Mobile devices are’t only able to help organizations with IT security; they can also help secure physical equipment as well.
Toronto-based Master Lock has been doing that with its LOTO (Lockout/Tagout) module for smart phones and tablets, which lists a series of procedures employees have to follow for shutting down or reactivating machinery. As a result safety and compliance managers can ensure that equipment and energy sources are properly locked out before the gear is serviced, thus lowering the odds of employee injury.
The company has updated the module to include
- Authoring Procedures with Audit Scheduling: To meet the U.S. occupational and safety health administration (OSHA) required annual procedure audits, Field iD users can now set up a recurring schedule for yearly LOTO procedure audits. This new automated scheduling helps ensure safety and compliance managers don’t miss required audits.
- Compliance: Users can ensure adequate time to plan procedure audits in advance of planned equipment shutdowns with the new ability to see all upcoming procedure audits up to 90 days away.
- Real-time Visibility: Users now have visibility into equipment that does not have a published LOTO procedure in Field iD indicating a potential hazard. This real-time visibility helps ensure that all equipment has up-to-date and published procedures available for when a lockout is needed. Additionally, having this complete view of all locked out equipment allows users to stay on top of all on-going maintenance and work.
In use the app lets managers create a list of lockout procedures, as well as photos showing a mcahine’s isolation points. A staffer scans a procedure sheet attached to the machinery. Then the app leads the employee through proper procedure in order, recording the date and time each has been done.
“Protecting both employee safety and an organization’s financial well-being is a heavy burden for safety and compliance managers who have a lot of work and not much time to do it,” Matthew Paterson, Field iD’s director of product management. “We’ve spent the last 12 months identifying new ways for Field iD’s LOTO module to help this critical audience be better prepared to proactively manage and maintain their LOTO processes and procedures in a way that’s easy, efficient and accurate.”