Inside a munitions factory, a subcontractor is onsite ready to perform work with a blowtorch inside a pyrotechnics facility without a permit and during a period when the plant was closed. The safety manager intervened before the blowtorch was used and decided on an alternative operating procedure. A 1-week work permit had been signed on Monday without informing either the safety manager (on holiday) or the works foreman. Moreover, the permit had been authorised for identical tasks to be conducted in 3 different workshops reporting to different managers (“block leaders”). Given the absence of the block leader for the specific workshop, his colleague had considered the intended repair works to be risk-free and granted authorisation. The production chain however had remained stocked with (capped) pyrotechnic products to facilitate production restart after the holiday period. The operator had anticipated that a work permit was issued solely for a fixed period since works supervision in the presence of the site foreman is not the same as during the holidays and moreover that a work permit intended for different premises or circumstances would require approvals from the pertinent managers. Managers were reminded to seek issuance of distinct permits for different tasks.