When creating policies and procedures for lockout tagout, it is important to consider how you

will update and maintain them. Well-crafted policies and procedures which do not leave room

for changes and easy additions create a problem which must be fixed down the line. This is

because lockout tagout policies and procedures can be among the most updated of any

occupational safety and health policies and procedures.

The need for frequent updates is several fold. There is always the chance the OSHA standard,

Standard 1910.147, will be amended. There is also the simple fact that any time the personnel

change, the machinery is changed or moved, the facility is relocated or the space within the

facility is changed, then the policies and procedures need to be updated.

So as you create your lockout tagout policies and procedures, it is important to keep future

changes in mind. If you are like most companies and hire a third party lockout tagout auditing

firm to create your lockout tagout policies and procedures, you need to have a conversation

regarding future updates and accessibility. And the reason is that if you don’t, you may find

yourself in a situation where you need to update your lockout tagout procedures but can’t

without incurring a sizable fee.

And if you do it in-house, you need to be sure whomever is creating and monitoring your lockout

tagout procedures has a firm understanding of lockout tagout policies, as they can be extremely

complicated and are based upon one of the most convoluted OSHA standards. Or, you need to

use our Factory Solutions Software, which is a web-based lockout tagout solution. It is a

program which can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection, it can be updated in

real-time, will let you know if any changes are not compliant, and your procedures are then

reviewed by a leader in lockout tagout procedure creation and monitoring.

If you have any questions about updating lockout tagout policies and procedures or about our

Factory Solutions Software, please contact us. If you have anything to add about the importance

of monitoring and updating lockout tagout procedures, please leave a comment.