Some operations may think they are compliant with lockout/tagout (LOTO) but are missing the big picture. AgSafe President and CEO Amy Wolfe said she notices small things that could be an issue as she visits clients throughout her work week. “I have been noticing that we’ve got a mindset of, ‘I’ve got a really strict compliance checklist, and I’m working my way towards the specific details of that checklist.'” Wolfe said. “It’s a not-seeing-the-forest-for-the-trees challenge.”
Wolfe recently noticed that larger operations might not be fully compliant with lockout/tagout by not realizing all of the mechanical things entering the facility. “I had the opportunity to meet with an equipment manufacturer…their mechanics are not following lockout/tagout/blockout protocol when it comes to doing maintenance on the equipment,” Wolfe said as an example. “They’ve got a thoughtful program for the pieces of equipment they use to fix stuff, like a grinder, but they didn’t look at all of the pieces of equipment that are brought in to their shop as something that needs to be locked out.”
“It reminds me that we get caught up in the minutia and we sometimes miss some really large opportunities for worker safety and worker exposure,” Wolfe added.
Listen to Wolfe’s full comments.
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