For most small business owners, the thought of an OSHA audit makes them cringe. But for those in an industry that requires lockout tagout procedures, it can create a true sense of panic. That is because lockout tagout is heavily regulated by OSHA, fined extremely aggressively, and one of the most commonly cited issues. The standard supporting it, Standard 1910.147, however, is extremely complicated and leads to serious misunderstandings quite frequently.

Most owners of a company going through their first lockout tagout procedure creation process eventually hire a qualified third party lockout tagout auditing firm to assist in creating the plan. Most of those owners then hire the firm on indefinitely to monitor the procedures. And, while this is certainly effective in so far as proper procedures are created, it can be very cost ineffective.

The remaining owners generally try to do it themselves, by either hiring members to the staff who have been through this process before (which now creates additional costs in the form of payroll), or by finding a “how to” guide online. And while these strategies work for some, they can often be catastrophic because improper procedures are created and are then not properly updated as the company expands.

But now there is another option that works in between these two. We have internet-based software, called our Factory Solutions Software, which allows you to create your lockout tagout procedures with our guidance and monitor it yourself with our help. You will know you have created effective lockout tagout procedures, and you will know when you need to updated them based upon the changes in your facility, without the extreme costs of hiring a third party lockout tagout auditing firm. You remain in control, but we monitor your compliance.

If you have any questions about our Factory Solutions Software or about lockout tagout in general, please contact us. If you have anything to add about the importance of effective lockout tagout procedures, please leave a comment.