Permit to work - machinery isolation

When machines are taken apart, guards removed, isolation beams switched off, etc. risk levels increase significantly. To reduce them appropriately, such works should be controlled with a permit to work.

In the danger zone

Hardly a month goes by without the HSE bringing a case against an employer for failing to manage the risks of machinery maintenance works. Unfortunately, most cases follow horrific fatal accidents which happen to staff or others whilst working on industrial equipment. However, this doesn’t mean that such work must be outlawed - doing so would be completely impractical and could cause major problems with the machines.

Keep control

In such circumstances you need to keep a tight control over the work being competed. Nothing can be left to chance. So to make sure that staff fully understand the associated risks and, more importantly, the safe systems of work to follow, the work should be managed using our Permit to Work - Machinery Isolation document.

Every angle covered

Following this document makes those involved think about each stage of the process and helps them to ensure that every box is ticked.

Control

The second page of the document provides space for the signatures of the person issuing the permit and the person in charge of the work. There are places to sign to start and finish the job.