Permit-to-Work Systems
Construction and general industry · Ver en español
Talking points
- High-hazard activities — confined space entry, hot work, excavation, lockout/tagout, and work on energized equipment — require a written permit before work begins.
- A permit documents the hazards, the controls in place, the workers involved, and the duration of the authorization. It is a communication tool, not just paperwork.
- Permits are time-limited and area-specific. A permit from yesterday does not cover today's work — even if the task is the same.
- The permit must be signed by an authorized person and posted at the work location. All workers involved must read and understand the permit.
- When the work is complete, the permit must be closed out and returned. Review any issues or near-misses that occurred during the work.
Ask the crew
Do we have all required permits in place for today's work — confined space, hot work, excavation — and are they posted?
Standards this talk is built on
A toolbox talk is a short safety briefing. It supports the training a standard requires; it does not replace it.
Run this talk with your crew and keep the record
In Jobsite, workers sign in on their phones in English or Spanish, and you keep who attended, when, and where, with every other talk your crew has had.
Using an AI assistant? Jobsite's free MCP server serves this library, with OSHA rule text, no sign-in: https://jobsitecerts.com/api/mcp/public (/mcp)
Sign-in sheet
Print this page to collect signatures, or run the talk in Jobsite and workers sign in on their phones.
| Name | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|
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