Safety

Permits to Work

Raise, sign off, and close safety-critical work permits like hot work, enclosed space entry, and diving under a two-role Authorising Officer / Competent Person model.

A Permit to Work is a controlled authorisation for a specific piece of high-risk work on board — hot work, entry into an enclosed space, working aloft, diving, and similar. It records the hazards, the precautions taken, who is responsible, and the sign-offs that make the work safe to start and safe to close out. Every permit is digitally signed and stored in the vessel's Safety Management System.

Where to find it

Open the Safety module for a vessel and choose Permit to Work in the section menu (Safety → Permit to Work). The page opens on two things: a Recent Permits list and a Permit Types launcher.

The two-role model

Every permit uses two roles:

  • •Authorising Officer (AO) — the senior officer who authorises the work.
  • •Competent Person (CP) — the person who confirms the precautions are in place and supervises the task.

Most checklist items are ticked independently by both the AO and the CP, and the permit is opened and closed by both roles signing together.

Permit statuses

  • •Draft — started but not yet fully signed open.
  • •Active — opening certificate signed by CP and AO; work may proceed.
  • •Closed — cancellation certificate signed by CP and AO; work complete and area made safe.
  • •Cancelled — permit ended without completion.

Raising a permit

  • •Under Permit Types, pick the type of work and click New (or click the type title).
  • •Complete Scope of Work — Authorising Officer name, Competent Person name, plant / apparatus involved, and a description of the work.
  • •Work through the checklists: the preliminary checks (risk assessment done, toolbox talk done, no conflicting permit), the type-specific preparation checklist, other affected parties informed, the familiarised crew list, and precautions / PPE.
  • •Use Save Draft to save without signing. The permit number (format PTW-YYYY-NNN, per vessel) is stamped automatically on the first save.

Approving (opening) a permit

In the Opening Certificate section, the Competent Person signs and the Authorising Officer signs. Signatures save automatically the moment they are added — you do not need to click Save. Once BOTH opening signatures are present the permit moves to Active and work can begin.

Closing a permit

In the Cancellation Certificate section, the Competent Person records whether the work is complete or incomplete and signs, then the Authorising Officer signs to confirm the worksite has been inspected and made safe. When both cancellation signatures are present the permit moves to Closed and becomes read-only.

Permit types the app offers

Standard types available on every vessel:

  • •Working Aloft (PTW 01) — work at height with harness requirements.
  • •Confined Space Entry (PTW 02) — tank entry, void spaces, enclosed areas.
  • •Hot Work (PTW 03) — welding, cutting, grinding.
  • •Liftshaft Operations (PTW 04) — work in lift trunks with isolation and a standby person.
  • •Dive Operations (PTW 05) — underwater work with dive plan and standby.
  • •Electrical Work (PTW 06) — electrical isolation and lock-out / tag-out.
  • •Working on Deck During Adverse Weather (PTW 07).
  • •Work Requiring Machinery or Power Isolation (PTW 08) — multi-source LOTO.
  • •Working Outboard (PTW 09) — work over the side with man-overboard precautions.
  • •Painting in Enclosed Space (PTW 10).
  • •Awnings / Temporary Structures (PTW 11).

Some fleets also see bespoke permits (for example an Enclosed Space Entry or a general Hazardous Work / Blank permit) that appear only for those accounts.

Viewing, reopening, and deleting

Recent Permits shows the latest permits with their status; View All opens the full table. A closed or cancelled permit is read-only. Senior users (superadmins, account owners and account admins) can Reopen a closed permit — this clears the cancellation signatures and returns it to Active for editing, while the opening signatures are preserved and the reopen is logged. The same elevated users can delete permits. You can also attach photos or supporting documents and print any permit.

Permissions

Raising, editing, signing, and closing permits requires Read & Write access to Safety. Users with Read Only access can view permits, but the New button is locked — an administrator can grant access under Settings → Users.