Many prospective customers wonder if they are better off hiring an outside consulting firm to handle their lockout tagout needs, or if it makes more sense to manage their lockout tagout needs in house. And while this is a smart question to ask, it is important to ask yourself and your team relevant follow up questions which will help uncover the company’s ability to handle lockout tagout internally.
It is imperative that you look at your employees when making this decision. If, for instance, you have a lockout tagout expert on staff who can be dedicated to the project, at least in the short term while building a lockout tagout procedure, then your company is in a better situation than a company which will be relying upon a safety team that is new to lockout tagout. Further, you need to consider what tasks the individuals who will be assigned to the lockout tagout project are currently working on. If they are stretched thin as it is, where will the extra time needed for lockout tagout come from? If it will create an environment where the staff is not able to effectively review the lockout tagout procedures, then a serious problem could result.
Another important aspect of a lockout tagout project is the required timeframe. If you need this project completed in 2 days, you will be far less capable of properly training a staff as you would if you had 3 months to completion. Additionally, you need to determine if the lockout tagout monitoring is a part of this project, and if so how that will be managed by your staff.
Once you have asked yourself these questions, you are in a better position to make your decision. A simple cost analysis will help you decide which option is best financially. Armed with that information, you can then decide if it will be easier to hire a safety consulting firm or to manage your needs in-house.
If you have any questions about the benefits of outsourcing your lockout tagout needs, please contact us. And if you have anything else to add about the pros and cons of outsourcing, please leave a comment.
