Over 1000 Permits/Month Created on Fertiliser Plant Site

Flowers at Argitech Research Site where Pisys Permit to Work was implemented

Case Study: This Pisys customer – a well-known Japanese engineering firm – introduced our cloud-based Permit to Work system on a $985.7 million construction project of a new fertiliser plant in the Caspian Region, which is managed remotely from Japan.

The whole construction project benefits from increased safety, better communication across different languages and reduced waiting times for permits to be approved.

The Requirements:

This customer was looking for a robust, simple to use, simple to introduce electronic system that could:

  • cope with large volumes of permits
  • support 8 different permit types within the same permit form (e.g. Hot Work, Working at Height)
  • support a complex permit workflow and multi-signature approvals process, and
  • bridge the language gap between Russian-speaking construction teams and English-speaking management.

Finding the Solution

Pisys worked closely with this customer to understand their current system, which consisted of flow charts, procedures and multiple paper forms

The Pisys team then customized the ‘off-the-shelf’ PTW system, and the fine-tuned the system to do exactly what the customer required.

For some of this, the software development team had to get involved, namely, to create SMS notifications, email re-direction and a form to enter continuous gas testing.

Extra development work was organized as a separate software development project, which ran side-by-side with the customisation and implementation of the PTW system.

Another side-project was the addition of the customer’s 15 detailed plot plans of various areas of the construction site, which was done by the Pisys team.

Throughout the customisation and development process, the Pisys and customer teams kept in close contact.

To help the Japanese/Russian teams visualize what their software will look like and how it will be used, they were given access to a ‘sandbox’ system, which they could access themselves and try out the system while it was being developed.

Customising the Off-the-Shelf System and Developing the SMS Notifications Feature

Customising Electronic Permit Forms in English and Russian:

  • The Pisys team initially transferred the customer’s ‘General’ permit form onto the PTW System. They gradually added forms for special permits - Hot Work, Gas Testing, Isolations, Manhole Openings, Excavation, Gratings Removal, Lifting and Other High-Risk Activities – and extra checklists for Hazards, Worksite Preparation and PPE forms.
  • Once all forms were complete, the customer added Russian translations to all on-screen wording, using the Cyrillic character set.

 

Assigning User Roles

‘Roles’, associated with specific user rights, were created, and each of the 160 users was assigned a role, (e.g. Receiving Authority).

The screenshot illustrates the different rights a user can have – e.g. a user might be allowed to create, edit, approve, reject, suspend or hand back permits, or a combination of these, either for a single type of permit, or all types of permit.

In this example, the ‘Receiving Authority’ can perform all actions on a permit EXCEPT hand back a Limit of Electrical Access permit.

 

 

 

Enabling Workflows and Email Notifications

  • All available workflows in the Pisys PTW system were enabled, so that a permit can be managed and approved at all key stages in its life cycle.
  • Email notifications were enabled, so that key personnel receive notifications when an action or approval is required

This screenshot shows all workflow options (e.g. create, reject, approve, suspend, hand back), and the check-box for enabling email notifications to be sent at each of these stages in the workflow.

Flowers at Argitech Research Site where Pisys Permit to Work was implemented
Flowers at Argitech Research Site where Pisys Permit to Work was implemented

The Result:

Now, the teams create more than 1000 Permits each month using a dual language (Russian/English) entry form.

15 detailed plot plans, which can be viewed by all teams everywhere, show permits as coloured dots in their location.

Each permit goes through a multi-stage approvals workflow before any work can start. The PTW system keeps the approvals process on track by sending automatic emails and SMS messages to teams of key people, avoiding unnecessary delays caused by missing approvals.

Pisys PTW delivered the following benefits:

  • Easier communication between Russian and English-speaking teams, thanks to dual language entry forms.
  • Better understanding of permits and safety plans, as they are in the worker’s native language.
  • A defined approvals workflow for each type of permit, which is enforced by the system
  • Fewer holdups caused by missing approvals, as people are notified automatically by email and SMS when an action is required.
  • Safer working on this complex project while adhering to international standards.

The Future:

Following the success of this project, the customer is now looking to replicate this PTW system for another construction project – this time in dual Chinese / English language.

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