Page 43 - Occupational Health & Safety, November/December 2019

In the real world, the best options are often to mitigate dangers by prioritizing electrical safety across company culture, operational procedures, and product selection.
As a manual process, there is a lot of room for potential error. Human factors, such as being rushed, losing concentration, using shortcuts, or fatigue are a few sources of potential errors that can lead to injuries or worse. Effective lockout programs account for human factors by including other layers of safety protocols to pro- vide additional protection and risk mitigation.
Ideally, your safety program should continually be evalu- ated for ways to complement existing electrical safety con- trol procedures or replace less-effective ones with safety tech- nology that’s higher up on the hierarchy of risk controls. Two examples safety changes are the following: adding real-time status updates and verification to allow the safety manager to mon- itor the lockout/tagout process, or the ability to scan equipment barcodes and immediately access the correct LOTO procedure through a mobile device.
Conclusion
In a perfect world, businesses could protect workers by eliminating all workplace hazards. In the real world, the best options are often
to mitigate dangers by prioritizing electrical safety across company culture, operational procedures, and product selection.
Applying the hierarchy of risk controls to electrical safety planning, developing the right LOTO procedures, and providing the proper education are great ways to start. Implementing these changes improves the working environment and minimizes long- term costs related to electrical incidents. Even more importantly, though, these changes can save a life.
Chris is a Product Strategy Manager for Panduit’s Identification and Safety Products businesses. In this role, he develops strategies to drive new product and business solutions for printing and marking sys- tems, Lockout Tagout, and facility identification. Chris has over 20 years of industry experience and has worked with safety professionals across multiple industries and organizations. He is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
REFERENCES
1. https://pages.panduit.com/201904_OEM_Global_CN_ eBookHierarchyofControls_LP.html
2. https://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/data_General_Facts/ factsheet-lockout-tagout.pdf
3. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/controlhazardousenergy
SAFE
Introducing the new SK-15 Disposable Concealed Blade Safety Knife
25% less pulling force longer blade life
CUTTING JUST GOT
EASIER
SK-15
©2019 Corelle Brands LLC OLFA is a registered trademark of OLFA Corporation, Japan,
used under license by Corelle Brands LLC. Certified by the National Sanitation Foundation for commercial safety. *25% less pulling force compared to the leading competitor
www.ohsonline.com
39
Untitled-1 1
5/7/19
1:04 PM
Circle 33 on card.
NEW
2019
SAFETY
3
LEVEL
Learn more at OLFA.com/OHS