Setting up permit numbering

Every work permit receives its number when the draft is created. Without any setting the number looks like PTW-2026-V1BLOKK-00042: year, site, five-digit sequence, and the counter restarts per site every year. If your organisation uses something else (for example it wants to continue the L-504 numbers it used on paper, or it keeps a separate series per plant), you can change it with a pattern on the Numbering tab.

The pattern is inherited: company → site → plant. What you set at company level applies to every site and plant, unless they set their own pattern.

Before you start

• Permission: managing templates and policy — ptw:manage.
• Scope: only someone with access to every site can edit the Company (all sites) row; a site or plant row can be edited by anyone with access to that site.
• Where to find it: Permit settings → Numbering.

An issued number never changes

A pattern change only affects drafts created afterwards. Existing permits keep their number — on paper, in the PDF and in the QR code.

How a pattern is built

A pattern mixes text (capitals, digits, - and _) with placeholders:

Placeholder	What it writes	Example
{YYYY}	Year	2026
{YY}	Two-digit year	26
{SITE}	Site key (capitals, no punctuation)	V1BLOKK
{PLANT}	Plant key (capitals, no punctuation)	LFGY
{SEQ}	Sequence	504
{SEQ:5}	Sequence padded to 5 digits (1–9 allowed)	00504

Some patterns:

Pattern	First number	Restarts
PTW-{YYYY}-{SITE}-{SEQ:5} (default)	PTW-2026-V1BLOKK-00001	yearly
PTW-{YYYY}-{PLANT}-{SEQ:5} (per plant)	PTW-2026-LFGY-00001	yearly
L-{SEQ}	L-1 (or wherever you start it)	never
LFGY-{YY}-{SEQ:4}	LFGY-26-0001	yearly

Restarting follows from the pattern; there is no separate switch: if the pattern contains the year, the counter restarts every year; otherwise it runs continuously.

Shared counter. If two plants would produce exactly the same number (for example both get L-{SEQ}), they run on one shared counter — so the number stays unique. The table shows this as Shared counter:.

Steps

1. Open the tab. Permit settings → Numbering. Each table row is a level: Company (all sites) at the top, the sites below, and their plants below them. The columns: Level · Pattern · Source (Own · Inherited: company · Inherited: site · Default) · Next number · Restarts (yearly · never).

2. Pick the level. Set the pattern at the highest level where it should be the same everywhere. If only one plant numbers differently, edit that plant’s row, not the company’s.

3. Edit the pattern. In the row’s ⋮ menu choose Edit pattern. Type in the Pattern field, or insert a placeholder with the buttons (Year (2026), Site key, Sequence, 5 digits …). The Default and Per plant buttons load a ready pattern.

4. Check the preview. Under the field, Preview: shows the number this level would produce and when the counter restarts. If the level covers several plants that get different series, the preview says varies by plant — the plant row then shows the exact number.

5. Save. Save. The row’s Source becomes Own, and the levels below it inherit it unless they have their own pattern.

6. Set where numbering starts (if needed). If your paper permits have reached L-503, choose Set next number in the row’s ⋮ menu, enter the number (for example 504) and a Reason — it is recorded in the audit log. The counter can only move forward.

7. Reset if you change your mind. On a row with its own pattern, Reset to inherited in the ⋮ menu removes that level’s pattern; new permits then use the pattern of the level above.

What goes into the audit log

Saving a pattern, resetting it and setting the next number all write an audit row (who, when, which level, to what). If a number is already taken when it is allocated (for example by an imported permit), the system skips it and records that too.

Error messages

Message	What it means	What to do
“The pattern has no sequence …”	There is no {SEQ} in the pattern.	Put it in exactly once.
“No digit or other placeholder may stand next to the sequence …”	For example L1{SEQ} or {SITE}{SEQ} — such a number could come from two series.	Add a separator: L1-{SEQ}, {SITE}-{SEQ}.
“Character not allowed …”	The pattern contains a space, an accented letter, a dot or /.	Only capitals, digits, - and _. / marks extensions (…/1), so it is not allowed.
“The number would be too long here: …”	A custom pattern would produce a number longer than 40 characters at the named level.	Shorten the pattern (for example {YY} instead of {YYYY}).
“It can only move forward …”	You entered a value lower than where the series is.	Enter a higher number.
“At this level the pattern yields a different series per plant …”	This level’s pattern gives a different number per plant, so there is no single “next number”.	Set it on the plant row.
“Another site (…) also uses this series …”	The series is shared with a site your scope does not reach.	Ask a colleague with company-wide scope.
When creating a permit: “The number pattern needs a plant, but the permit has none.”	The pattern contains {PLANT}, the draft has no plant.	Pick a plant, or remove {PLANT} from the site’s pattern.
When creating a permit: “Too many consecutive numbers in the series are taken …”	The next numbers in a row are already taken (for example by imported permits).	Move the next number forward (step 6).

Good to know

• The number is unique across the whole company, regardless of site — two sites cannot get the same number, even if they use the same pattern.
• Sorting by number is not always chronological. With a custom pattern (for example L-99 and L-100) sorting by number can differ from creation order — for chronology, look at the creation date.
• Inheritance is independent of the site overrides in Policy gates — you can set a number pattern for a site or plant even when site overrides are switched off in the policy.

Related

Policy gatesWhat the system checks at each step of a permit.

Requesting a work permitCreating the draft — this is where the number is born.

Paper check and evidenceChecking the number and QR code of a printed permit.

Exporting permitsThe list of permits with their numbers, as a spreadsheet.