Lockout tagout is one of the most difficult areas of occupational safety and health to effectively
manage on an ongoing basis. As such, it is important to have some form of auditing in place on a
regular basis to ensure your policies and procedures remain compliant, whether in-house or with
a third party firm. Without a structured auditing process, you run the risk of either not updating
your policies and procedures when needed or improperly updating them when an update is
required and not catching the mistake.
The reason lockout tagout is so difficult to manage and maintain stems from the complex nature
of OSHA Standard 1910.147. Standard 1910.147 governs lockout tagout and is extremely
complicated and specific. Anytime there is a change to personnel, machinery, the facility layout,
or the facility location, there could be a need to update lockout tagout policies and procedures. In
addition, every facility is going to have different policies and procedures, given the specific
layout and machinery of the specific facility, meaning it can be difficult to create appropriate
policies and procedures without an in-depth knowledge of lockout tagout.
As such, many companies hire third party lockout tagout auditing firms to assist in maintaining,
monitoring, and auditing the policies and procedures. And while this ensures accurate policies
and procedures, it does nothing for the time between audits and can be costly to a company.
Many owners also do not like to give control of their company’s lockout tagout policies and
procedures to a third party. Other companies prefer to do it in-house with their safety team. This
is more cost-effective and can allow for faster updating of policies and procedures, however it
can also be taxing on an already overworked safety team. It also requires the safety team to have
an intricate knowledge of lockout tagout, and that often is simply not the case.
Fortunately, there is now another option. Our Factory Solutions Software is web based software,
accessible anywhere there is an internet connection available. It allows you to create, monitor,
update, and manage your lockout tagout procedures in real time. It is overseen by a leading
lockout tagout auditing firm, which gives you the peace of mind to know that your lockout
tagout policies and procedures are correct, while leaving you in control of your own procedures.
If you have any questions about auditing lockout tagout policies and procedures or about our
Factory Solutions Software, please contact us. If you have anything else to add about the
importance of auditing lockout tagout policies and procedures, please leave a comment.
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