Elevating Workplace Safety: The Importance of LOTO

In any industrial environment, safeguarding employees from hazardous energy is paramount. This is where Lockout Tagout (LOTO) comes in, a critical safety procedure designed to protect workers servicing and maintaining machinery.

What is LOTO?

LOTO is a critical component of employee safety and workplace productivity. It’s essential for safeguarding workers around the machinery and equipment they operate, service and maintain. A fundamental LOTO process typically involves these three key steps:

1. Preparation for shutdown: This involves identifying all energy sources for the equipment, notifying affected employees, and understanding the specific hazards.
2. Shutdown and isolation: The equipment is safely shut down, and all identified energy sources (electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, thermal, etc.) are isolated. This means disconnecting power, blocking moving parts and relieving stored energy.
3. Lockout and Tagout application: Individual lockout devices (like padlocks) are applied to the energy isolating devices, preventing accidental re-energisation. Tags are then attached, clearly indicating that the equipment is locked out, why it's locked out, and who is responsible for the lockout.

This systematic approach ensures your employees can get their job done as safely as possible, while keeping your operations running efficiently.

Why LOTO is crucial

Australian workers continue to be injured or killed due to the unintentional release of hazardous energy sources. LOTO is not just a best practice - it's critical to preventing severe injuries and fatalities. There is no single specific standard applicable for LOTO energy isolation in Australia - various standards and legislation underpin the obligations of employers. These include:

• Australian Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Part 4.7): This outlines specific requirements pertaining to electrical safety and energised electrical work.
• AS/NZS 4024.1603 2019: Safety of Machinery: This standard details the requirements for “prevention of unexpected start-up” of equipment.
• AS/NZS 4836 2023: Safe Working on or Near Low-voltage Electrical Installations and Equipment: This standard provides a framework around isolation of potential energy sources and elimination of potential hazards.
• Code of Practice (SafeWork Australia) 2024: Managing Risks of Plant in Workplace.
• NSW Code of Practice Managing the Risk of Plant in the Workplace. Part 4.5 Isolating Energy Sources (2022). This outlines the requirements for standard operating procedures for isolating energy sources and controlling the risk of unplanned energy releases.

Adhering to these guidelines is essential for a compliant and safe work environment.

The benefits of LOTO solutions from Brady

Brady stands as a world leader in LOTO products and services, offering a broad range of durable, easy-to-use lockout devices that cover most mechanical and electrical applications. Beyond standard off-the-shelf offerings like padlocks, devices and tags, Brady understands other critical aspects of a compliant, effective energy control program, and has tailored innovative solutions for your workplace.

Key benefits of Brady LOTO include:

• Comprehensive range: Brady's range of LOTO products includes padlocks, devices and tags.
• Customisation capabilities: Based on your compliance requirements, Brady can deliver custom options including master keying options and registry, engraving and ink fill.
• Expert support: Brady's services help companies with limited resources quickly get their program up to speed, ensuring that lockout activities are implemented in a way that promotes optimum safety, while maximising efficiency and reducing downtime.
• Life-saving impact: LOTO devices genuinely save lives. Brady’s solutions are designed to keep workplaces safe for your employees, and prevent unnecessary and fatal incidents.

Streamlining safety with Brady printable tags

One of Brady's most significant innovations addresses a common inefficiency in LOTO procedures: handwritten tags. Manually creating tags is time-consuming, prone to errors and lacks the consistency needed for critical safety communication.

Brady's solution, featuring the SFID range of printers supporting Brady Printable Tags, offers an alternative with clear benefits:

• Save on costs and minimise risk: Eliminating handwritten tags reduces labour, time and material waste, while simultaneously minimising the risk of errors from illegible or inconsistent information.
• On-site, on-demand printing: The flexibility to manage and create pre-designed tags on-site means you can print thousands of accurate tags within minutes, with variable data captured via CSV upload.
• Enhanced clarity and compliance: Professionally printed tags ensure superior legibility and a consistent format, which is crucial for clear safety communication and demonstrating adherence to safety standards.

We’re proud to offer our customers expert, end-to-end LOTO solutions and management, so they can leave the worry about laws, compliance and technicalities to us,” says Shrikant Rao, Brady’s Sales Manager QLD, SA, NT, WA, Corporate Accounts and Tenders

Take control of your LOTO program

Ready to enhance your LOTO program with efficiency, compliance and cost savings? As Australia’s largest provider of industrial and safety equipment, Blackwoods has you covered. Talk to your local Blackwoods Technical Safety Specialist about Brady's LOTO solutions, and a no-obligation demo of the Brady SFID printer and printable tags.

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