Permit to Work and Isolation Policy

Purpose. This policy sets the rules for controlling hazardous work through permits and for isolating energy sources before any person works on plant.

1.Scope

This policy applies to all work on or near plant at the mill and the depot, by employees and contractors. It covers isolation of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, steam, chemical and gravitational energy, and the permit types listed below. No person will work on plant without a permit where a permit is required.

2.Permit types

A permit must be issued before any of the following work starts, and the permit must be displayed at the job and returned on completion. Permits are recorded in the Permit to Work Register with the isolations that support them.

• Hot work: welding, cutting, grinding outside designated workshops
• Confined space entry: chests, tanks, digester, boiler drums, pulper
• Working at heights above two metres without fixed protection
• Excavation and penetration
• Breaking containment of chemical or steam lines
• Electrical work on live or potentially live equipment

3.Isolation

Every energy source that could harm a person doing the work must be isolated, locked and tagged, and the isolation must be proved dead or de-energised before work starts. Each person working under the isolation must fit their personal lock to the isolation point or the lock box. Group isolations must be recorded on an isolation list attached to the permit. A lock must never be removed by anyone other than the person who fitted it, except under the lock removal procedure approved by the area manager.

4.Roles

The permit issuer must be authorised for the area, must confirm the isolations and controls with the permit holder at the job, and must not issue a permit for work they are performing. The permit holder is responsible for the work party and for stopping work if conditions change. The area operator must confirm that the plant is in a safe state before the isolation is applied and before it is removed.

5.Return to service

The permit holder must return the permit with the work complete or the plant left safe, and must confirm that all people and tools are clear. Isolations must only be removed after every lock has been removed by its owner and the permit is closed. The area operator will check the plant before start-up and record the return to service in the Production Shift Log.

6.Audit

The HSE team will audit live permits and isolations weekly and record findings in the Incident and Hazard Register. A breach of this policy, including working without a permit or removing another person's lock, is a serious matter and will be investigated. Findings will be reported to the health and safety committee.