Buyer’s Guide: Permit To Work Software

Demand for permit to work (PTW) software has risen rapidly over the past two years as firms have increasingly realized the dual benefit of controlling real-time risks whilst improving the speed at which safe work can be completed. Implementation of PTW software can be standalone or integrated with other modules such as risk assessment, isolation management and contractor safety. More recently, existing users of the software have leveraged its capabilities to tackle new risk management challenges relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. This report provides managers with responsibilities in areas such as operations, maintenance and EHS with an overview of the capabilities offered by PTW software providers, and the questions they should ask when assessing which firm to work with. Given that the market is populated with vendors offering varying breadth and depth of capabilities, customers should consider four criteria to shortlist vendors – software scalability, industry expertise, process safety management functionality and contractor safety integration capabilities.