Safe work permits

Readings acceptable for entry shall be recorded on the Safe Work Permit and sh assure that the oxygen content is 21 percent plus or minus 0.5 percent. 

Work planning and control processes include the use of job hazard analyses (JHAs), job safety analyses (JSAs), task analyses, safe work plans, safe work permits, or procedures. 

The operating foreman was responsible for issuing all safe work permits. The area supervisor or the shift supervisor was responsible to check the lineup. 

Number of causal factors identified by incident investigation teams related to failures to properly apply or follow a safe work permit X ... 

Using intrinsically safe cables/connectors allows for live connections and disconnection in hazardous areas without danger of explosion or the need for a gas test and a safe work permit. Additional savings will be realized by eliminating the need for conduit, condulets and conduit/cable seals and glands. 

Share key facility emergency information, contractor work rules, and facility HSE programs (e.g., lockout/tagout, hot work/safe work permits) that must be communicated to all contractor and subcontractor personnel before they begin work... 

The water system s own HSE programs, when the contractor is working on an existing operation where the owner s employees or facility could be affected by the work (e.g., lockout/tagout program, hot work/safe work permit). 

Safe Work Practices including Hot Work Permits... 

Occasionally, however, it may be impossible to be certain that a piece of equipment is spotlessly clean, especially if it has contained a residual oil or a material that polymerizes. If this is the case, or if there is some doubt about its cleanliness, then the hazards and the necessary precautions should be made known to the workshop or the other company. This can be done by attaching a certificate to the equipment. This certificate is not a work permit. It does not authorize any work but describes the state of the equipment and gives the other company sufficient information to enable it to carry out the repair or modification safely. Before issuing the certificate, the engineer in charge should discuss with the other company the methods it proposes to use. If the problems are complex, a member of the plant staff may have to visit the other company. The following incidents show the need for these precautions. 

These improvements are more likely to occur at the program and element level. For example, at one chemical company a group of senior operators took an initiative to redesign the work permit process that reduced the number of forms required, reduced the time required to issue a permit from an average of two hours to 30 minutes and improved the workplace monitoring needed to ensure a safe work environment. The reduction in the time to issue permits increased maintenance productivity by at least 10 percent, by reducing maintenance worker time spent waiting for permits. This more responsive system also reduced the number of instances where work went ahead without the appropriate permit. 

To reduce the hazard from any of the above the risk to the individual must be assessed and, where necessary, a safe working system/procedure prepared and/or a permit to work issued. It follows that, whatever procedure is adopted, it can only be effective if closely monitored. 

Driving vehicles onsite, hot work and safe entry permits, use and disposal of hazardous materials, emergency evacuation procedures, and first aid. 

CFR1910.119(f)(4) 29CFR1910.120(d) and (g)(1) 40CFR68.69(d) 4.2.1.3 Safe work practices shall be implemented such as lockout/tagout permitted confined space entry removal of non-essential persoimel from hazardous material areas and site and building access control. 

Employers became nervous. They had to recognize that, should workers be injured or killed on the job, there was now a chance that an unfriendly judge would permit them to be fined for negligence. Their response was to write up disclaimers which workers would be required to sign as part of the employment application, formally renouncing any claim on the employer s responsibility for providing safe working conditions. Typical was this clause in the application form for the American Express company, cited by Fuller (1906) ... 

Documentation will consist of standard publications on topics such as safe work practices, work permits, overviews of the processes, and the use of material safety data sheet (MSDS). This person will be given generic equipment training on issues such as how centrifugal pumps work, how to read a distributed control system (DCS) screen, and the internal operation of relief valves. 

Start-up of existing equipment where the work permit system and the unit local procedure are sufficient for safely managing the activities involved. 

A permit system requires a special document (permit), which acts like a checklist, to be filled out. Usually, the work involves some type of hazard. Personnel involved in the hazardous work must fill out a permit and the permit must be inspected and verified as complete before work can begin. The function of the permit system is to force personnel involved in a hazardous task to take the time to review all the steps, the personal protection equipment (PPE) required, the type of hazard(s) expected, and equipment required to perform the task safely. The permit system also temporarily transfers custody of a piece of equipment. As an example, a unit has a failed pump that must be repaired. This will require the pump to be removed from the process unit and taken to maintenance repair shop for repairs. The permit system places responsibilities on the issuer of the permit (operators) and the recipient of the permit (maintenance personnel). In essence, a permit system is an extra step in the direction of safety and accident prevention. Some of the more common permits are ... 

In order to carry out hazardous activities safely a permit to work system is used. It describes the activities, which require a permit to work, and the necessary safety measures as well as their implementation. The notification, communication and authorization of hazardous activities shall apply to both, site and contractor employees. In this way the permit to work is formalized and documented clear responsibilities are created. Table 5.2 gives some examples of activities which should be authorized in the context of a permit to work system. 

Conhol room operating personnel are directly responsible for safe operation of the plant, including its continued configuration control. They should be informed (by means of a work permit procedure, for example) of aU MS I work before it is commenced, of any changes to the plant that this work entails, and of the return of plant systems to the control of the operator. During the performance of such work, adequate communication should be maintained between the relevant personnel and control room operating personnel. 

Compared with TDI, MDI is relatively safer in the working environment because it has a much lower vapour pressure. In practice, free MDI is unlikely to be a hazard at temperatures below 40 °C, especially if adequate extraction is provided at the point of application. If the application temperature is above 40 °C, or if the adhesive is spray applied, a vapour mist will always be formed and exhaust extraction must be used. To ensure a safe working environment, monitoring equipment should always be used to determine the level of isocyanate in the atmosphere, the maximum permitted level for MDI being 0.02 parts per million (0.2 mg m ). See Health and safety. 

---