WORK PERMIT SYSTEM

FIRE & SAFETY Deptt.,

Viramgam

REQUIREMENT
.To enforce safe execution of work
.To avoid any accident
To maintain co-ordination among operation,
.maintenance activities of station
.To ensure safe operation of station
.To ensure adherence of OISD norms

COLD WORK
An activity which does not produce
sufficient heat to ignite a flammable
air - hydrocarbon mixture or a
flammable substance

HOT WORK
An activity that can produce a spark or
flame or other source of ignition having
sufficient energy to cause ignition,
where the potential for flammable
vapours, gases, or dust exists.

Types of work permit

Cold Work Permit
Works such as opening
process machinery,
blinding & deblinding,
tightening of flanges,
bolting, inspection,
painting, grass cutting
etc. shall be performed
through Cold Work
.Permit

Hot Work Permit

All hot works such as welding,
grinding, gas cutting, burning,
sand blasting, soldering,
chipping, excavation, open fire,
use of certain non-explosion
proof equipment etc. shall be
carried out through Hot Work
Permit. Entry and operation of
petrol or diesel driven vehicles
or equipment in hazardous area
also falls in the category of hot
. work

Issuer : Designated person authorized to issue

work permit.( Shift Engineer in our case)
Receiver : Designated person authorized to
.receive work permit
Lower Flammable Limit (LFL) : Is the
minimum concentration of a vapor in air
below which propagation of flame does not
. occur on contact with an ignition source

:Upper Flammability Limit (UFL)

The maximum concentration of a vapor in air
above which propagation of flame does not
. occur on contact with and ignition source

PPE - Personal Protective Equipment

-Devices or clothing used to insulate an individual
from the chemical, thermal, explosive, electric shock
or other hazards presented by the environment in
which one is working. Some of PPEs are Safety
goggles, Apron, Safety shoes, Chemical- resistant
. gloves etc
Pyrophoric substance : Substances that ignites
spontaneously in air at ambient temperature. In
hydrocarbon industry iron sulfide is the most
commonly observed pyrophoric substance and is
. called as pyrophoric iron

The following are to be ensured by work

executer/site engineer/shift-in-charge before
issue of hot work permit :GENERAL POINTS
a. Equipment/area inspected.
b. Surrounding area checked/cleaned/ covered.
c.Sewers, manholes,CBD etc. and hot surfaces
nearby covered.
d.Considered hazard from other operations and
concerned persons alerted.
e.Equipt. blinded / disconnected/ closed /
isolated.

f.Equipt. properly drained and depressurised.

g.Equipt. properly steamed / purged.
h.Equipt. water flushed.
i. Iron sulphide removed / kept wet.
j. Equipment electrically isolated & tagged vide permit
No. ______.
k. Gas test : HCs =
%LEL. Toxic gas =
ppm
O2 =
%. ( To be entered on Sl. No. 11 of
permit after checking)
k.Running water hose/ portable extinguisher provided.
Fire Water system available.

CONFINED SPACE OR GAESOUS AREA

The space may contain known or potentially

hazardous atmospheres, restricted means of
entrance/exit, not normally occupied by people
not usually ventilated.
Oxygen deficiency,

Presence of flammable/explosive.

e.g. storage tanks, ducts, cable trenches u/g

1.5 meter, sewers, pipelines, utility manholes
etc.

B. For Hot Work/ Entry to confined space.

1.

Proper ventilation & lighting provided.

2.

Proper means of exit/ escape provided etc.

3.

Standby personnel provided from process/

Maint./ Contractor/ Fire/ Safety Dept.

4.

Check for oil/ gas trapped behind lining in

equipment.

5.

Shield against sparks provided

6.

Portable equipment / nozzles properly grounded.

7.

Standby persons provided for entry to confined

space.

CONFINED SPACE
Lower explosive%
limit

Remarks

Less than 5%

Safe for men to work inside and for all

other purpose

to 10% 5

Safe for men to work inside for varying

periods followed by short periods of rest
.in fresh air

C. For Vehicle Entry

.Spark Arrestor on mobile equipment / vehicle provided . 1
D. For Excavation works
Clearance obtained for excavation / road cutting/ dyke cutting from
.concerned Deptt

.1

:FOR ELECTRICAL CLERANCE

.Permit shall be issued by issuer of cold/hot work permit
.It shall be sent to authorised electrical person of station
On isolation/energisation, permit shall be returned to issuer after making
.necessary entry in records/tagging
.Accordingly, issuer shall issue the permit

The following are to be ensured before issuing permit

for Excavation, whichever is applicable :-

1.

Separate permission / permission on hot work permit

may be taken from concerned sections.
For U/G oil/sewer line/ drinking water line/ above
ground open drain - Operation section.

2.

For U/G electrical cables -Electrical Section

3.

For U/G telecomm. cables -T&I section.

4.

For U/G fire water network -Fire & Safety section.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF PERMIT

Permit is valid for one week (7 days).

Clearance is to be taken in each shift.
Works beyond general shift, planned during holiday
Permission from HOD (operation) at station.
Index to be maintained by shift in charge indicating :
S.No.
Permit serial No.
Type of permit
Date of issue
Name of receiver
Site engineer/ EIC

When permit to be issued to contractor :

Shall be issued to authorised supervisor

countersigned by site engineer/ representative of
maintenance Deptt.

Maximum 2 No. of HOT WORK permit shall be

issued at particular day involving open flame,
welding, cutting and grinding except M&I job of
tank.

Blanket permit Only in case of M&I work,

blanket hot work permit could be given for 15 days
on approval of station head (DGM).

Closing of permit
On completion : Receiver shall check area
thoroughly, close the permit on taking signature
of departments involved and submit to issuer.
On stoppage : Close permit indicating reason.
Same permit may be continued within a week
otherwise referring to old permit fresh permit
.may be issued

Case Study
FIRE In one unit at one of IOC Refinery.
INJURY- 3 contractor worker with burn
injury.
Lapses : (i) Adequate measures not taken
as per hot work permit.
(ii) IOCL engineer signed permit in one day
advance without proper site inspection/ gas
test.

Case Study
In Shut down clearance was given to
carry out hot job at elevation and at
bottom the draining operation was in
progress. Due to which there was
small fire. In permit it was clearly
mentioned to contain spark locally.

Case Study
During excavation in one of the
refinery. The permit was given on
condition that manual digging is to be
done, but JCB was used instead and
power cable was cut and there was
chance for electrocution.

Responsibility of implementation: Shift In Charge & Station In charge for

.implementation
Basic Requirement for Work Permit System
.The issuer (Shift In-Charge) shall issue the work permit
In respect of work continued beyond general shift and planned during
holidays, permission shall be obtained from head of the operation
department at the station. (Earlier- ,the permit shall be countersigned by
head of the operation deptt. of station)
Separate format shall be used for Hot work including confined space entry,
. cold work and Electrical isolation and energisation work
.Work permit shall be issued in OISD-105 format, but not in SAP
.The work permit shall be issued chronologically w.r.t. serial number
.An index shall be maintained as per the format
The work permit shall be issued to contractors authorized supervisor
countersigned by our representative from maintenance department/ site
. engineer of the work
At any particular day maximum two hot work permit involving open flame,
.welding, cutting and grinding shall be issued except M&I job of tank

Permit should be issued only for a single shift and its validity should expire
at the termination of the shift. Where the work has to be continued,
the permit shall be revalidated/ extended for a period not exceeding
seven calendar days in the succeeding shifts by authorized person
(Shift-In-Charge) after satisfying the permit condition. Once the
duration of the permit (07 calendar days) is expired, but the work is to
be continued, fresh format shall be issued with cross-reference of old
.work permit number
Only, in case of Maintenance and Inspection (M&I) of tank activity where
work is of continuous nature blanket Hot Work Permit could be
given for 15 days by the Shift-In-Charge to Site Engineer/ EIC upon
approval of station head.(DGM or COM as the case may be).
( Through approved note) The following guideline shall be followed
A) Copy of the blanket permit with approval shall be submitted to issuer
.(Shift-In-Charge), F&S deptt (CISF/Private agency) and S&EP
B) Permit shall be issued by the issuer on daily basis till the validity of the
.blanket permission
C) Any discontinuation of work during the blanket permission period shall
be informed all concerned department (issuer, F&S deptt.and S&EP)

After completion of the job, the receiver of the permit, should thoroughly
check the area for clearing of debris, removal of temporary electrical
installations etc. and then shall close the work permit and obtain
signature of all the department involved in the job and close the permit
.and submit permit to the issuer (Shift-In-Charge)
In case the work is stopped during pendency of the job, the receiver of the
permit shall close the work permit and obtain signature of issuer
indicating the reasons. After necessary investigation (if required) again,
.same permit shall be continued
The Safety and Environment Protection Officer (in case of tank farm
stations) and Site Engineer/ EIC (for other stations) would make
periodic (to be decided by the station) check of the Hot Work site(s) and
see that the work is being carried out as per condition laid down in the
permit. If he found that the conditions are not safe for the work to
continue, he may suspend the work and inform the work permit issuing
. authority to restore the safe conditions, so that work can be restarted
The issuer on receiving back the permit would satisfy himself regarding
completion of the job including house keeping of the area. Then he
shall also sign the permit and keep the record for inspection by any
authority in future