Permit to Work (PTW) for high-risk work: regulations, roles, workflow and a digital permit template

Polish general OHS regulations require employers to define particularly hazardous work on their site and the detailed requirements for it, including direct supervision, protective measures and worker instruction. Typical examples are work in tanks and confined spaces, hot work, work at height, in excavations and on energy installations.

Hot work is also covered by fire safety rules — fire hazard must be assessed, the area secured and responsible persons appointed, and in practice sites require a written permit. Where employees of several employers work in one place, Article 208 of the Labour Code requires cooperation and appointment of an OHS coordinator.

The employer sets the exact list of permit-required work based on risk assessment. This overview is for information only and is not legal advice.

Requester — the person who needs the work done and submits the request. Permit issuer — authorised by the employer, assesses hazards, sets conditions and signs; knows the site and installation. Performing authority (contractor lead) — accepts the conditions, briefs the crew and enforces them.

Add the standby or attendant (e.g. confined spaces), the fire watch for hot work, the EHS function and the coordinator when several companies work together. A good rule: issuer and performer are different people — nobody issues a permit to themselves.

1. Request — scope, location, time, contractor, crew size, equipment (e.g. welder, lift).

2. Risk assessment and controls — hazard identification, energy isolation (LOTO), removal of combustibles, gas testing, PPE, fire-fighting and rescue equipment.

3. Briefing and signatures on site — the issuer checks controls on site, the contractor confirms the conditions; the crew performs a last minute risk assessment (LMRA).

4. Supervision during work — the permit is available at the workplace and valid only for the stated period; changed conditions (gas alarm, scope change) mean work stops.

5. Close-out and fire watch — area check, locks removed, installation restored, and after hot work a fire watch for the time set in site rules. The closed permit is archived.

Number and status, location and scope, contractor, validity, hazards and a control checklist, required PPE, test results, a reference to energy isolation (LOTO), and issuer and contractor signatures at opening and close-out.

For hot work a typical checklist includes: removing or covering combustibles within the radius set in site rules, welding screens, extinguisher and fire blanket, gas testing where needed, isolating detectors and a fire watch after work. Values (distances, watch time) come from site rules — on the sample they are illustrative only.

Permits signed in the office without visiting the site. One permit “for the whole week” without re-checking at each shift. A contractor who never saw the permit because it stayed with the issuer. Operators of neighbouring plant not informed.

Skipped fire watch after hot work, expired contractor qualifications or medicals, no link to energy isolation. And an archive where a year later nobody can find who approved a given job.

Particularly hazardous work carries increased risk or requires special physical and mental fitness. Polish general OSH regulations require employers to keep a list of such work, ensure direct supervision by an appointed person, suitable safeguards and worker briefing; other jurisdictions use similar high-risk work lists.

Hot work includes welding, cutting, brazing and grinding with sparks. Fire regulations require the area to be secured before work starts, with details in the site fire safety instruction. After completion a fire watch is kept for the time defined in the permit.

A confined space — tank, duct, manhole, silo — requires atmospheric testing before entry and during work: oxygen, flammable gases against the lower explosive limit (LEL) and toxic substances. A standby person stays outside with a rescue plan. Work at height in Polish regulations means work on a surface more than 1 m above floor or ground level.

Roles and stages: the issuing authority (authorised by the employer) and the performing authority on the contractor side; where workers of several employers share a workplace, Polish labour law requires cooperation and an appointed coordinator for OSH supervision. A permit is opened, may be suspended (e.g. when conditions change) and is closed out with plant handback. The crew can add a last minute risk assessment (LMRA), and energy isolation follows the LOTO procedure.

In the Permit to Work module a permit moves through request, approval, opening and close-out in one place — with signatures of responsible people, site photos and a control checklist for the work category. Work with energy isolation requires isolation to be confirmed, as described in the LOTO guide.

Contractor management shows whether an external company and its workers hold valid documents and training before a permit is issued. The crew can complete an LMRA on a phone, and any incident during the work goes straight to the incident and corrective action register.