Permit to Work/Access: Advice and Guidance
The Estates Office manage and coordinate a Permit to Work and Access Permit System for contractors, University departments and for specific activities carried out by Estates staff.
What is a Permit?
A Permit is a formal, safe system of work involving risk assessment, authorisation and monitoring arrangements for certain hazardous activities. This system provides adequate control over the level of risk.
When do I need a Permit?
You will need a Permit for the access and work scenarios below:
Access Permits
An Access Permit shall be required where access is needed to a space that is considered to be a significant risk for purposes of inspections, surveys and estimating, as well as working on plant and equipment.
Where such areas fall under the control of the Estates Office, access shall be physically restricted, such that unauthorised persons shall not be able to access that area. Access to these areas shall only be granted to approved persons once the Estates Office are satisfied that adequate workplace precautions have been agreed to deal with the health and safety risks associated with each activity undertaken in such spaces.
These high risk University areas each with their own Access Permit are:
- Roofs and roof spaces
- Substations, electrical intake or switch rooms
Permit to Work
When an individual undertakes particularly high-risk activities, a Permit to Work will be required to control the activity. Typically, the activities that require a Permit to Work are:
- Work at height
- Hot works
- Confined spaces
- Excavation work (Permit to dig)
- Electrical Isolation Permits (HV and LV)
- Work on fire alarm or detection systems
- Use of a drone/SUA/UAV
These may be used individually or in combination and with Access Permits.
When do I need a Permit to Access?
You need a Permit to Access when access is needed to a high risk space for the purposes of inspections, surveying and estimating or for working on plant or equipment within that space.
How do I request a Permit to Access or Work?
Please apply for a permit through Q2.
Your Responsibilities as a Permit Requester
Before you put in your permit request you need to contact anyone who will access controlled areas to ensure they have a clear understanding of the requirements of each permit. Permit Requesters must also obtain and review RAMS for the works and/or access proposed, to ensure that they are suitable and sufficient.
If you're not sure what those requirements are, you should seek advice on the standard expected. For advice, email permitrequest@warwick.ac.uk, explaining which type of permit you need to know more about.
As a requester, you are responsible for making sure that the people undertaking the work fully comply with the agreed safe working arrangements once the suitable and sufficient Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) are approved. You must ensure that the work has been undertaken to an acceptable standard and the work area has been left in a suitable condition before in forming the Permit Office that the permit can be completed and cleared.
The Permit Requester shall, prior to any work being undertaken, ensure that contractors have been inducted to site and are familiar with the University's Code of Conduct for Contractors.
In the event of the Permit Requester not being available on the day of the permit it is their responsibility to nominate and notify the Permit Office of a suitable competent colleague to over see the permitted works.
Who can Issue a Permit to Work/Permit to Access?
The Estates Office manage and coordinate the University Permit to Work and Access System for contractors, University departments and for specific activities by Estates staff Directly Employed Labour (DEL). Permits will only be issued by the Permit Officer or appointed Permit Approver on duty on any given day. In the case of specialist labs and department workshops, access will be managed by appointed authorised staff from that department.
Departments must not issue their own Permits to Work – only the Estates Office can issue these.
Departments are, however, required to operate their own Permits to Access in certain circumstances, such as where access to laboratories or research workshops is required by Estates staff or contractors for maintenance and testing purposes. Such departmental Permits to Access should follow the same basic principles as those issued by the Estates Office and must be complementary and consistent in approach.
When will a Permit to Work and/or Access be issued?
The Estates Office will only issue a permit to the Permit requester when appropriate control measures have been identified and are supported by suitable and sufficient RAMS and plan drawings from the competent person carrying out the works.
Who is the "Competent Person"?
The Competent Person (also referred to on Q2 as the Receiving Authority) is someone who has sufficient skills, knowledge, training and experience to be able to identify and evaluate health and safety risks that are inherent with the type of work undertaken.
Any Permit requested shall be issued to the Permit Requester who must only issue it to the Competent Person (Receiving Authority) listed on it.
Close out/Clearing of Permits
Permits are issued by the Permit Office within the Estates Office. Permits must be closed out by the Permit Requester in the timescale indicated on the permit.
Notification Period
The Permit Requester is required to provide
| Permits to Work | |
| Work at height | 3 working days |
| Hot works | 3 working days |
| Excavation work/Permit to dig | 10 working days |
| Electrical Isolation Permits (HV and LV)* | 3 working days |
| Work on fire alarm or detection systems | 3 working days |
| Confined spaces | 10 working days |
| Use of a drone/SUA/UAV | 20 working days |
| Electrical Live Working | 3 working days |
| Access Permits | |
| Roofs and roof spaces | 3 working days |
| Substations, electrical intake or switch rooms | 3 working days |
Emergency Permits
Emergency Permit Process
Permits requested for planned maintenance, repairs or surveys require a minimum of 72hr (3 working days’ notice) as per section ‘Notification Periods’.
However, if the permit is for an emergency, we have a process that can be followed below.
What are Emergency Situations?
Emergency situations include power outages, floods causing serious building damage, damage to or unsecure parts of the building fabric, loss of essential services: water, gas etc.
If you believe an emergency permit is required, you should contact the Permit Officer (or Nominated Person) through the Permit Office on 07876877905, email permitrequest@warwick.ac.uk or call the Permit Officer on 07876217894.
The Permit Officer or Nominated Person will discuss the situation with the emergency permit requester to understand the situation. The Permit Officer will carry out one of the following actions:
Action 1
The permit is not deemed as an emergency and the individual will be asked to follow the normal process with up to 72 hours’ notice through the Q2 system.
Action 2
The individual will be asked to apply for a permit through the Q2 system as normal and the Permit Office will process it as an emergency within 1 hour of receiving the request and issue to the Permit Requester.
Action 3
The emergency is deemed a danger to life or property and a permit will be granted by the Permit Officer with immediate effect.
The individual will be asked to submit a retrospective permit at their earliest possible convenience, which will be processed within 1 hour of the Permit Office receiving it and issued to the Requester.
Out of Hours Emergencies
For out of hours emergencies please follow the out of hours process:
- Contact Community Safety office on 02476 522083
- Community Safety will have all the details for out of hours or on call staff that will deal with emergencies.
Monitoring of Permits
As far as is reasonably practicable the Permit Requester shall be responsible for ensuring that monitoring of the work being done by the Competent Person is carried out and that the contractors or staff are adhering to the RAMS and the conditions of the permit.
Any breaches to the permit must be recorded as a near miss through the reporting process.
Capital Projects
If a Principal Contractor has set up site under F10 or has been issued a licence to occupy by the University they are responsible for controlling their designated construction sites and issuing permits as required. Those permits are independent of the University of Warwick procedure detailed above, but must meet current best practice requirements.
A University permit is only required for works or access in areas which are under the control of the University, except where those works could impact upon the operations, staff or students of the University.