Workflow Template
Permit to Work Workflow
Manages issuance of a permit to work for higher-risk site activities: applicant submits job/hazard/control details, a safety approver reviews and approves, a pre-start check gates activation (looping back for corrections on failure), and on completion the site is confirmed safe before the permit is handed back and closed.
High-risk site work needs a paper trail and a hard stop before anyone starts. This workflow manages the full permit to work lifecycle: an applicant submits job and hazard details, a safety approver reviews and approves or rejects, a pre-start check gates activation with automatic loop-back for corrections, and the site is confirmed safe before the permit is closed. Safety officers, supervisors, and applicants all run their part of the process directly in assess.one.
Business Outcomes
- Cuts permit approval turnaround from days to hours
- Blocks work activation until pre-start checks pass
- Removes lost paperwork and manual sign-off chasing
- Creates a full audit trail of every approval and rejection
- Reduces incidents caused by skipped safety checks
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Permit Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted permit to work application as a record.
- 2Set Status: Submittedupdate record
Marks the permit as submitted and awaiting safety review.
- 3Safety Approver Reviewrequest approval
Safety approver reviews the job, hazards, required controls and isolations.
- 4Route Review Outcome
Branches based on whether the safety approver approves or rejects the permit.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status: Approvedapproval_status: "rejected"→Notify Applicant of RejectionDefault→End - 5Notify Applicant of Rejectionsend email
Informs the applicant that the permit application was rejected.
- 6Set Status: Rejectedupdate record
Marks the permit record as rejected, closing this application.
- 7Set Status: Approvedupdate record
Marks the permit as approved pending the pre-start check.
- 8Conduct Pre-Start Checkcreate task
Safety approver/delegate performs the on-site pre-start check before work begins.
- 9Route Pre-Start Check Result
Determines whether the permit can be activated or must be returned for corrections.
pre_start_result: "Pass"→Issue Permitpre_start_result: "Fail"→Notify Pre-Start FailureDefault→End - 10Notify Pre-Start Failuresend email
Informs the applicant that the pre-start check failed and controls must be corrected.
- 11Set Status: Pre-Start Failedupdate record
Marks the permit as failed pre-start pending correction and re-review.
- 12Restart Safety Reviewrestart from step
Restarts the workflow from safety review so corrected controls can be reassessed.
- 13Issue Permitsend email
Notifies the applicant that the permit is issued and work may commence.
- 14Set Status: Activeupdate record
Marks the permit and work as active on site.
- 15Confirm Site Safe on Completioncreate task
Safety approver confirms the site is safe and controls/isolations have been removed appropriately before handback.
- 16Set Status: Completedupdate record
Marks the work as completed following site safety confirmation.
- 17Notify Permit Closedsend email
Informs the applicant that the permit has been handed back and closed.
- 18Set Status: Closedupdate record
Marks the permit record as closed - final state.
Fields
- Applicant Name*
- Applicant Email*
- Job Description*
- Work Location*
- Work Type*
- Contractor / Team*
- +11 more fields
Forms
Permit to Work Application
12 fields
Data Views
Active & In-Review Permits
permit_to_work_ref, location, work_type, contractor_team +3 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
AWS SES
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FAQs
How do I set up the Permit to Work workflow for my site?
Publish the template inside assess.one and it's live immediately. Add your safety approvers and applicants as users, then start submitting permits straight away. There's no separate implementation project — the template is ready to run.
How long does it take to get this workflow running?
Publishing takes minutes. Once it's live, your team can submit and approve permits the same day, with no software installation or IT setup needed.
Can I customise the hazard and control fields on the permit form?
Yes. You can edit the fields, add site-specific hazard categories, and adjust the approval logic directly in assess.one. Changes apply instantly without any developer work.
Who needs access to this workflow?
At minimum you need applicants who raise permits and a safety approver who reviews and signs off. You can also add supervisors or site managers for the pre-start check and completion confirmation steps.
What happens if a permit is rejected?
The applicant is notified automatically and the permit status is set to Rejected. They can correct the details and resubmit for another safety review.
What happens if the pre-start check fails?
The workflow notifies the relevant party, sets the status to Pre-Start Failed, and routes the permit back into safety review for correction. Work cannot be activated until the pre-start check passes.
Can I add extra approval steps for higher-risk jobs?
Yes. You can add additional approver roles or a second review stage directly in the workflow builder. This is useful for jobs like confined space entry or hot work that need extra sign-off.
How is the permit closed out?
Once the job is finished, the workflow requires site safety to be confirmed before the permit status is set to Completed. The permit is then handed back and closed, with the applicant notified automatically.
Does this workflow support compliance and audit requirements?
Every status change, approval, rejection, and check is recorded in assess.one, giving you a complete timestamped history for each permit. This makes it straightforward to produce records for audits or incident reviews.
Ready to use this workflow?
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