How Paper Permits Are Costing You

The purpose of permits is to act as a safety control to reduce the risk of incidents occurring.

But, there are too many obstacles throughout the process, resulting in them not

being used correctly.
Today, you'll learn about the common problems with paper to understand why construction companies are choosing to go digital. 

Paper permitting is unreliable

It is unreliable because there are limited methods for making safe decisions on permit approval. 

Site Managers need the ability to quickly identify conflicts between active permits. However, when paper is used - there is no way to simply identify conflicts. 

Site Managers can end up in a position where they have approved permits in unsafe circumstances. 

But what if you could have an overview of active permits to make safe decisions? How many incidents could you avoid?

Additionally, paper permitting is unreliable because workers don't engage with the safety checks.

Safety checks are supposed to occur before, during and after high-risk work. However, workers often skip the required checks. 

Suppose your company wants to ensure that all combustible materials are relocated before hot-works commences, how do you ensure workers complete the right safety checks?

Paper permitting lacks compliance

This is because paper is often lost, damaged and leaves no audit trial. 

Auditing becomes a time-consuming project, where providing evidence is difficult.

Companies end up in situations where they have only completed a fraction of the safety checks required for an audit. 

So, how would you prove your permit process is compliant?

Paper permitting wastes time

SignOnSite research found that the average paper permit takes 30 minutes from request to approval.

Workers are forced to stop, travel to the site office to see the Site Manager and physically obtain a piece of paper.

Workers are sidelined while waiting on approval, significantly reducing tool time. 

How much time do you think paper permitting is costing you?

Paper permitting counteracts your goals

Our research has found that the paper permitting prevents construction companies from meeting their business goals: to run efficient, profitable projects while protecting everyone's safety.

If you are experiencing similar problems, consider assessing how you can improve safety and operations with technology.