When work requires locking and tagging of equipment, it will eventually need to transfer to a planner. Here is where the safety aspects of the work begin. First, isolation boundaries are created. These will need approval. Then the tags are printed and hung in the field and independently verified.

Once work is authorized, workers sign on and off of work packages at a tagging desk. Finally, at the conclusion of this work, tags are cleared and normal operations resume.

This process requires many information transactions. These transactions come in the form of paperwork, electronic data or a combination of both. Proper management and distribution of this information is what keeps your plant workers safe. While the traditional LOTO process is effective, this entire effort can be made better and quicker, ensuring that your equipment and workers are safer by completely ‘automating the process.’

Most people recognize time savings in accomplishing complex tasks as the real advantage in ‘automation.’ However, for LOTO, the question is not merely ‘will it save time’ or ‘will it save money?’ The real questions are: can software make the process safer? And is automating LOTO right for me? Let us consider three important aspects to answer these questions:

• Technical aspects;

• Financial feasibility; and

• Process improvement.

If you have a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) in place, your automated LOTO system will perform more effectively. An integrated LOTO system can automatically create isolation boundaries to protect workers conducting repairs or preventative maintenance activities and also get the necessary tagout procedures ready for approval or waiting to be performed. LOTO applications are also implemented without CMMS software.

These applications provide their own equipment and personnel records for locking and tagging activities.

LOTO applications have great payback potential as they greatly reduce the amount of time for planning and performing safety activities. In some cases, a payback can be achieved in a single overhaul or outage.

The amount of time spent on implementation of the software is an important financial consideration. Implementation includes: configuring the solution, installation, data migration, integration, testing and training, among other things. Experienced LOTO software providers can help you estimate the amount of time your particular implementation will take.

Commitment to a process is absolutely critical. So before you decide on which solution is right for you, you should secure commitments from all your groups. Does your company see the need for a change? Are your planners and operations personnel prepared to support a software solution even if it means changing their current process? Total buy-in is unrealistic, but a general sense of commitment is not.

The first advantage of automating the process is gained by reducing human error. Take as an example a lengthy ‘hang’ procedure. Analyzing these procedures takes concerted effort. An error can easily slip in, whether it be a conflicting tag position, an unnecessary or incorrect isolation boundary or otherwise. However, with a LOTO software solution, these analyses and conflict checks take place in seconds. Also, a well designed application will not permit invalid component configurations or procedures to clear tags that are still protecting workers.

Another important benefit is the way a LOTO application manages ‘scope creep.’ This terminology refers to the tendency for the scope of work to change or increase as work is being completed. In a LOTO restrictive environment, this could be dangerous and at the very least, cause anxieties for your planners. A LOTO system removes the human error from these technical processes, making your workers the safest they can be.

The financial benefits of automating LOTO come in the form of faster and safer planning and more efficient performance of work, resulting in reduced equipment downtime. One feature that highlights this is the shared tag concept. Sharing tags means that only one tag is hung on a device or piece of equipment with multiple work orders sharing it.

There are many benefits associated to this one feature. For example, there will be fewer tags, therefore less money spent on tags. This feature will also directly affect the time spent locking and tagging and in clearing those locks and tags. As a result, your workers will be safer since there will be fewer opportunities to get hurt while performing these activities in potentially high risk areas.

Secondly, with fewer trips into the field for hanging, clearing and sometimes independently verifying locks or tags, there will be fewer man hours spent on these activities, thus providing a significant cost savings.

With manual processes, these benefits are virtually impossible to achieve.

Comparing LOTO software solutions is not an easy task. So instead of looking for the ‘right’ software, focus on the one that is ‘right for you.’ Here are a few examples of functionality that you should look for in an automated LOTO solution.

Shared tags: This feature significantly reduces your workload and simplifies a complex procedure. A LOTO application that provides this feature will help you reach your ROI in a much faster time.

LOTO applications with this feature will allow your work to be performed faster and safer by being directly linked with work orders. Clearly establish what level or integration you’re trying to achieve. Does your integration include identifying isolation boundaries on individual pieces of equipment?

Do you want your LOTO software to cross reference tags not only to work orders, but down to their individual steps and each worker signed into that step?

LOTO software that is easy to use incorporates visual cues to communicate to the end user the tag type, the position it is in and the results from conflict checks. During the  planning process, the application should identify the areas in which conflicts are occurring.

The application should emphasize safety at every level of LOTO activities. Electronic sign-on and sign-off functionality will inform the control room personnel which worker has signed on or off of protected work and record when it happened. When isolation procedures are performed, the application will allow them to be immediately documented for maximum communication and safety.