Requesting a work permit

A permit starts life as a draft, created from a work permit template: it gets a number straight away, and everything you type is saved automatically. The performing party and the issuer fill in the draft together; after Submit request its content is locked, and the issuer decides whether to issue it. This article takes you from the draft to the submitted request.

Before you start

• Permission: requesting a permit — ptw:request. With the issue right (ptw:issue) you can also start and fill in a draft.
• Prerequisite: the site has at least one active plant and one active work permit template. If either is missing, the page says so (see Common problems).

If your organisation asks for a risk assessment for the permit

The policy setting “Risk assessment for the permit” is set per site, and which of its four options applies decides how New permit starts:

• Not required (in the Lenient and OPEREX recommended profiles): the usual form, with no drop-down. An assessment can still be made voluntarily on the Risk assessment tab.
• Optional, from the drop-down: the form has a Risk assessment drop-down — pre-prepared assessments, a new ad-hoc one, or “No risk assessment”.
• Required, from the drop-down: the same without “No risk assessment”; no permit is created or issued without an assessment.
• Required, step 0 (in the Strict profile): instead of the form you see “The permit starts from the risk assessment” — the draft is then created from the approved ad-hoc assessment (see A permit from a risk assessment).

The drop-down is described below, in “The Risk assessment drop-down”.

Steps

Step 1. “What kind of work?” decides the type — the permit template list only offers templates that cover the work. Until a plant is selected, the page says so and the button cannot be pressed.

1. Open the Work permits list and click “New permit”. The New work permit page opens.

2. Fill in the “Step 1 — template and basic data” card. First, in the What kind of work? drop-down, say what the job’s main hazard is: General work, Hot work, Confined-space entry, In an explosive (Ex) zone — or a combination (e.g. hot work + confined space). This decides the type: the Permit template list then only offers templates that cover the work, the recommended one first. One job needs one permit: a supplementary hazard is not a separate permit but a question on this one. Choose the Permit template, the Site and the Plant (“Choose a plant…”), then type the Title of the work — for example “Replacing the P-51 pump bearing, with welding”, not just “repair”. Place of work and Description of the work are optional, but on site this is how people know what the paper is for. If the template allows it, the Permit kind field also offers a Standing (recurring) permit for repeated operational work. If the policy is on a drop-down option, a Risk assessment drop-down also appears after the type and the plant (see below).

3. Click “Create draft”. The draft gets a PTW-YYYY-… number and the editor opens. On the right of the header, the save indicator shows where you are: All saved · Unsaved changes… · Saving….

4. Answer the “Step 2 — Additional hazards” questions. Every question you tick opens one or more mandatory blocks — the arrow under the question shows which (for example → Tűzvédelmi előkészítés, the hot-work preparation block). The questions and block names come from your template, in the language it was written in. A characteristic of the job (a type marker, for example Hot work) comes from the question: a “yes” makes it live. A separate Type markers tick box only remains for markers that are not tied to a question.

   If an answer shows that the job’s main hazard does not fit the chosen type, the page says “This work cannot be issued with this type” and offers a Switch to: … button (you can also switch under Change type). The shared data moves across; if a box does not exist in the new type, it is named before the switch and you are asked to confirm, because what was filled in there is discarded. A draft started from a risk assessment cannot switch type.

5. Fill in the blocks. A row marked with a star is mandatory. Yes/no questions are answered with the Yes · No · N/A switch; where the template asks for two-column responsibility, two switches stand side by side: Issuer and Requester. The section chips at the top of the page jump to a section with one tap; a chip marked ! still has something missing.

6. If there is a Risk sheet, tick the hazards. Its two lists ask about the site side and the activity side; from what you tick, “C) Derived suggestions” proposes type markers, protective equipment and measures. The ✓ badge next to a suggestion ticks the matching item on the permit (Accept suggestions does them all at once); an active suggestion is grey. If the template has no tickable item, the suggestion says so (for a declaration it jumps there). The issuer decides — anything can be removed. (On a draft started from a risk assessment — ad-hoc or pre-prepared alike — the Risk assessment card stands in place of the Risk sheet, and the assessment also satisfies the Risk sheet before issuing gate.)

7. Add the people. On the People card, fill in the Requesting company and the Work supervisor, then add the workers with Add worker, each with a role (Worker · Work supervisor · Watcher · Entrant). The name field searches the Person register: when there is a single match, the “Link to the person register: …” button links the row, and “Linked to the person register” appears next to it.

8. Set the time window and the safety conditions. On the Basics card: Plant, Valid from / Valid until (in the site’s local time — if the end is still empty, setting the start fills it in with the template’s ceiling, which you can change), and whether it must be valid beyond the daily cut-off time as well (that needs a justification). On the Safety conditions card: Limits of the work, Residual hazards, Emergency actions, and tick it if the job is work affecting the energy supply of production. For multi-day work the ceiling counts per window: the next day continues with an extension.

9. Check what is still missing. The bar running along the bottom of the page shows the number of missing items (“20 · missing”); click it and the list takes you to each item in place. The Issuability panel gives the same in detail. The Save & check button re-checks on the server too.

10. Submit the request. Click Submit request — in the bar at the top of the page (Draft — waiting to be completed and submitted), or in the bottom bar next to Save & check. One click submits it. If a mandatory item is still empty, or the type does not cover the job’s main hazard, the Incomplete request window first lists what is missing: Fill them in (back to the editor) or Submit anyway.

Not everything has to be ready to submit

Only a missing plant stops the request from being submitted. Completeness is enforced at issue — the issuer sees on the submitted request what is still missing. It is still better to submit a complete request: once submitted, the content — and the type — can no longer be corrected, only cancelled and requested again.

The Risk assessment drop-down

It appears only with the Optional, from the drop-down and Required, from the drop-down options, and the chosen site’s policy decides: if you pick another site on the page, the drop-down changes accordingly. The Risk assessment label stands after the type and the plant (with a star when it is required).

The list narrows to the chosen site, plant and type. Only a pre-prepared assessment appears that is approved, not expired, not withdrawn, not superseded by a newer version, prescribes the chosen permit type, and whose scope covers the site and the plant. Plant-level assessments appear once a plant is selected. A row reads: number — title · scope · validity; the narrowest scope comes first (plant, site, company). The validity is Valid until … · No expiry, and expiring soon for those expiring within 30 days.

The options:

Option	When	What it does
A pre-prepared assessment	When there is one matching the filter.	Pre-fills the draft (see below).
＋ New risk assessment (ad-hoc)	Selectable only with the ptw:assess right. Without it, it is shown but disabled (“＋ New risk assessment (ad-hoc) — no permission”), with the reason below: “New assessments are made by the safety specialist — ask them for one.”	The button becomes Continue: new risk assessment → and opens an ad-hoc assessment with the data you entered (site, plant, work order, title, place, description). The chosen type is only a suggestion — the assessment’s questions decide the type; the permit is created after approval.
No risk assessment	Only with Optional, from the drop-down. It is the default.	The permit starts without an assessment.

With Required, from the drop-down, until you choose, creating the draft is disabled, and the reason stands beside the button: “A risk assessment is required: choose one from the list.” If there is nothing to choose: “A risk assessment is required and none is available — create a new one (“＋ New”) or ask the safety specialist.”

The Optional, from the drop-down option: the plant-level pre-prepared assessment first, then the site-level one, then the ad-hoc and the “No” option. The picker was opened for the image — on the page it is a drop-down.

When you choose a pre-prepared assessment, the draft is pre-filled exactly as from an ad-hoc assessment: the facts are locked, the requirements prescribed (🔒), the declarations made mandatory, and lifting them asks for a reason (a soft lock). The page says so: “You chose a pre-prepared assessment: the assessment pre-fills the permit (questions, requirements, declarations) — the “What work?” answer only picked the type.” The job’s concrete data — time window, work order, contractor, supervisor, headcount — is not on the assessment: you fill it in on the permit.

If the assessment prescribes several permit types, the page names the companion types (“This assessment also prescribes: …. After creating, you can start them from the draft in one click.”), and a Companion draft: … button on the draft’s page starts them. This is information, not a gate.

On the permit’s page: the bound risk assessment

On a permit bound to a pre-prepared assessment, before issue (draft and requested), a prominent Bound risk assessment bar stands at the top of the page: the assessment’s number (a link), the kind (Pre-prepared), the scope and the validity. The bar also states the condition:

• an expired or withdrawn assessment: “… — this permit cannot be issued.”, and the New draft with a valid assessment button appears (the New permit form opens with this draft’s basic data; the draft stays — withdraw it if it is no longer needed);
• an assessment expiring soon: “… if the permit is not issued by then, issuing will be blocked.”;
• a superseded assessment: New version: and the new number — the draft can still be issued with the bound (old) version; bind new permits to the new version.

An expired pre-prepared assessment: the draft cannot be issued, the button starts a new draft with a valid assessment.

After issue the Risk assessment card shows the kind, the scope and the validity; if the assessment has since been withdrawn or has a new version, a Later row says so (“Withdrawn: ….”, “New version: …”). The permit always keeps the bound (old) version and carries on; on withdrawal or expiry the card also says: “The permit runs on the version bound at issue.”

The permit PDF’s risk-assessment row reads, for a pre-prepared one, KE-… (Pre-prepared · scope · validity), and when there is a later fact, a Risk assessment later row appears too. The record PDF of a closed permit keeps the state at closing: a fact that happened later does not show there, only on the live permit page. The download with the assessment attached prints the bound (old) version. Details: Printing and PDF.

The permit keeps the bound (old) version; that a new version has been made since is stated by the Risk assessment later row.

The editor

Basic data and supplementary hazards. The work’s main hazard (here fire) is not part of this type, so the page offers to switch to a type that covers it — after submission the type can no longer be changed.

The Issuability panel measures with the same rule engine as the server — but issuing is decided by the server.

If it worked

The page shows a notice: “Done — the permit is now: Requested.” The status badge in the header says Requested, the bar at the top of the page says Waiting to be issued (with who is next below it), and in place of the editor you read “The content is locked”. The first row of the Signature chain is the Request, with your name and the time. If the template has preparation items, submitting sends them to the plant’s diary as diary tasks.

Common problems

What you see	Why	What to do
“Choose a plant — a permit needs one (it decides the diary, task and SIMOPS scope).”	A request cannot be submitted without a plant.	Choose a plant on the draft’s Basics card and submit again.
“The selected site has no active plant, so no permit can be started here.”	The site has no active plant.	Your administrator can add a plant under Settings → Plants.
“There is no permit template available for this site.”	There is no active work permit template.	Your administrator can install or activate one on the Permit settings → Work permit templates tab.
“The selected permit template does not cover the selected main hazard of the work — pick a covering template from the list (per “What kind of work?”).”	The template does not cover the main hazard given in What kind of work?.	Pick one from the list; the recommended one comes first.
“The selected type does not cover the work’s marked main hazard (…).”	When switching type, the target template does not cover the main hazard marked by the questions.	If the job is not like that after all, answer “no” to the question first; otherwise pick a covering type.
A “Saving has stopped” box with a “Reload — discard unsaved changes” button	The draft was changed elsewhere in the meantime (in another tab or by another user), or the page is an older version. Your change was NOT saved, so that it would not overwrite theirs.	Reload the page and re-enter whatever was not saved.
“View only” in place of the editor	Only the draft’s requester or a user with the issue right can edit it.	Ask the requester, or start your own request.
“A risk assessment is required: choose one from the list.” beside the button	The Required, from the drop-down option applies and you have not chosen an assessment.	Choose from the Risk assessment drop-down; if there is nothing, start a new one with “＋ New risk assessment (ad-hoc)”, or ask the safety specialist.
“There is no valid pre-prepared risk assessment for this type at this site / plant.”	Nothing matches the filter: it prescribes another type, does not cover the plant, has expired or was withdrawn.	Change the type or the plant, ask for a new pre-prepared assessment, or start an ad-hoc one. Plant-level ones appear only once a plant is selected.
“At this site every permit starts from a new risk assessment (step 0) — it can’t be created here.”	The chosen site is on Required, step 0, although the form opened with another site’s policy.	Click the New risk assessment link and start the permit from the assessment.
Issuing stops: “The prepared risk assessment linked to this permit has expired. Create a new draft with a valid assessment.” (or “… was withdrawn …”)	The assessment bound to the draft has expired or been withdrawn; this is a fixed core guard.	The New draft with a valid assessment button on the draft’s page walks you through starting over.
“The step did not start: the draft’s last change could not be saved …”	The page is saved before submitting; this time that failed.	Check your connection and the save indicator, then try again, or reload the page.

Worth knowing

• After submitting, the content cannot be changed. The signature chain recomputes from today’s content, so a later correction would invalidate every earlier signature. For a wrong request: Cancel permit (with a reason), and a new request.
• Started from a work order (with the Maintenance module), the title, location, description, site and plant come from the work order — but the gate questions and the checklists deliberately start empty: copy-based permitting is not allowed.
• A pre-prepared assessment’s expiry counts at issue. A permit already issued and running is not stopped by expiry or withdrawal (extension, the daily restart and the handover do not check the assessment). The full rule: Creating and approving a risk assessment.
• Linking a worker to the Person register is optional, but the competence check (if your organisation has switched it on) can only look at the documents of linked workers.
• During an outage the permit is issued on the printable form from the list header’s Blank form ▾ dropdown and recorded afterwards: on the draft with the Recorded afterwards (paper fallback) marker, the Paper pad number and the reason.

Related

Issuing and the permit's lifecycleWhat happens to a submitted request: issue, acceptance, handover, close.

A permit from a risk assessmentIf your organisation asks for a risk assessment first.

Creating and approving a risk assessmentThe ad-hoc and the pre-prepared assessment, expiry and new versions.

Person register and documentsSo that linking workers and the document check work.

Printing and PDFThe paper on site and the paper-fallback form.