One of the observations that is often communicated to our Systems Operations Committee is the over-use of Permits to control work, even if there is no elevated risk associated with the activity.
Sometimes this can take the form of so-called ‘blanket permits’ being issued for vaguely defined activities, and at other times it can be for activities that do not represent the type of elevated risk that a Permit to Work is designed to control. Whilst a wellsite can be a hazardous work environment, depending on what is occurring on site, not all activities on site involve a high risk.
There are two negative outcomes from this approach that make it unhelpful for the management of work on wellsites. The first relates to productivity, and the second to complacency.
Loss of Productivity with no Safety Benefit
The WPTW System is designed to support Users in the management of ‘elevated risk’ activities that require extra planning attention. It is used to ensure that a safe working environment is provided for all workers on site and that people are not exposed to risks to their health and safety, as far as reasonably practical. Applying this level of rigour to low risk, routine activities creates a large paperwork burden on workers, without any real benefit.
Development of unnecessary Permits creates a significant reduction in productivity, without any benefit in safety. Whilst the Wellsite Permit Authority (WPA) is responsible to make the call about when a Permit is required, they also need to be mindful of the risk of lost productivity through over-Permitting.
Complacency
Another problem with requiring a Permit for everything is that the workers may become complacent with the entire System through having to develop Permits for work that doesn’t really deserve that level of attention. This can lead to a ‘tick and flick’ mindset about Permits that means they are not really focusing on the hazards and effectiveness of the controls that are being specified.
WPTW is designed to encourage broad discussion of any work that is assessed as having an elevated risk, and to ensure that all workers and supervisory staff on site understand the hazards associated with the work, and the controls that must be in place. The System also includes a number of review and approval points, and verification requirements that are critical to safely conducting work that has a higher health and safety risk. But this can be an impediment to the efficient completion of less hazardous activities.
Over-use of the Permit System can dilute that valid concern, resulting in greater frustration, and occasionally complacency when there are serious issues to be resolved in the planning of other tasks.
Managing Work Conflicts
So how can we ensure that all work being conducted on the site is being controlled in terms of the identification of potential work conflicts if we don’t issue Permits?
Many operational sites no longer have a Permit Office that is covered with multiple copies of issued Permits. Leading practice is to have a Permit Board in a prominent location that only lists the Permit summary information. This allows ready reference to all of the work that is being conducted and provides good visibility of the key details.
Concurrent Low Risk Routine work can also be listed on a Board like this, eliminating the productivity loss associated with Permit development for work that doesn’t require it, whilst providing all personnel with information about all activities that are happening at the same time.
More information
For more information about Permit requirements, contact our support centre on 1800 078 939, or email [email protected].