation list of this job. It is not the plant’s blind-flange register — that belongs to the shift diary.
• On extension, the new test’s result can be a required field: if “New gas test for the extension” is on in the policy, the Extend (new working day) form requires the “Result of the new gas test (recorded in the extension signature)” field. That text goes into the signature chain; a re-test in the records (in the Gas testing box) is required separately by the “Valid gas test (re-test on extension)” gate.
• Removing a certificate (Remove from permit…) asks for confirmation; the trail of the earlier attestation stays in the signature chain.
• The template can rename a box — your organisation’s own name then stands in the box’s header. If an older template does not place the boxes, they go before the declaration: the records never disappear.
• Two related areas live next to the boxes on the permit: Workers and worker lock (who is on the team right now — the roster was fixed with the request) and the blocks’ Block sign-off button (a separate signature for one block, for example on a new working day).

Related

Issuing and the permit's lifecycleThe steps of issuing, extending and handing back.

Work permit templatesWhat the template asks for: certificates, gas testing, the requirements list.

Policy gatesWhether a missing item blocks or warns — per site.