Singapore Jurong Island Chemical Plant Cuts 5,000+ Hours of Downtime Annually with viAct e-PTW
A leading chemical manufacturer on Jurong Island, Singapore’s petrochemical hub, faced mounting inefficiencies with its paper-based permit to work (PTW) system. High-risk operations such as hot work, confined space entry, and electrical lockouts were delayed by manual approvals, misplaced documents, and overlapping activities. These issues not only slowed production but also created risks during regulatory audits. To resolve this, viAct Electronic Permit to Work (e-PTW) solution, was implemented for every high-risk activity.
5,000+ Hours of Downtime Saved
with faster, paperless permit approvals.
10x Safer Shutdowns & Maintenance
through real-time visibility of ongoing permits.
Zero Overlapping High-Risk Activities
through automated conflict checks.
Company Overview
The Jurong Island–based chemical manufacturer is a key player in Singapore’s petrochemical and specialty chemical sector, operating large-scale plants that support both domestic and global supply chains. With thousands of employees and contractors engaged in high-risk operations daily, the company is committed to innovation, safety, and sustainability, ensuring full alignment with Singapore’s industrial growth and environmental responsibility.
Story Snapshot
Facing bottlenecks and compliance risks from manual permit-to-work processes, the chemical giant sought a digital-first approach to managing high-risk tasks. By deploying viAct electronic Permit to Work (e-PTW), the company streamlined approvals, reduced delays, and improved workforce productivity; thereby cutting over 5,000 hours of downtime annually while strengthening both safety culture and operational resilience.
Industry:
Manufacturing
Location:
Jurong Island
Use Case:
e-Permit to Work
The Challenge
Streamlining Work Permits, Managing Approvals to Reduce Wait-Around-Time
Operating at the heart of Jurong Island, this leading chemical manufacturer runs complex plants where safety, uptime, and compliance are non-negotiable. Yet traditional permit-to-work systems, which are heavily reliant on paper, manual signatures, and back-and-forth approvals were slowing critical tasks and straining productivity. Plant teams reported frequent hold-ups when permits were misplaced or delayed in circulation, leaving maintenance crews idle and shutdown projects behind schedule.
Safety officers struggled to coordinate thousands of contractors spread across multiple high-risk units, and reliance on manual processes often meant risks were identified late, rather than prevented at the source. To remain competitive and aligned with Singapore’s Workplace Safety and Health 2028 vision, leaders turned to a digital-first solution that could deliver faster workflows with operational resilience.
“Paper permits created constant friction for our teams. Every delay in approvals meant lost hours on the ground and greater exposure to risk. With viAct e-PTW, we’ve cut 5000+ hours of downtime annually with more transparency in operations.”
Plant Safety Manager
Jurong Island Chemical Manufacturer
The Solution
Digitizing Work Permits to Cut Delays and Boost Compliance
To overcome delays and fragmented manual processes, the chemical manufacturer deployed viAct AI-powered e-PTW system, transforming permit management into a fully digital workflow. Through the centralized platform, plant teams could initiate, route, and approve permits seamlessly, eliminating paper trails and missed handovers. The system integrated contractor access control, task-specific risk assessments, and live status tracking into one hub—allowing safety officers to monitor hundreds of permits across high-risk units in real time.
What once meant chasing signatures for days was reduced to instant digital approvals. Crews no longer stood idle, and managers gained immediate visibility into pending, approved, and closed permits. Compliance dashboards offered a live view of operational readiness, ensuring tasks aligned with Singapore’s MOM-WSH standards.
“By shifting to viAct e-PTW, we unified permit workflows under one roof. It has been a turning point for uptime and compliance,” said the Plant Safety Manager.
“With real-time dashboards, downtime has dropped drastically. Bottlenecks are now transparent, audit-ready digital processes,” added the Maintenance Supervisor.
Unifying Critical Permits for eliminating Approval delays
To eliminate delays and risks caused by manual paperwork, the chemical manufacturer turned to viAct e-PTW system, a digital-first platform purpose-built for high-risk industries. The system streamlined approvals for the most critical permits, including Hot Work Permits (HWP), Cold Work Permits (CWP), Confined Space Entry Permits (CSEP), and Electrical Work Permits (EWP), ensuring safety protocols were enforced before any hazardous task could begin.
By digitizing these essential permits with built-in safety checks, the plant eliminated approval delays, improved visibility for safety officers, and ensured no hazardous task could begin without authorization.
Real-Time Authorization of Work Permits with Digital Signatures
The shift to digital signatures brought immediate relief to the bottlenecks created by paper-based workflows. Every permit could now be signed off securely and routed in real time. Contractors, supervisors, and safety officers no longer had to wait for physical documents to circulate; rather, approvals happened instantly on a unified platform.
This digital-first approach reduced idle waiting time and created a traceable audit trail for every permit. “With viAct e-PTW, digital signatures have cut days of delay into minutes. Our teams stay productive, and every permit is now fully accountable,” said the Maintenance Supervisor.
The Impact
Strengthening resilience and stakeholder trust with viAct e-PTW
By digitizing authorizations, the company built a transparent system of record that reinforced accountability across contractors, supervisors, and leadership. This credibility became critical in regulatory reviews and partnership negotiations, where demonstrable safety governance increasingly influences outcomes.
The digital shift also signaled a cultural change, reframing permits as proactive safeguards rather than administrative delays.
In the long run, this transformation strengthened trust with employees, regulators, and partners alike, positioning the company as a resilient, future-ready operator in a sector where safety and uptime are inseparable from competitiveness.
“With structured data fed from viAct e-PTW software into wider operational insights, leaders gained insights to plan more precisely”.
Plant Safety Manager
Jurong Island Chemical Manufacturer