Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Health, Safety and Environment in Petroleum Industry

Research Article

Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Group III
Amit Yadav (R020217011)
Maitri Chaudhary (R020217040)
Priyanka Sweta (R020217051)
Ravindra Panwar (R020217056)

MBA Oil and Gas Management, 2017-19

IVth Semester

School of Business
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
Dehradun
Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Table of Contents

Abstract Pg 3

Introduction Pg 3

Research Objectives Pg 4

Research Methodology Pg 4

Discussion Pg 4

Conclusion Pg 6

Appendix Pg 7

References Pg 11

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Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Abstract
Many incidents in the petrochemical industry workplace are associated with maintenance
works, which are typically controlled by permit-to-work (PTWs). Main types of PTWs used in
this industry are hot work permits, cold work permits, electrical permits, confined space entry
permits and ground disturbance/excavation permits. Various tasks associated with such work
permits used in a petrochemical plant are identified with the help of Hierarchal Task Analysis
(HTA).
Keywords : permit-to-work, hierarchal task analysis, petrochemical industry

Introduction overlooking an important task such as

placing slip-binds3.
Chemical disasters usually result from the
combination of several mistakes or gross As improper work can cause immediate
carelessness and are seldom caused by a injuries to workers or lie unnoticed before
single episode. To ensure the safety of causing a large incident, work must be
operating, handling and storing chemicals, controlled through the PTW system, which
as well as to prevent chemical disasters, is a key program of the Safety
one must take many critical points into Management System (SMS).
account, such as techniques, Permit To Work (PTW) is a means of safety
manufacturing processes, operators, system to coordinate different work
chemicals, and emergency response. activities. It is a formal written system to
In the gas and petrochemical industries, control certain types of work which are
which process large amounts of hazardous identified as potentially hazardous. This
materials, the safety of inspections, system may need to be used in high-risk
maintenance, and other jobs is an essential jobs such as hot works, confined space
element that should be managed using a entry, carrying hazardous substances, and
systematic approach. One such approach is electrical or mechanical isolation. In this
Job Safety Analysis (JSA) which is defined system, responsible persons should assess
as “a technique for identifying hazards by the work and check safety at all stages.
focusing on the relation of workers ith their Moreover, permits are effectively a means
tasks, tools and work environment by each of communication between site
task1”. management, plant supervisors and
operators, and those who carry out the
The Piper Alpha incident in 1988 which work. The people doing the job sign the
killed 165 people, was caused by an permit to show that they understand the
incomplete blind flanging in an inadequate risks and precautions necessary.
Permit To Work (PTW) system2. The Bhopal
Gas release in 1984 was also started by

1 3
Chao and Henshaw, 2002 Eckerman, 2005
2
Pate-Cornell, 1993

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Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

An alternative view is to say that PTWs Research Methodology

perform at least three notionally distinct
functions: first, they aid the identifcation Extensive secondary research involving
of potential hazards together with the literature review spanning across various
precautions which must be taken; second, research publications, papers and articles.
they aid co-ordination of the imposition of For the purpose of analysing the work
precautions, the actual carrying out of the permits, Hierarchal Task Analysis4 (HTA) is
maintenance task and the eventual used for discussing the tasks associated
removal of precautions;and third, they with completing a Permit-To-Work. Task
provide a written record of what was done, analysis is description of the observable
by whom, when and how. This may be of aspects of operator behaviour at various
use in the event that something does in level of details together with some
fact go wrong, as well as to help monitor indications of the structure of the task5.
the procedures which are in place. HTA is a systematic method to describe
A permit is used to: how work is organized in order to meet the
overall objective of the job. It involves
 Identify the scope of a specific task and identifying in a top down fashion the
where the work will be conducted. overall goal of task, then various subtasks
 Identify hazards and controls and the condition under which they should
associated with the work task. be carried out to achieve the goal. In this
 Identify the personnel who have study all tasks that were selected as critical
oversight responsibility. and susceptible to human error
 Identify the personnel performing the consequences were analyzed by HTA
work. method and its information was gathered
 Assign responsibility for various tasks. through interviewing with industry
 Identify potential issues with other personnel and reviewing procedures and
work activities. documents.
 Identify energy isolations / lockout /
tagouts that will be in effect for the
work that is being conducted. Discussion
 Verify adequate control over the return
Five types of Permit-To-Work are
to normal operations.
frequently used within the petrochemical
industry, each controlling a specific type of
job and activity.
Research Objectives
Hot Work Permit
The scope of this research is limited to
identifying the types of work permits A hot work permit is required for work
applicable to petrochemical industry and involving burning, welding, using fire or
discussing their importance with respect to spark producing tools, or that produces a
the control of safety they provide. source of ignition. Some examples include:

4 5
Stanton, 2004 Embery, 2000

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Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

 Electrical welding and use of welding A key aspect of an electrical permit-to-

machine, work is Lockout/Tagout (LO/TO). LO/TO is
 Flame cutting, the placement of a locking device on an
 Grinding (producing sparks) energy isolating device confirming that the
energy isolating device and the equipment
Cold Work Permit being controlled cannot be operated until
A cold work permit is required for the lockout device is removed. Each
potentially hazardous work not covered by lockout device must have a tag with its own
other types of work permits. Some individual number with a description of the
examples include: lockout, the name of the person who
applied it and the date the lockout was put
 Chemical cleaning or use of solvents, into effect. The energy isolation device and
 Handling of hazardous substances (e.g., the equipment being controlled may not
toxic/corrosive chemicals, asbestos, be operated until the tagout device is
etc.) removed.
 Use of resins, typically used during
blade repairs, Confined Space Entry Permit
 Any painting activity, A space that has all three of the following
 Heavy lifts (refer to Crane/Lifting criteria:
procedure for definition),
 Erecting or dismantling scaffolds,  Large enough and so configured that an
 Any non-routine and potentially employee can physically enter,
hazardous activity,  Limited or restricted means for entry or
 Any activity requiring specific control exit
measures to confirm safety.  Not designed for continuous employee
occupancy
Electrical Work Permit
Examples of confined spaces are tanks,
An electrical permit is required for work on vessels, silos, storage bins and pits. It can
electrical systems where there is a be any enclosed or partially enclosed space
possibility of contacting energized where there is a risk of death or serious
electrical conductors. Some examples injury from hazardous substances or
includes: dangerous conditions (e.g., lack of oxygen,
toxic or combustible gases) may be
 Work involving the installation or
present.
repair of electrical conductors,
 Connection or disconnection of electric A confined space entry permit is required
motors, to allow personnel to enter a confined
 Reaching into any panel, transformer space such as a blade, trench, tank, vessel,
or other electrical enclosure which may etc. A confined space entry permit allows
have energized circuits, capacitors, access and inspection only. When hot
wiring, etc. work, cold work, electrical work, and/or
 Work on instrumentation, instrument energy isolation work is carried out in a
panels, or telecom equipment. confined space, an additional permit(s) (as
required by the type of work) must be

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Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

applied for and cross referenced to the toxic materials

confined space entry permit. 3.2 Lock out and tag out the
electrical equipment
Ground Disturbance Permit 3.3 Cleaning the work area from
A ground disturbance permit is required flammable material
for any excavation or ground disturbance 3.4 Isolation of process
activity that involves digging, trenching, equipment
excavating or removing soil or ground. If 4 Flammable gas testing
5 Oxygen and toxic gas testing
ground disturbance will be conducted
6 Specify the protective devices
utilizing mechanical equipment such as
in the permit
trenchers, bulldozers, etc. a designated
7 Specify safety measures in the
spotter will be added to the permit to permit
confirm that adequate observation is being 8 Showing work area to
conducted to prevent contact with operator
overhead power lines and to observe for 9 Site inspection by shift control
any unusual objects or sounds from the 10 Signing the permit
excavation. This person will be dedicated 11 Validation and revalidation
to this purpose and listed by name of the after shift handover
permit.

Conclusion
Table 1 shows the hierarchical task analysis Permit To Work (P.T.W) is a means of
of PTW system procedure in the studied safety system to coordinate different work
petrochemical plant6. As it can be seen, 11 activities. Mistakes in inspection,
main tasks and 4 subtasks were identified maintenance and work are the main
in HTA process. Task No. 3 (Inspecting the causes of incidents that result in losses in
workplace and complete the checklist plants as well as casualties of workers and
section in the permit) had 4 subtask neighboring residents. Thus, the PTW for
including venting process equipments safe work plays a key role in preventing
from flammable and toxic materials, lock incidents. The most important function of
out and tag out the electrical equipment, the PTW is to present various work-related
cleaning the work area from flammable potential hazards and utilize them for
material and isolation of process safety management by workers and
equipment. managers. The PTW system systematically
Table 1 : Hierarchical task analysis of work sets forth the responsibilities and tasks of
permit system in a petrochemical plant workers, managers, and supervisors and
the preparations for safe work
1 Site inspection performance so as to prevent accidents.
2 Description of hot/cold work
3 Site preparation
3.1 Venting process equipments
from flammable and

6
Jahangiri, 2015

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Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Appendix

Figure 1 : Hot Work / Confined Space Entry Permit7

7
OISD, 2004
Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Figure 2 : Cold Work Permit8

8
OISD, 2004

8
Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Figure 3 : Electrical Work Permit9

9
OISD, 2004

9
Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

Figure 4 : Confined Space Entry Permit10

10
University of Nevada, 2016

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Various Permit to Work Systems in Petrochemical Industry

References

Chao, E.L. and J. L. Henshaw; Job Hazard Analysis: OSHA Publication, Occupational Safety
and Health Administration; US Department of Labor, Washington, U.S.A (2002)

Eckerman, I.; The Bhopal SAGA Causes and Consequence of the World’s Largest Industrial
Disaster, pp 55; Universities Press (India), Hyderabad, India (2005)

Embery, D.; Task Analysis Technique, Human Reliability Associate; (2000) Available at
www.humanreliability.com/articles/Task%20Analysis%20Techniques.pdf.

M. Jahangiri, F. Zare Derisi, N. Hobobi, Predictive Human Error Analysis in Permit To Work
system in a petrochemical plant; Safety and Reliability: Methodology and Applications;
Taylor & Francis Group, London (2015)

Occupational Safety Procedures, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2016); Available at

https://rms.unlv.edu/occupational/confined-space/PRCSPermit2016.pdf

Stanton, N., Hedge, A., Brookhuis, K., Eduardo Salas, E., Hendrick, H.W; Handbook of Human
Factors and Ergonomics Methods; CRC Press, Los Angeles (2004)

Work Permit System, OISD Standard 105, (2004); Available at

https://oilweb.oilindia.in/OISD_Standard/oisd%20standard_old/STD-105.pdf

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