Work instructions and procedures may not on their own be adequate for most work activities, but some require extra care, particularly when the instruction or procedure is not an effective control measure in controlling the risk.
Section 3 – Work Requiring a Permit states that ‘All work with anything other than a low health and safety risk, and/or work that is not regularly performed, must be under the control of a permit, whether or not a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been developed for its tasks.’
Permits should not be applied to all activities in all cases, as by experience this dilutes the overall effectiveness of the system. It is the role of the WPA to conduct a risk assessment to review the nature of health and safety risks associated with a Scope of Work and determine the need for a permit.
Activities with a low health and safety risk are activities that have been risk assessed by the WPA with controls implemented to the activity to ensure that the risks are As Low As Reasonably Practical (ALARP). Routine work that has been assessed as having a low risk may be conducted under the control of a SOP at the discretion of the WPA.
If the activity being undertaken has an elevated risk that is not ALARP, a WPTW should be implemented for the activity. Some examples include isolations, an activity where the Work Party is not familiar with the task or where no SOP exists.
A permit is not required in the following instances:
- Routine operations and monitoring of the wellsite and equipment
- Minor maintenance work (except for electrical work)
- Work conducted following the initiation of an emergency response or drill
- Small wellsite crews or an individual conducting routing work by themselves on a wellsite.
REMEMBER – this is only at the discretion of the WPA after a risk assessment has been conducted, where personnel are trained and competent, an approved SOP exists and the activity has been determined as Low Risk.
More Information
For information about Routine Work, refer to the WPTW Handbook, go to our FAQ page, contact our support centre on 1800 078 939, or email us [email protected].