Set up and manage permit types

Set up and manage permit types

Permit types are reusable templates for controlled work. They determine what information a permit collects, who can take action, when workers can select it during check-in, when they can sign, and which stages record approvals.

This guide is for customer administrators who configure permit types and assign customer users to permit roles. For instructions on creating and using individual permits, see the companion Manage permits guide.

Create a permit type

You need access to the supplier settings for your organisation.

1. Open Suppliers > Settings > Permit types.
2. Check the site shown in the selector at the top of the page.
3. Select Create permit type.
4. Enter a Name.
5. Choose a template and select Use template, or start from scratch with an empty permit type.
6. Complete the editor sections below.
7. Select Save at the bottom of the page.

To start from a similar existing permit type, use the Copy permit type button on the permit types list. 

Review every setting in the copy before saving it.

The list of permit types shows each type’s Name, Permit key, Supplier types and Active status. Use Filter settings to narrow the list and Clear filters to reset it.

Before you leave the editor: Changes take effect only when you select Save. Back to list leaves without saving.

Set the permit name and details

• Name is shown when someone selects a type in Start permit. It is required and can contain up to 50 characters.
• Key prefix is used to generate permit IDs. It is required and can contain up to 10 characters. For example, HOT produces IDs such as HOT-1 and HOT-2. Use a unique prefix for the type.
• Create permit information text, under Details, gives people guidance when they start a permit. Keep it specific to the work and your organisation’s process.

Set permit validity

Open Permit validity to set:

For example, an 8-hour maximum with 2 additional hours for an extension allows a permit to run for up to 10 hours in total. Choose limits that match your organisation’s permit process.

Choose who can access the permit type

Under Supplier types, select the supplier types that can access or start this permit type. If you leave the selection empty, all supplier types can access it. 

Use Roles which can access/initiate this permit type regardless of supplier type for roles that need access even when a supplier-type restriction would otherwise apply.

Check both settings together. An unintended supplier-type restriction may stop someone starting a permit; an unrestricted role may give someone access outside that restriction.

Set up roles

Add permit roles

Permit roles define who participates in the workflow. 

1. Open the Roles section and select Add new role.
2. Enter a Name.
3. Under Assigned to, select your own organisation or Supplier. Organisation roles are filled by admin users. Supplier roles are filled by supplier contacts. Assigning a specific user to a role is a separate step described below.

Choose who can be a permit holder

Under Permit holder roles, select at least 1 permit role. Contacts assigned to the selected roles can be chosen in the Permit holder field when creating a permit.

For example, select Hot Work Requester and Fire Watch to make contacts in either role eligible to be permit holders.

Set up stages

Stages are the steps a permit moves through. Add as many as the work requires, in the order your organisation needs.

1. Open Stages and select Add stage.
2. Enter a stage Name and choose its high-level Status.
3. Select the roles that act at this stage and the roles that can request a revision of it.
4. Configure the stage’s email subject and edit or read-only email templates, if needed.
5. Save the stage. Use Move up or Move down to set its position in the workflow.

A stage name describes the current step; its status gives users a broader indication of the permit’s state. Review both to make sure they make sense together.

Configure approval, check-in and signing stages

After adding stages, select which stages have each workflow function. A stage can have more than one function.

Plan these alongside the stage order. For example, decide when workers should first be able to select a permit during check-in and whether signing can occur before or after a particular approval.

Build screens and questions

Screens organise the information collected through the permit workflow. You might use separate screens for work details, controls, reviews, approvals and close-out.

Add a screen

1. Open Screens and select Add screen.
2. Give the screen a name.
3. Use its drag handle to place it in the right order.
4. Select Edit beside the screen to configure access.

In Edit screen, set Permissions for each stage and role to No access, Read-only or Editable. You can also limit the screen to particular Supplier types or add Hide screen rules based on an answer to a question.

Add content or a field

Within a screen, select Add content to provide instructions or Add field to ask a question or collect information.

Fields include text, dates, numbers, checkboxes, dropdowns, file uploads, signatures and supplier contacts.

On a field’s General tab, set its label, field type, required status and any options relevant to that type. The Advanced tab lets you override screen permissions for particular stages and roles, and limit who can see the field.

Check field access carefully. The source administration guide notes that a field left unset may be editable by default. Do not rely on the screen name alone to protect an approval or confirmation question.

Check access before saving

Use Process access to review how screen and field permissions work together.

1. Select a stage.
2. Use Focus on role to inspect one role, or select All roles to compare them.
3. Select Expand all questions to show field-level permissions.
4. Check that the acting role can edit what it needs, later-stage roles can read relevant earlier answers, and approval questions are editable only by the intended role.
5. Repeat for each stage, then select Save at the bottom of the permit type editor.

Assign permit roles to customer users

Creating a customer permit role does not, by itself, assign it to anyone. Assign it to the customer users who will take part in the process.

1. Open Account settings > Users.
2. Select Create user, or edit an existing user.
3. Enter or review the user’s details and sign-in settings.
4. Set Access level to Site and select their sites, or set it to Customer for access across all sites.
5. Select the account roles they need.
6. Under Supplier process roles, select their permit roles.
7. Select Save.

A user can hold more than one permit role, and several users can hold the same role. Site-scoped users can act only at their selected sites. Use the Site and Role filters on the users list to review assignments.

Set up notifications

Permit cancelled, suspended or resumed

Specify the method and message content when permits are cancelled, suspended or resumed in the Permit notifications section.

Permit available for signing notification

This notification is configured once for all permit types under Suppliers > Settings > Configuration.  Review the available notification method and the email, SMS or push message fields shown in your organisation’s configuration.

Stage-specific emails

Stage-specific e-mail notifications are configured in each stage.

If you use message substitutions, check the rendered message during testing. For example, the administration guide identifies $permit, $permittype and $permitsigninglink for signing messages.

Test and maintain a permit type

Before using a new or changed type for live work, test the full workflow in a non-production environment:

1. Start a permit and check its generated ID and validity rules.
2. Complete each stage as the intended role.
3. Confirm which stages record approvals.
4. Check when a worker can select the permit during site check-in.
5. Check when an assigned worker can sign.
6. Request a revision and check what happens to any existing signatures.
7. Complete close-out and review the permit’s Audit log.

Changes to a live permit type can affect permits of that type. Test changes first and tell permit holders about changes to stages or signing.

The permit register is under Suppliers > Permits. Permit and approval activity appears in each permit’s audit log.

To retire a permit type, use the action on the permit types list and review the Delete or archive permit type? dialog before confirming. The Delete action sits beside Edit, so check the control you have selected. If you opened the dialog by mistake, select Cancel.

Troubleshoot common issues