Trevor Kletz was a pioneer in process safety, widely regarded as the father of inherent safety. He began his career as a research chemist before becoming a plant manager and later authored many influential books on loss prevention and process safety. Kletz was also a strong advocate for hazard and operability studies (HAZOP).
Plants don’t remember, people do
Kletz emphasized that organizations don’t have memory; only people have memory. When experienced workers leave a plant or retire, their knowledge and lessons learned from past incidents may be lost, increasing risks of recurring incidents.
This underscores the need to capture and retain safety knowledge and information through documentation and other means. However, simply preserving information is not enough—it must be effectively communicated to workers in a timely manner to reduce the risk of human error and prevent incidents.
Control-of-Work software plays a vital role in this process, ensuring critical safety information reaches the right people at the right time to increase risk awareness and strengthen safety.
Permit to work provides key information at the right time
In high-hazard industries such as oil and gas, energy, chemicals, manufacturing, etc., permits are among the most frequently used documents by workers—sometimes even more than emails.
If a permit is not approved, work cannot begin. Once approved, a worker must review the permit’s details before starting activities. In many cases, this makes a permit the final reference point before entering a potentially hazardous environment.
Permits allow to share key information from risk assessments or past permits for similar work. Permits can require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), outline necessary precautions, or highlight important work procedures—helping to ensure safety and compliance on the job.
Sharing lessons learned from past incidents
A permit-to-work system integrated with an incident management system—such as Enablon—can dynamically reveal lessons learned from past incidents and near misses relevant to the task at hand.
When a permit is created, Enablon searches its historical incident database and retrieves information on past incidents related to the work being performed. Key lessons learned, identified precautions, and insights from incident investigations are automatically pulled into the permit, ensuring workers have access to critical safety information.
External content sources can also be integrated, such as Toolbox from the Energy Institute, which has a large incident database. Lessons from the global database of incidents and near misses can be surfaced, making sure permits include both internal and industry-wide best practices.
This ‘just-in-time learning’ or ‘on-time prevention’ approach enhances risk awareness and strengthens safety by delivering timely, actionable insights.
Permits are an ideal medium for sharing lessons learned, as they are among the most widely used tools by operators and frontline workers. By embedding safety knowledge directly into the job planning phase, organizations can proactively reduce risks and improve operational safety.
Transfer of critical information during shift handovers
Control of Work goes beyond permit to work, encompassing key elements such as isolation management (lockout/tagout), simultaneous operations (SIMOPs), risk assessments, shift management, and more.
Digital shift management plays a crucial role in enhancing workplace safety by ensuring critical information is effectively communicated to workers, increasing their risk awareness.
The 1988 Piper Alpha disaster serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of poor communication. One of the major contributing factors was a failure to relay vital information between shifts. The paper-based permit for a removed pressure safety valve went missing, leaving night shift operators unaware of the danger—ultimately leading to catastrophic consequences.
Paper-based or disconnected shift handovers can result in miscommunication, increasing the risk of incidents. By digitizing shift handovers, organizations can make sure workers receive crucial safety information before their shifts begin, reducing risks of human error.
With digital Control of Work, including permit to work and shift management, organizations gain full visibility and control over operations. More importantly, they can deliver key information to workers at the right time, thus mitigating risks.
Retaining knowledge is only the first step. Control-of-Work software ensures critical safety information is placed directly in the hands of field workers at the right time.
Benchmarking Control-of-Work features
How can you determine which environment, health, and safety (EHS) software solutions include market-leading Control-of-Work features?
Global organizations use the Green Quadrant: EHS Software 2025 report from independent research firm Verdantix to compare EHS software solutions. Here’s the current assessment of EHS software vendors:
The report evaluates and scores EHS software on eight technical, 19 functional, and 12 market momentum categories.
In the category Control of Work, Wolters Kluwer Enablon received a score of 2.8 out of 3.0. No other vendor earned a higher score.
Download your complimentary copy of the Verdantix Green Quadrant: EHS Software 2025 report to explore scores across all categories.
