Guide
Permit to work template
A permit to work template is a control for one defined task: what is allowed, what is isolated, how long it lasts, and who closes it. It is not a RAMS, and a RAMS that says “permit required” without the permit is unfinished.
Three reasons a permit shows up in this library
Hot work on a flat roof, entry to a space that meets the confined-space test, and live electrical testing are not the same permit. Hot work needs a fire watch and a time limit. A confined space, under the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997, needs its own assessment before entry. Live work is what the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 push you to avoid. If you cannot avoid it, the permit should say why dead working is not reasonably practicable.
No law requires a document called a RAMS. The duty is to assess risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3, and to plan the work safely.
Every hazard below is from the RAMSPack library and is marked draft – awaiting competent review. Change it for the site. It is not HSE approved.
Fire in the roof build-up if a flame or hot air is used
From the roofer library, task: Flat roof repair. Who might be harmed: Occupiers and operatives
Before controls: 15 High. After controls: 5 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Do not introduce a naked flame on this repair unless a separate hot-work permit and fire watch are in place. The default method is the one the manufacturer allows without a flame.
- Keep a suitable extinguisher at the work area and check the roof void side where it is safe to do so after any hot work.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Working in a cupboard, loft, or floor void with poor access
From the plumber library, task: Leak repair. Who might be harmed: Operatives
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 6 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- A floor void or cupboard is not automatically a confined space. Apply the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 if there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of serious injury from the enclosure, such as fume, oxygen deficiency, or drowning.
- If it is a confined space, do not enter until a separate confined-space assessment and a safe system are in place.
- For ordinary restricted access, provide light, agree a check-in, and do not work alone if the exit could be blocked.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981; Confined Spaces Regulations 1997.
Electric shock during diagnosis, especially if live testing is attempted
From the electrician library, task: Fault finding and repair. Who might be harmed: Operatives
Before controls: 20 High. After controls: 10 Medium. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Prefer dead testing. Justify any live testing against regulation 14 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
- Use fused leads and probes that meet GS38. Keep one hand clear where that reduces the path of a shock.
- Put barriers between the test area and other people.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Electricity at Work Regulations 1989; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Generate a flat-roof repair RAMS