CASE STUDY
Control of Work
How Eli Lilly, SI Group, and a global pharmaceutical manufacturer standardized permit workflows, reduced approval times, and improved governance of hazardous work with Benchmark Gensuite
INDUSTRY
Pharma & Chemicals
Organizations
3 Subscribers
Sites
100+ Combined
Sites
Permit to Work
25%
reduction in permit approval time
50k+
paper permit documents eliminated monthly
94,965
permits processed annually across 60+ sites
Executive Outcome Summary
Permit to work is one of the most operationally demanding processes in EHS — bringing together multiple disciplines, contractor coordination, hazard controls, and work authorization before a single job begins. For Eli Lilly, SI Group, and a global pharmaceutical manufacturer operating across the Asia-Pacific region, that process had outgrown the paper-based systems and fragmented site applications sustaining it. Working with the Benchmark Gensuite team, these organizations replaced disconnected permit workflows with configurable digital programs that support consistent governance across dozens of facilities while preserving site-level flexibility. The results included a 25% reduction in permit approval time, the elimination of more than 50,000 paper permit documents each month, 750 FTE hours per month of labor optimized, and a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate reduced to 0.07 — demonstrating that modernizing permit to work creates operational and safety improvements that extend well beyond process efficiency.
Three Global Manufacturers, One Shared Governance Challenge
Eli Lilly, SI Group, and a global pharmaceutical manufacturer operating across the Asia-Pacific region each manage large, distributed manufacturing operations where hazardous work is a daily operational reality. Eli Lilly operates across a major business campus with multiple departments and business units managing their own permitting processes. SI Group runs 27 global manufacturing sites where consistency in enforcing critical safety rules had become increasingly difficult to achieve. The APAC pharmaceutical manufacturer oversees 60+ facilities spanning more than 80 countries — a network where fragmented, locally managed permit processes had grown into a significant governance liability.
What these organizations share is the operational complexity that makes permit to work difficult to manage at scale. A permit to work system is the formal process used to authorize, coordinate, and document hazardous work before activities begin — ensuring hazards are identified, controls are in place, qualified personnel are assigned, and required approvals are completed before work proceeds. In complex industrial environments, a single permit may involve maintenance teams, operations supervisors, contractors, Process Safety Management (PSM) personnel, Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals, and site leadership simultaneously.
Permit to work is a core component of Control of Work — the broader discipline that connects work authorization, lockout/tagout, contractor management, safety risk assessment, and related operational controls into a unified approach to managing hazardous work across an enterprise. Benchmark Gensuite’s Control of Work solution suite integrates these capabilities on a single platform, allowing organizations to govern high-risk activities with consistent standards while supporting the field-level execution where safety decisions are made. For all three organizations, the question was not whether to modernize — it was how to do so without disrupting the field-level work their operations depended on every day.
INDUSTRY CONTEXT
In high-hazard industries, permit to work is evolving from an administrative requirement into a foundational operational control.
When High-Risk Work Outgrew Traditional Permit Processes
Permit to work is operationally demanding because it brings multiple disciplines together before hazardous work can begin. A single permit may require review by contractors, maintenance planners, operations supervisors, area owners, EHS professionals, and PSM leaders — while accounting for confined space hazards, hot work controls, lockout/tagout requirements, PPE verification, worker qualifications, simultaneous operations, and department-specific procedures.
When those activities are managed through paper documentation, disconnected workflows, or independently developed site applications, organizations across industries tend to encounter the same operational problems.
For the global pharmaceutical manufacturer in APAC, the fragmented approach meant managing 16+ distinct paper-based permit types across dozens of facilities with no common framework, no real-time visibility into active work, and approval cycles long enough to delay work authorization across the enterprise.
Eli Lilly faced a similar dynamic across a large business campus, where paper-based teams and groups still using legacy Lotus Notes systems operated in parallel, limiting the organization’s ability to maintain consistent permit content, track approvals, or gain a unified view of active hazardous work. SI Group operated across roughly 27 global manufacturing sites where physical permit boards and manual documentation made audits time-consuming, compliance monitoring inconsistent, and standardization across locations difficult to achieve.
Although each organization approached Benchmark Gensuite from a different operational environment, they shared a common objective: create a more consistent, transparent, and scalable way to control high-risk work.
Moving to a digital permit-to-work program wasn’t about going paperless — it was about being able to stand at the job site, have the right safety conversations, and know we are consistently applying our critical rules everywhere.
Jenny Rann — Safety Leader, SI Group
Collaborating with Each Organization to Modernize Without Disrupting Field Execution
Each implementation began with a different operational reality, but all three organizations shared a common goal: modernize permit to work without disrupting the way work was performed in the field. Rather than introducing a one-size-fits-all process, the Benchmark Gensuite team worked with each organization to understand existing workflows, governance requirements, and operational constraints.
A global pharmaceutical manufacturer operating throughout the Asia-Pacific region sought to standardize permit to work across a network of 60+ manufacturing sites spanning more than 80 countries. Before implementation, permitting processes varied by location, with some facilities relying on paper documentation and others using locally developed applications. Managing 16+ distinct permit types across a geographically dispersed site network created significant governance fragmentation. Approval cycles were lengthy, permit status was difficult to track in real time, and standardizing the program at enterprise scale remained an unresolved operational challenge. Working with the Benchmark Gensuite team, the organization implemented a configurable permit to work program that established common governance while allowing sites to maintain the operational flexibility their work environments required.
Eli Lilly focused on improving consistency and visibility across permit workflows that had evolved independently across a large business campus. Some departments continued relying on paper documentation, while others managed permits through legacy systems including Lotus Notes. Although these approaches supported local operations, they limited enterprise visibility and made it difficult to maintain a consistent permitting process, manage approvals efficiently, or scale the program across additional facilities. Working closely with Benchmark Gensuite, Eli Lilly implemented a standardized digital workflow that improved permit visibility while supporting practical field execution across 20 sites — with expansion ongoing. The collaboration also produced enhanced color-coded permit printouts that remained easy for frontline teams to use during work activities, demonstrating that digital transformation does not require sacrificing field usability.
SI Group approached permit to work modernization as part of a broader initiative to unify fragmented EHS processes across its 27 global manufacturing sites. The organization needed a common permit framework that could enforce consistent safety standards while enabling supervisors and field personnel to review, approve, and execute permits using tablets and mobile devices at the point of work. Working alongside the Benchmark Gensuite team, SI Group standardized five permit types across its global operations — creating a common governance structure that could be applied consistently regardless of facility location while supporting the mobile execution workflows their field teams required.
Digitizing Permit to Work Across the Complete Work Authorization Lifecycle
Working with each organization, the Benchmark Gensuite team implemented a digital permit to work process designed to support how high-risk work is planned, authorized, executed, and monitored in real operating environments. Rather than simply replacing paper permits with electronic forms, the implementation focused on creating a connected workflow that improves operational visibility and supports enterprise governance from permit request through closure.
The Permit to Work application guides organizations through the complete permit lifecycle:
The implementation also connects permit to work with broader Control of Work capabilities — integrating with Contractor Manager to associate approved contractors and projects with individual permits, and with Training Tracker to verify worker qualifications before hazardous work begins. This integration transforms permit to work from a standalone approval process into a connected operational workflow that supports safer execution and stronger governance across high-risk activities.
Operational Impact
“We were looking for a platform with integration to streamline our permitting process and be flexible enough to adapt to our written programs when it came to how we execute it.”
Shawn French, Director Health, Safety, Environment at Eli Lilly
Improved Operational Visibility, Safety Performance, and Governance Maturity
Although each implementation reflected different operational priorities and starting points, the organizations achieved consistent improvements after modernizing permit to work. Digital workflows replaced fragmented paper-based processes, giving supervisors and EHS teams greater visibility into permit status, active work, and approval progress. Standardized workflows improved consistency across facilities while preserving the flexibility required for individual site operations.
For the global pharmaceutical manufacturer in APAC, the outcomes were measurable and significant. Moving from a fragmented, paper-heavy program across 60+ sites to a unified digital platform produced a 25% reduction in permit approval time, the elimination of more than 50,000 paper permit documents each month, and 750 FTE hours per month of labor optimized through streamlined workflows. The organization also achieved a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate of 0.07 — an outcome the organization connected to improved hazard controls, real-time operational visibility, and the standardization of critical safety rules across its global site network.
25% reduction in permit approval time
50,000+ paper permit documents eliminated monthly
750 FTE hours per month of labor optimized
LTIFR reduced to 0.07 with improved hazard controls
94,965 permits processed annually across 60+ sites
Standardized permit governance across 100+ combined sites
Real-time visibility into active permits and hazardous work
Audit readiness strengthened with searchable digital permit records
How These Organizations Modernized Permit to Work Governance
Across all three implementations, the shift from paper-based processes to digital permit to work produced consistent improvements in work authorization governance, operational visibility, and audit readiness. The table below captures the most significant operational changes.
| BEFORE | AFTER |
|---|---|
| Paper-based permits and disconnected site applications with no common framework | Unified digital permit to work program with configurable workflows across all facilities |
| Long approval cycles caused by manual routing and limited visibility into approval status | Configurable digital approval workflows with real-time permit status visibility |
| Inconsistent permit requirements and forms across sites and business units | Standardized permit governance with site-level configurability through Field Manager |
| Contractor coordination managed through manual handoffs and paper forms | Secure contractor participation through QR codes and no-login mobile workflows |
| Worker qualification checks performed manually and separately from the permit process | Integrated training verification through Training Tracker before work assignment |
| Paper permit archives difficult to retrieve for audits or incident investigations | Searchable digital permit records with complete work authorization history |
| No visibility into active work locations or simultaneous operations across the site | Interactive site maps providing real-time visibility into active hazardous work |
Balancing Standardization with Operational Flexibility
The experiences of Eli Lilly, SI Group, and the global pharmaceutical manufacturer illustrate several principles applicable to organizations modernizing permit to work programs.
Permit to Work Is Becoming a Cornerstone of Enterprise Control of Work
Across manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, and other high-hazard industries, permit to work is evolving from an administrative requirement into a foundational operational control. Organizations increasingly depend on digital permit to work programs to improve visibility into hazardous work, coordinate multiple stakeholders, strengthen work authorization governance, and maintain complete records that support regulatory compliance, audits, and continuous improvement.
As enterprise operations become more complex, permit to work also serves as a critical connection point between planning, authorization, contractor management, worker qualifications, field execution, and operational oversight. Many organizations initially implemented permit to work programs when operations were simpler or smaller in scale. Processes that once supported a single facility may no longer provide the traceability, defensibility, and governance visibility now required across multi-site, global operations.
ORGANIZATION
Eli Lilly • SI Group
+ Global Pharma Manufacturer, APAC
Industries
Pharma, Chemicals
Combined Sites
100+
APAC Sites
60+
Annual Permits
94,965 in 2025
Global Pharma Manufacturer, APAC
Solutions Used
Permit to Work
Control of Work
Training Tracker
Contractor Manager
Field Manager
TOPICS
Permit to Work
Control of Work
High-Risk Work
Work Authorization
Contractor Safety
EHS Governance
Audit Readiness
Mobile EHS
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