One of the most important OSHA standards to ensure adherence to is Standard 1910.147. This standard governs lockout tagout procedures, which are extremely difficult to comply with and even more difficult to maintain.  Every time a piece of machinery is changed, a company procedure is updated, or an employee is moved, the lockout tagout library needs to be updated, and tracking these changes can create a huge problem for many business owners and safety teams.

Fortunately, software has been created which allows safety professionals to quickly and effectively track and manage all lockout tagout changes. PF Safety has created a fully scalable, fully customizable software for lockout tagout called Factory Solutions Software, which comes preloaded with a database of procedure libraries that can be adapted to meet your needs. And best of all, this software can be accessed from anywhere internet is available, as the software is 100% web based.

Once a procedure library is created with this software, it is easy to identify energy isolation points and create and place the required placards. And as your business changes, it is as simple as keying the changes into the program to uncover new isolation points and to determine where new placards should go. Factory Solutions Software helps business owners ensure their company is always compliant with lockout tagout procedures, regardless of changes going on.

If you have any questions about the specifics of our lockout tagout monitoring software, please contact us so that we can discuss whether or not it makes sense for your business. And if you have anything to add about tracking lockout tagout changes, please leave a comment.

Lockout tagout accidents are a real threat to employees at any business which has a lockout tagout risk. The only way an employer can help protect employees from danger is through thorough and accurate lockout tagout procedures. These procedures must be maintained and regularly updated based upon the changes on the work site or the changes to the laws as determined in Standard 1910.147, which OSHA implemented to govern lockout tagout procedures.

The fines associated with a lockout tagout issue are quite steep due to the serious nature of lockout tagout errors. The potential risk to employees is also quite serious. Lockout tagout injuries can result in critical injuries or death. It is for this reason that many businesses turn to lockout tagout experts to manage their lockout tagout needs, including updating and ensuring the accuracy of their procedures.

Beyond simply creating and maintaining centralized procedures, a third party lockout tagout monitoring company can also ensure that these procedures are printed up and posted where appropriate. The procedures themselves do little if the staff is not properly made aware of them. The printing of the procedures is also more complicated than many business owners first realize, there are specific rules regarding the size, colors, and information included in lockout tagout procedure posted notifications.

If you have any questions about lockout tagout monitoring, and why a third party might be a good option for you, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the many benefits of third party lockout tagout monitoring, please leave a comment.

When it comes to lockout tagout procedures and maintenance, many business owners wonder if it is worth outsourcing to a professional third party lockout tagout specialist, or if it would be better to manage this need internally. This is a fair questions and there is no easy answer to it. Instead, what you need to consider is the size of the project, the timeframe you are working with, and your team. With those factors in mind, you can then have a fair apples-to-apples comparison of costs and efficiency compared to a professional third party.

When considering the timeframe for implementation, it is important to consider the man power that will be required to meet your deadlines. If you need the project completed in a short period of time, is it going to be worth pulling a number of employees from other key functions to work on this project? Or, are you going to need to bring on new employees to keep your business operational?

Tied in with the timeframe is the size. If this is going to be a large scale project, it will obviously take more employee hours than will a small project. The larger the project, the more room there is for errors, as well. Again, you must consider if you have the personnel to pull to effectively manage the project, or if you will be hiring on additional staff to cover your lockout tagout project.

Finally, you need to truly and fairly evaluate your team. If you have a staff experienced in lockout tagout procedures then you are in a better place for internal management than a company with no experienced employees. Now, it is possible to learn lockout tagout, but depending on the time frame and size of your project, you will need to determine if it is feasible for members of your staff to learn a new component for a large project on a set schedule.

The best way to make the determination of outsourcing vs. in-house management is to contact a professional who can help you. If you are in need of establishing a new lockout tagout procedure, or are in need of lockout tagout maintenance, please contact us and we will help you decide what makes the most sense. And if you have anything to add about lockout tagout, please leave a comment.

One of the most important safety topics to ensure compliance with is lockout tagout. This crucial topic is of significant importance to OSHA, as well as your staff, as a lockout tagout error can cause significant harm or fatality. To help you create a safe work environment, OSHA created Standard 1910.147 which governs lockout tagout procedures and controls.

Standard 1910.147 “covers the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization or start up of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy, could harm employees. This standard establishes minimum performance requirements for the control of such hazardous energy.” (1910.147 (a)(1)(i)) So, this standard sets minimum requirements for establishing a safety plan relating to your lockout tagout hazards. But after establishing an adequate lockout tagout procedure, it is important to ensure these procedures are properly maintained.

This can become a serious challenge over time as machines are changed in and out, and as the minimum requirements set forth in Standard 1910.147 are changed. To monitor these changes, most companies either place the burden on the safety team or they hire a professional to take care of the monitoring. And while it might seem less expensive to simply add this burden onto the safety team’s workload, overloading a safety team can lead to a dangerous work environment. It is never a good idea to take a chance on safety, especially in relation to lockout tagout. Fortunately, with Factory Solution, a fully automated and customizable monitoring system, ensuring your workplace is up to code for lockout tagout is as simple as a button click.

If you have any questions about the benefits of computerized lockout tagout monitoring, or about getting your lockout tagout procedures up to code, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about lockout tagout, please leave a comment.

The monitoring and maintenance of Lockout Tagout procedures is a tough task to ask of your safety team. It requires the team to create, track, monitor, and update the necessary procedures for Lockout Tagout. If any equipment changes, the changes need to be reflected in the procedures. If any staff rollover, the team must ensure that that staff member did not have critical information which is not kept anywhere else.

This task can become a full time job for a team which is probably already maxed out with other day to day safety needs. Luckily, there is now fully customizable software which can track and monitor your Lockout Tagout procedures. This software can be updated as needed to keep up with your company’s changing equipment needs, is fully scalable, and ensures you are up to code with your Lockout Tagout monitoring.

This software can be incorporated into your Safety and Health Management System and become a key component of your annual third party safety audits. By utilizing third party software to monitor and track your Lockout Tagout procedures, you are taking the onus off of your safety team and placing it upon someone else, lessening the burden you place upon this team.

If third party Lockout Tagout monitoring sounds like something that can help you to more effectively run your business, please contact us so that we can help you to better understand our product. And if you have anything to add about Lockout Tagout monitoring software, please leave a comment.

We have many customers who ask us this question, and it is a fair one. Many companies successfully manage their own lockout tagout procedures, and it can be a cost effective option. But before you try to manage it in-house, you need to take a serious look at your staff and capabilities, then ask yourself some important questions.

First and foremost, you need to consider the timing. Do you need this project completed in a week, or do you have a more open timeframe for implementation? If this project needs to completed on a very tight schedule, do you have access to the required resources and personnel to manage this project? If you have an open timeframe, then you need to focus on the resources and personnel available to you. You will also need to look at how the implementation and monitoring of your lockout tagout procedures will affect your business operations.

When specifically evaluating your team, you need to ask yourself who will be assigned to the project, and what new responsibilities they will be taking on. Once you have set your assignments, you need to carefully determine if the personnel you have are capable of managing those tasks – if your team lacks the knowledge and experience required, in-house implementation and monitoring can quickly become an exercise in futility. Finally, you need to decide if this team can effectively manage your lockout tagout procedures, and if not, what your plan will be once implementation is completed.

After all of this is worked out, you need to run a cost analysis. Will the cost of training, buying tools, hiring staff, and paying the costs of monitoring be worth it to your company? For smaller operations, or companies who are in the unique position of having staff members with knowledge of lockout tagout, it might make sense to run your own procedures. If you are unsure and need some guidance, please contact us, and we can help you determine what you will need to implement and maintain your lockout tagout procedures, and the cost differences between hiring an external company or managing it yourself. If you have anything to add to our discussion on managing lockout tagout procedures, please leave a comment.