Guides ·
Digital permit-to-work in a CMMS for India manufacturing plants: permit types, stages and records
IS 17893:2023 sets out seven work permit types, who issues and accepts them, gas tests, isolation, validity and closure. Here is how a plant can tie each permit to the CMMS work order and asset behind it, and what the law around it looks like after the OSH Code.
By Upvantix team
A permit-to-work (PTW) is a written authorisation to carry out a specific job, in a fixed place, for a set period, after the hazards have been assessed and the agreed precautions are in place. In India, the reference is IS 17893:2023, Work Permit System — Code of Practice, published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (dated June 2023; no amendments or revisions listed by BIS as of October 2026). It covers seven permit types: cold work, hot work, confined space/vessel entry, excavation, electrical work, work at height and radiography. It sets out who issues and who accepts a permit, the gas tests and isolations to record, how long a permit stays valid (to the end of the shift, renewable, up to seven calendar days), how permits are suspended, cancelled and closed, weekly permit audits, and keeping closed permits for at least 30 days.
Most permits in a plant exist because of maintenance work. That is why plants link them to the CMMS: the work order says what job is being done on which asset; the permit says it is safe to start, under what conditions, and who signed. A digital PTW should tie each permit to its work order and asset, enforce the sign-offs and gas-test entries the standard expects, block conflicting work on the same isolation, and keep an audit trail of every change.
On the legal side, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 has been in force since 21 November 2025 and repealed the Factories Act, 1948. Rules made under the old Act stay in force to the extent they don’t conflict with the Code until the Central Government repeals them. For safety in factories, the Code makes the state government the appropriate government, so check your state’s rules.
This page is general information, not legal or safety-engineering advice. Confirm requirements with your EHS team, the current BIS standard and your state’s factory rules.
What a permit-to-work is (and isn’t)
IS 17893:2023 describes a work permit as a certified procedure that allows certain work in a fixed place during a given period, authorises entry to certain facilities, provides a checklist for systematic risk assessment, and serves as the official record of the safe conditions agreed by the issuer and the acceptor (Foreword). A permit is not the work order; it is the safety authorisation that sits beside it.
- Roles named in the standard (clause 2.2): issuer, acceptor/executor, area in-charge, area operator/technician, gas tester, and maintenance technician or contract supervisor. The issuer controls the whole process (2.3) and cannot issue a permit to themselves (7.2.1).
- Before filling in the permit, issuer and acceptor jointly assess the job’s risk and agree the procedure, the preparation and the PPE (2.6). Work can be stopped at any time if conditions change (2.8).
- Some routine activities are excluded, such as routine sampling, cold jobs in office buildings and designated workshop fabrication. These can still need a permit if they involve electrical isolation, height or excavation (1.2).
The seven IS 17893 permit types
The standard defines each permit type in clause 3 and gives a format for each in its annexes. The table summarises when each is needed and what the permit record should carry.
| Criterion | When it’s needed (IS 17893 summary) | Typical maintenance examples | Records the permit should carry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold work (3.1, Annex A) | Work not likely to produce enough heat to ignite flammable gases | Scaffolding, insulation, painting below 50 °C, greasing, condition monitoring, instrument repairs without process isolation | Job details, checklist, PPE, sign-offs |
| Hot work (3.2, Annex B) | Work producing heat or sparks that could ignite flammable or combustible material | Welding, grinding, gas cutting, soldering, use of open flames; non-flameproof equipment in hazardous areas | Gas test (O₂, LEL, toxic) with tester and time; fire watch and extinguisher; isolation |
| Confined space / vessel entry (3.3, Annex C) | Space not designed for continuous occupancy, with limited entry and exit | Tanks, reactors, columns, pits, sumps, silos, ducts, boiler drums | Gas tests at issue and renewal; isolation and blinding; standby person; ventilation; escape route |
| Excavation (3.4, Annex D) | Excavation of ground or soil below 30 cm | Digging for cable or pipe repairs | Underground services check; sign-off by affected owners |
| Electrical work (3.5, Annex E) | Electrical work needing positive isolation of power-driven equipment | Motor, panel or switchgear maintenance | Electrical permit number; isolation and tagging; restoration |
| Work at height (3.6, Annex F) | Jobs at height greater than 1.8 m | Roof, structure or elevated equipment work | Certified scaffolding; harness; ladder checks |
| Radiography (3.7, Annex G) | Radiography on pipelines or equipment | Weld inspection | Source isolation and restoration; single-use validity |
Permit stages, and where the CMMS fits
Validity: a permit is issued to the end of the shift. If the job runs into the next shift, the incoming shift-in-charge renews it (9.1). Continuous work beyond the approved time needs revalidation; work restarted the next day needs renewal (9.2.1). Cold work, hot work, vessel entry and excavation permits are valid for seven days, after which a new permit is issued (9.2.6). More generally, a permit can be extended for at most seven calendar days in total; after that, or after a break of more than one calendar day, it is closed and a new one issued (10.1.1). Radiography permits are single-use (9.1). Read together: each permit is issued for one shift, renewed shift by shift, and has a hard stop at seven days.
Gas tests: oxygen, hydrocarbon and toxic gas tests for hot work, vessel entry, entry into excavated pits and vehicle entry inside the plant area, with the tester’s name and time recorded (6.1), repeated at renewal and revalidation (9.3).
Isolation: the permit records process isolation and blinding (4.1.4), electrical isolation with its own electrical permit number and tagging (4.1.8), and mechanical blocking of rotating equipment (4.1.9). Separate permits are issued for blinding, disconnection or scaffolding before the main job permit (7.2.3(c)). Where isolations sit in another plant, shift-in-charges of both plants endorse the permit (8.1).
Suspension, cancellation and closure: any signatory or an authorised auditor can suspend a permit until conditions are put right (10.2.2). It is cancelled on a site emergency, an accident at the work area, or a violation of its conditions (10.2.1). At closure, all signatories sign and the site is cleared and made good (10.1.1–10.1.2). Permits are audited at random at least once a week (11.1.2(c)), and the issuer keeps closed permits for at least 30 days (13).
| Criterion | What happens (IS 17893) | CMMS or digital PTW record it should touch |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Request | Permit requested by issuer or acceptor (2.5) | Work order and asset; job scope; location |
| 2. Risk assessment | Issuer and acceptor jointly agree procedure, preparation and PPE (2.6) | Linked procedure and checklist; PPE list; risk notes |
| 3. Preparation and isolation | Isolation and blinding, depressurising, purging, electrical isolation, mechanical blocking (4.1.4–4.1.9); separate permits for blinding or scaffolding (7.2.3(c)) | Isolation points held against the asset; linked electrical permit number; conflict check against other open permits |
| 4. Gas test | Oxygen, hydrocarbon and toxic tests with name and time (6.1) | Readings stored on the permit with tester identity and timestamp |
| 5. Approval and issue | Issuer and executor approve; plant head of department authorises hot work, vessel entry and excavation (7.1) | Role-based sign-off sequence; list of authorised issuers (7.2.2) |
| 6. Execution and display | Acceptor’s copy displayed at the job (2.4); area operator keeps watch (7.5) | Permit visible at the job (printed, or on screen via QR code or number); status “active” on the work order |
| 7. Shift change, renewal, revalidation | Incoming shift reviews and renews; revalidation for continuous work; renewal for next-day restart; gas tests repeated (9.1–9.3) | Renewal entries with new readings and sign-offs; hard stop at seven calendar days (10.1.1) |
| 8. Suspend or cancel | Suspend until conditions are fixed; cancel on emergency, accident or violation (10.2) | Status change with reason, person and time; linked incident record if any |
| 9. Close | All signatories sign; site cleared and guards refitted (10.1) | Permit closed; work order completed; asset history updated |
| 10. Audit and keep | Weekly random audits (11); keep closed permits at least 30 days (13) | Searchable permit history; audit findings with actions; retention set to your policy (30 days is the standard’s minimum) |
Why plants link permits to the CMMS
Linking the permit to the maintenance record avoids retyping and makes risky overlaps visible.
- The work order already holds the asset, location, job scope, assigned people and parts. The permit reuses that context instead of retyping it.
- Isolations and lock points belong to assets. Holding them against the asset record makes conflicts visible: two jobs needing the same isolation, or a hot-work permit near a vessel that is open for entry.
- When the permit closes, the work order can close with it, and the asset history shows what was done and under what precautions.
- Weekly permit audits (IS 17893 clause 11) are faster when every permit, sign-off and gas reading is searchable.
- Field service is different: permits for service work at customer sites belong with field service management (FSM). This page is about plant maintenance in a CMMS; see FSM vs CMMS for the difference.
Paper to digital: what IS 17893 assumes and what to decide
IS 17893 is written for paper: permits in triplicate, with the acceptor’s copy displayed at the job site, the issuer’s copy kept for control, and a third copy for the safety department (2.4). A digital PTW has to meet the same intent: a copy visible at the job location (a printed or on-screen permit with its QR code or number), a controlling copy with the issuer, and a record for safety. Decide with your EHS team and auditors how sign-offs, display at site and record retention will work digitally before you retire paper.
- Where a law (not just the standard) requires a permit or certificate to be in writing, the Information Technology Act, 2000 treats an electronic record as meeting that requirement if it stays accessible for later reference (s.4). Electronic records can also meet a legal retention period if kept in their original or an accurate format, with origin and date and time details (s.7).
- Where a law requires a signature, the IT Act accepts an electronic signature only if it is affixed in the manner the Central Government prescribes (s.5), using a technique it considers reliable and lists in the Act’s Second Schedule (s.3A). A tap-to-approve inside an app is not automatically an IT Act electronic signature. Many plants use in-app approvals for internal sign-offs; check with your legal and EHS teams which permits or certificates your rules require to be signed, and how.
- We found no regulator guidance specific to digital work permits as of 10 October 2026.
Digital PTW checklist: what to look for
Use this list when you assess a digital permit system or a CMMS permit module.
- Every permit links to a work order, an asset and a location; no free-floating permits.
- All seven IS 17893 permit types available, with the matching annex fields as templates your EHS team controls.
- Role-based sign-offs: issuer, acceptor/executor, area in-charge, gas tester, and plant head of department where required. The system stops anyone issuing a permit to themselves.
- A list of authorised issuers per area, kept up to date.
- Gas-test readings recorded with tester, instrument and time; repeated at renewal and revalidation.
- Isolation points recorded against the asset; warnings when two open permits rely on the same isolation or conflict in the same area.
- Validity rules: end-of-shift validity, renewal by the incoming shift, and a hard stop at seven calendar days.
- Suspension and cancellation with reason codes, linked to incident records.
- A permit visible at the job site (printout or mobile view) that matches the system record.
- Works offline, or degrades safely, where plant connectivity is poor, with a defined paper fallback if the system is down.
- A full audit trail of every change; exportable permit history for weekly audits and inspections.
- Retention set by your policy (not shorter than the standard’s 30 days), and data hosted where your company needs it.
The law: OSH Code, the old Factories Act, and state rules
Permit systems sit inside a legal framework that changed in November 2025.
- The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 (Ministry of Labour and Employment notification S.O. 5321(E), 21 November 2025).
- Section 143 repealed the Factories Act, 1948, among other laws. Anything done or made under the repealed Acts, including rules and notifications, stays in force to the extent it doesn’t conflict with the Code, until the Central Government repeals it (s.143(3)).
- Section 18 lets the Central Government declare occupational safety and health standards. Item 16 of the Second Schedule includes “precautions against dangerous fumes, gases, etc.” This was the subject of the old Factories Act section 36, which required a competent person’s written certificate, or breathing apparatus with a lifeline, before entry into confined spaces.
- For occupational safety, health and working conditions in a factory, the state government where the factory is located is the appropriate government (s.2(1)(d), Explanation). So the rules a plant follows are its state’s rules under the Code, and the old state Factories Rules while they remain in force (s.143(3)). The Central Government’s own rules under the Code, the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026, were notified on 8 May 2026 (G.S.R. 345(E)) for establishments under the Centre.
- Some existing rules already require a permit system for specific work. For example, Gujarat’s Factories Rules, 1963 (Schedule XIX under rule 102, chemical works) require a permit-to-work system with isolation, purging, set procedures, supervision and rescue arrangements. Under the Petroleum Rules, 2002 (rule 171), maintenance, repair and confined-space entry in refineries need a written permit as per OISD-STD-105.
- IS 17893 is a BIS code of practice. We found no law, rule or notification that makes IS 17893 itself binding as of 10 October 2026. It remains the Indian reference code for permit systems; check what your state rules, licences, sector regulator and insurers require.
Beyond India
Permit-to-work is common practice in industrial plants in many countries, and the permit types and stages in this guide will look familiar elsewhere. The standard and laws named here are Indian; other countries have their own.
Where Upvantix fits
Upvantix CMMS is designed to organise the asset register, work requests and work orders, preventive maintenance, checklists and inspections, procedures and documents, and completion records with photos, notes and measurements, with QR access to the asset at the point of work. It is designed for deployment in your AWS environment. If you are planning to run permits alongside maintenance work orders, talk to us about how your permit process and your CMMS records should connect.
This guide summarises IS 17893:2023 and public Indian legal texts as read on 10 October 2026. It is general information, not legal or safety-engineering advice. Standards, codes and state rules change; confirm requirements with your EHS team, the current BIS standard and your state’s rules.
Common questions about digital permit-to-work
What is IS 17893:2023?
IS 17893:2023, Work Permit System — Code of Practice, is a Bureau of Indian Standards code (June 2023) that prescribes work permits for cold work, hot work, confined space/vessel entry, excavation, electrical work, work at height and radiography.
How long is a work permit valid under IS 17893?
Until the end of the shift, with renewal by the incoming shift-in-charge. It can be extended for a maximum of seven calendar days; after that, or after a break of more than one calendar day, a new permit is issued. Radiography permits are single-use.
Which permits need a gas test?
IS 17893 calls for oxygen, hydrocarbon and toxic gas tests for hot work, vessel entry, entry into excavated pits and vehicle entry inside the plant area, repeated at renewal and revalidation.
How long should closed permits be kept?
IS 17893 says the issuer keeps closed permits for at least 30 days from closure. Many plants keep them longer under their own policy.
Is the Factories Act still the law for permits?
No. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 and repealed the Factories Act, 1948. Rules made under the old Act, including state Factories Rules, continue to the extent they don’t conflict with the Code until the Central Government repeals them. Check your state’s current rules.
Why link permits to a CMMS instead of a separate EHS tool?
Most permits exist because of maintenance work. Linking them to the work order and asset reuses the job context, makes conflicting isolations visible, and keeps the permit in the asset history. Some plants use a separate EHS system; the link to work orders matters either way.
Is a CMMS permit module the same as FSM?
No. A CMMS handles plant and facility maintenance; FSM handles service work at customer sites. Upvantix runs CMMS and Field Service Management as separate products.