Who is this article for?

Administrators responsible for managing permits.

Administrator role and Permits module access are required.

Role-based access in the SafetyStratus Permits module ensures that each user sees and can act on only what is relevant to their role, keeping permit workflows secure, organized, and compliance-ready whilst reducing clutter for end users.

1. Understanding why role-based access matters

Role-based access provides several key benefits for your permit management:

• Data security – prevents unauthorised viewing or editing of sensitive permit information
• Clarity of workload – users see only their tasks and assigned permits
• Compliance assurance – ensures the right stakeholders are involved at the right steps
• Workflow efficiency – automatically routes review and approval to the correct roles

Role-based access gives the right people the right tools—nothing more, nothing less—so they can focus on their responsibilities.

Example scenarios:

• In academia, only a principal investigator and their lab safety manager may see amendments to a biosafety permit
• In manufacturing, only the safety engineering team can approve hot work permits
• In construction, a confined space entry permit is routed only to the site's designated entry supervisor and environmental health and safety lead

2. Understanding the foundational access model

Before adding advanced configurations, it is important to understand how default system roles work. Foundational access provides a baseline permission set without custom mapping.

The system includes two default roles:

General users, inspectors, and area managers

• Can create permits for any active permit type and manage only their own submissions
• Can edit whilst in draft or review
• Can see status updates
• Can view amendment and renewal history for their own permits
• Typically used by field staff requesting hot work or lab members requesting chemical permits

Administrators

• Have full visibility and edit rights to all permits
• Can configure permit types, workflows, and form fields
• Can export data
• Can manage dashboards and reports
• Typically used by environmental health and safety directors, compliance officers, and system administrators

Note: You can access role-based access settings in the admin user interface by navigating to Data Manager > Access Roles, with related settings available in Edit Forms > Permits.