Aboyne, Scotland. December 5th 2025 – Ian Macleod Distillers has adopted the Pisys Permit to work system across five distilleries, improving the efficiency of managing safety related tasks.
Pisys, a Scottish software company, specialising in customisable cloud-based HSEQ systems for industries such as energy, food, education and healthcare. Their flagship Permit to Work system is widely used worldwide to manage risk efficiently.
Ian Macleod Distillers, an independent Scottish distillery group, best known for brands such as Glengoyne, Rosebank, Smokehead, Edinburgh Gin and Tamdhu, has a constant programme of maintenance and upgrades to their numerous buildings of different ages. Many of these tasks are in high-hazard areas and involve working in confined spaces, hot work or working at heights.
The company had outgrown their previous paper-based permit system as activity had increased and were looking for a more efficient option that matched their very specific requirements.
Given the nature of the business, there are particular risks that need to be carefully managed within the permit to work system. Breach of containment – the unplanned release of a flammable substance – has to be managed by an effective isolations procedure, competence certificates and insurance have to be checked before contractors start work on site and members of the public who come close to working plant have to be protected.
For all work, proper risk assessments must be performed in advance, so that everyone is aware of the dangers and controls associated with the tasks they need to perform.
After a month’s trial of the Pisys Permit to Work system at two distilleries, the company saw immediate benefits in terms of control and visibility of permits. They have now rolled it out across five sites and have noted improved visibility of activity across the sites while the time taken to manage permits has decreased significantly.
John Colquhoun, Central Sites Maintenance Manager, commented, “We’ve seen significant benefits in a relatively short time, faster processing of permits and improved visibility of tasks have really made a difference to our operation. Particular highlights were the speed of set up by the Pisys team and the ease of configuring the system to create or amend permits. Managing isolations and contractors is also very easy and the whole system has the level of flexibility that Ian Macleod Distillers require for more efficient risk management, task planning and execution.”
ENDS