Lock in ‘Unforgettable’ Lockout/Tagout Training

In yesterday’s Advisor, we told you about OSHA’s new lockout/tagout (LOTO) compliance directive that instructs inspectors on the agency’s latest interpretations of the LOTO standards (29 CFR §1910.147 and other related regulations), and also on the procedures for enforcing those standards.

The directive does not require you to adopt any new practices, methods, operations, or processes beyond those which are already required by the agency and existing standards and regulations. But, with its insights into how OSHA interprets and enforces LOTO standards, the directive (available from OSHA’s website) is must-know intelligence.

And, with this renewed focus on LOTO — and the statement that LOTO compliance will be part of all OSHA programmed inspections – never has the need for comprehensive LOTO training at your facility been more apparent.

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Need to do lockout/tagout training? Have little time to do it? Students train themselves with BLR’s Interactive CD: Lockout/Tagout computer-based program. Try it at no cost!  Learn more.

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And if you need more reasons to do it, according to experts in the field:

• Approximately 3 million workers who service equipment face a great risk of injury if lockout/tagout is not properly implemented.
• Compliance with the LOTO standard prevents an estimated 120 fatalities and 50,000 injuries each year.


• In 2007, LOTO was the third most commonly violated OSHA general industry standard, resulting in fines in excess of $7 million.


• Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy lose an average of 24 workdays for recuperation.


• In a study conducted by the United Auto Workers, 20 percent of fatalities (83 of 414) that occurred among their members between 1973 and 1995 were attributed to inadequate hazardous energy control measures, specifically, lockout/tagout procedures.

Elements of a Proper LOTO Program

Writing on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, Donald G. Bennett and Erik Forsen note that an effective lockout/tagout program should include the following elements:

• An inspection of equipment by a trained individual thoroughly familiar with the equipment operation and associated hazards


• Identification and labeling of lockout devices


• Purchase of locks, tags, and blocks


• A standard written operating procedure that is followed by all employees

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Try Interactive CD: Lockout/Tagout with your own employees at no cost or risk. Read more.

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Their recipe, however, begs the question of how to deal with the human element. In other words, how do you train your workers on LOTO, and once trained, how do you get them to follow the procedures you’ve taught?

We surveyed our editors, and their top pick for doing both was BLR’s program, Interactive CD: Lockout/Tagout.

This powerful, self-paced computer-based training (CBT) course uses emotional appeal, one of the most powerful educational motivators known, to drive the message home, going a long ways toward making it, as one reader described it, “unforgettable.”

At one point, for instance, the course asks workers to consider how they would feel if they inadvertently reenergized equipment and caused the death of a coworker. It notes such emotionally painful consequences as:

• Talking with the police


• Talking to coworkers just after the accident


• Being on the job at the fatal spot the next day


• Telling your family members what happened


• Going to the victim’s memorial service and seeing the victim’s family members


• Having nightmares


• Going to therapy or counseling


• Remembering the anniversary of the incident a year later

Those are the kinds of resonating lessons that employees don’t soon forget. The program also presents these other advantages:

• Practical CD-ROM format. Employees train at their own pace, with no need for a fast Internet connection.


• Effective training on all OSHA-specified mandatory concepts.  Proper entry permit procedures, rescue techniques, and required PPE, among others are covered.


• Individual CBT training. No need to actively supervise the learning, freeing your time for other activities.


• Scientific learning theory.  Exercises and quizzes ensure comprehension at each stage of the program.

Because computer-based-training has to be experienced to be appreciated, we’ve arranged for you to try the program in your own workplace, with your own people, at no cost for up to 30 days before deciding whether to purchase. If it’s not for you, we’ll pay for its return.

Just click here, and we’ll be happy to set things up.