Clearance Issuers – Low Risk Work

Whenever construction, maintenance, demolition or remediation work is performed, there is the potential for harm to people and the environment or damage to equipment.

To effectively manage this risk, a Control of Work process has been developed to enable tasks to be completed safely and without incident.

The WPCG Program defines different levels of risk, and the controls and authorisations required to ensure those risks are controlled before work can begin.

WORK CLEARANCE ISSUER – LOWER RISK WORK

Have you been asked to get the WPCG accreditation – this probably means that you need to get the Work Clearance Issuer accreditation.

To be able to issue the work clearance and minimum controls checklist, you must be an accredited Work Clearance Issuer. To obtain this accreditation you must attend the Work Clearance Issuer course. Successfully completing the course will provide you with the accreditation to authorise maintenance and construction work on oil company facilities, which include service stations, fuel depots and commercial facilities.

LOWER RISK WORK / WORK CLEARANCE

The first and lowest level of authorisation is the WPCG Work Clearance. The Work Clearance must be completed and authorised for all work on WPCG member facilities regardless of whether additional authorisation levels are required.

WORK CLEARANCE + MINIMUM CONTROLS CHECKLIST

The second level of authorisation combines the WPCG Work Clearance with the WPCG Minimum Controls Checklists.

These Checklists are required for any work that poses sufficient risk to require additional controls but is not significant enough to require a work permit.

The WPCG Minimum Controls Checklists are specific to:

  • Minor ground disturbance,
  • Minor work at height, and
  • Minor hot work inside hazardous areas.

Each of these checklists ensures all relevant minimum safety controls are in place before any work begins.

HIGHER-RISK WORK

Higher-risk work and work that cannot be done under the WPCG Work Clearance and Minimum Controls Checklists must be completed under the  WPCG Work Permit System. Clearance Issuers are not able to authorise this work, it must be authorised by a WPCG accredited Permit Officer.

In the Work Permit System there are also the roles of Permit Receiver and Permit Endorser. Clearance Issuers undertake this training when they attend the Clearance Issuer course.

For more information please refer to the FAQ page. If you require clarification contact us at WPCG enquiries on 03 9399 8002.