Most organisations running a permit to work system believe they have control of work under management.
They don’t.
A permit to work is one component of control of work — an important one. But it is not the system. And treating it as though it is leaves structural gaps in how hazardous work is actually governed on your site.
Understanding the distinction is not academic. For operations managers and HSE leaders in oil and gas, chemicals, power generation, and heavy manufacturing, it determines whether your safety framework holds under the conditions that actually test it.
What Control of Work Actually Means
Control of work is the overarching management system through which an organisation governs every non-routine hazardous activity — from identification and planning through to completion and close-out.
It encompasses:
- Permit to Work (PTW) — the formal authorisation process for hazardous tasks
- Isolation Management (LOTO) — physical isolation of energy sources, linked directly to each active permit
- Risk Assessment — JSA, HIRA, and site-specific evaluation before work begins
- Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) — detection and management of conflicting work activities on the same equipment or in the same area
- Competency Management — verification that every person undertaking safety-critical work holds current, valid authorisation
- Gas Testing and Atmospheric Monitoring — real-time environmental conditions linked to permit validity
- Audit, Inspection, and Incident Management — the governance layer that closes the loop
A permit to work system manages one part of this list.
A control of work system manages all of it — and keeps each part structurally connected to the others.
Why the Gap Matters
When these components are managed separately — a permit system here, isolation records in a spreadsheet there, competency certificates in a filing cabinet — the gaps between them are where incidents happen.
A permit is issued. The isolation is not yet complete. The issuer has no way to know, because the two systems do not talk to each other.
A hot work permit is approved in an area where a pressure test is already underway on adjacent equipment. Two separate systems. No cross-reference. No conflict detection.
A worker whose confined space entry certification expired six weeks ago is assigned to a safety-critical task. The supervisor signs in good faith. No competency check is embedded in the process.
These are not edge cases. They are the recurring failure patterns in process safety incidents across the past three decades. In almost every case, each individual step was followed. What failed was the system that should have connected those steps — because that system was either absent, or it was not functioning as designed.
What Genuine Control of Work Software Does
Purpose-built control of work software removes the gaps between components by making them structurally inseparable.
Permits and isolations are interlinked by design, not instruction.
A permit cannot progress while a linked isolation is incomplete. An isolation cannot be removed while a permit is live. The system enforces this. It does not rely on a supervisor remembering to check.
SIMOPS and anti-clash detection surface conflicts before they escalate.
When a new permit is raised for an area or piece of equipment where live work already exists, the system flags the conflict automatically — before the permit is approved, not after the crews arrive at the same equipment.
Competency verification is embedded in the workflow.
Worker qualifications are checked at the point of permit issue. Expiry alerts, automatic role restrictions, and qualification-gated task assignment mean safety-critical work is only authorised for personnel with current, valid certification — without manual checking at every step.
Risk assessment is part of the permit, not a separate document.
A JSA or HIRA completed before work begins is linked directly to the permit it governs — not filed separately and cross-referenced by number.
The audit trail is continuous and complete.
Every action — every approval, modification, handover, and closure — is logged automatically, timestamped and attributed. When a regulator arrives, or an incident requires investigation, the record is there. Not scattered across binders.
An Integrated Safe System of Work
When all of these components operate within a single connected platform, the result is what the industry refers to as an Integrated Safe System of Work — ISSoW.
The difference between an ISSoW and a standalone permit to work system is significant.
- With a PTW system, you have controlled the permit.
- With an ISSoW, you have controlled the work.
That distinction matters every time a contractor starts a job on a live site, every time a shift changes hands mid-task, and every time multiple concurrent operations are running across a complex facility.
What This Looks Like in Practice
iPermit2.0 is IAMTech’s control of work and ISSoW platform — purpose-built for high-hazard industrial operations, and trusted across 27 countries by organisations including Anglo American, Dominion Energy, KAEFER, Air Products, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Every component of a complete control of work system is included as standard in a single fixed annual licence: ePTW, Isolation Management (LOTO), SIMOPS and Anti-Clash Detection, Risk Assessment (JSA/HIRA), Competency Verification, Gas Testing and Atmospheric Monitoring, Audit and Inspection, Incident and Investigation Management, Sanction for Test, and PermitBot — an AI assistant that lets supervisors query live permit status, flag conflicts, and receive expiry alerts in natural language.
The platform is designed to be live within weeks, with an interface operational teams can adopt without lengthy implementation programmes.
“iPermit has been a transformative tool for SMC Ltd since its implementation. The centralised platform has greatly reduced the administrative burden allowing teams to allocate their time and resources more efficiently to critical tasks.
— Andrew Corrie, Head of Marine Operations, Specialist Marine Consultants (SMC) Ltd
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between control of work and permit to work?
Permit to work is one component of control of work. A permit to work system manages the formal authorisation of hazardous tasks. A control of work system manages the full lifecycle of non-routine hazardous work — including isolation management, risk assessment, competency verification, simultaneous operations, gas testing, and audit — with all components connected in a single workflow. Controlling the permit is not the same as controlling the work.
What is control of work software?
Control of work software is a digital platform that manages all elements of a safe system of work in a single, integrated environment. Rather than running permit to work, isolation management, and risk assessment as separate processes, control of work software connects them structurally — so a permit cannot progress without a validated risk assessment, an isolation cannot be removed while a permit is live, and every action is captured in one connected audit trail.
What is an ISSoW platform?
An Integrated Safe System of Work (ISSoW) platform is a control of work system in which all safety-critical processes — permits, isolations, risk assessments, competency records, SIMOPS detection, gas testing, and audits — are interlinked within one system. ISSoW is the standard sought by regulators and major operators across oil and gas, chemicals, power generation, and heavy industry as the basis for demonstrating genuine safety governance.
Which industries use control of work software?
Control of work software is used wherever non-routine hazardous work must be formally managed: oil and gas production and refining, chemical processing, power generation, offshore operations, mining, utilities, pharmaceuticals, and major infrastructure. Any site with simultaneous operations, isolation requirements, or a contractor workforce conducting safety-critical tasks has a use case for a structured control of work system.
How is control of work software different from a generic EHS platform?
Generic EHS platforms are typically designed for environmental, health, and safety reporting — incident logging, compliance tracking, and documentation management. Control of work software is designed for operational safety governance at the point of work — managing live permits, active isolations, and concurrent operations in real time. The two serve different purposes. In high-hazard environments where non-routine work carries significant consequence, purpose-built control of work software is the appropriate tool.
Further Reading:
Paper Permits vs Electronic Permit to Work Software: What's the Real Cost?
A Business Case for Electronic Permit to Work Software.
Ready to see what a genuine control of work system looks like in practice? Book a demo with the IAMTech team — no pressure, no commitment. Speak with a specialist who understands your industry.
About the Author: Ross Coulman is the Managing Director of IAMTech, a global leader in industrial asset management and technology solutions. With over 20 years of experience in the sector, Ross has driven IAMTech’s growth from a start-up to a trusted partner for the oil, gas, chemical, and power industries worldwide. Passionate about innovation and sustainability, he champions the use of digital transformation to enhance efficiency, safety, and compliance across complex industrial operations.
