Ive used a coule of systems in the past for electronic permit to wrk and wondered which systems people were using and which ones you would recomend

thanks in advance

Personally I would recommend none because off the shelf systems tend to be generic tick boxes like the cleaning schedule on the back of a public toilet door.

There needs to be flexibility to address the nuances of the day, time, available personnel, environment and equipment.

Permits are for the unexpected requiring additional control for all other matters there are Safe Working Practices / Safe Operating Procedures / Standard Work Methods.

There was/is a tendency with permits for signature and counter signature a severe hurdle in operating electronic systems.

Hi Samm

I agree entirely with Roundtuit.

Part of the problem results from the common excessive use of Permits which makes it easy to market all singing and dancing products that may work for fairly routine stuff but are unlikely to be suitable for things that need careful consideration of all the variables.

Decades ago as an HSE Inspector I arrived at a very large factory to be informed that ALL visitors requied to be subject to a Permit to Work before entering the site.

Unfortunately the company's system said that the only person who could sign off on a permit was the Works Manager and he was out to lunch.

Security was not for bending this rule, even when I reminded them of my powers as an Inspector for entry at "any reasonable time" and that the Security guard could be prosecuted for "obstructing" an Inspector.

When the Works Manager returned from lunch I had been sitting impatiently for about 45 minutes and he was mortified.

So, we started the visit with a lengthy discussion about when a PTW might or might not be an appropriate control. Insisting on a PTW whenever ANY visitor turned up was definitely not in the "appropriate"!

Hi Samm,  I think I have seen the difficulties in your question and the current answers many times before.

You have asked a PTW question on a H&S Professionals biased forum.  The two, very experienced, H&S professionals have correctly answered based on their knowledge of technically correct PTW practice, largely detailed in HSG250.  In this regard IMO electronic systems do tend to struggle to replicate the formalised decision making aspects of a robust PTW process.  This is regardless of some of the claims made by such systems and aparent success in some environments.

However, the question you may be asking is regarding an activity management process where various checkpoints are needed rather than decision making.  For this scenario electronic systems can be very useful and effective.  This is often called a PTW process by H&S professionals and non-professionals alike.

An issue an arrise when PTW as a term is used for both scenarios and the audience comprises a wide range of appreciation of the subject.