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.