Real Life Incident in Lockout Tagout!

Our safety expert Alex Baker talks us through how important safety procedures in LOTOTO and SSOW are an important safety procedure that help protect employees.

Lockout Tagout Try-out (LOTOTO) and Safe Systems of Work (SSOW) are important safety procedures that are designed to protect employees from serious injuries or fatalities while working with machinery or equipment. The failure to implement these procedures can have severe consequences, as was recently demonstrated by an incident at a chicken processing plant.

The incident, which resulted in an amputation for the operative above the elbow, was caused by a lack of LOTOTO and SSOW procedures. The company failed to properly lock out and tag out the machinery before performing maintenance, allowing it to unexpectedly start up and cause a major injury to the employee. Additionally, the company did not have proper SSOW procedures in place, resulting in employees being placed in dangerous situations without proper training or protective equipment.

As a result of the incident, the company faced large fines and an extensive investigation, which rendered the processing line inoperable for an extended time. The investigations revealed that the company had a history of safety violations and had failed to properly train its employees on LOTO and SSOW procedures across a breadth of applications. The company was also found to have inadequate safety equipment and a lack of proper maintenance procedures.

The incident at the high-profile chicken processing plant serves as a stark reminder of the importance of LOTO and SSOW procedures in preventing serious injuries or fatalities. It highlights the need for companies to properly train their employees on these procedures and to have adequate safety equipment and maintenance procedures in place. Experts in the industry can provide support and relevant solutions to help provide best practices in this niche area of safety on site.

To read more about how Lockout Tagout is an essential tool for safety, click here

A bit about Alex Baker. Alex is the National Business Development Manager at Spectrum Industrial working within the Oil & Gas, Energy, Wind Farming, Manufacturing, Petrochemical and Quarrying sectors as a specialist in Lockout Tagout, Working at Heights, Critical Safety and Safety Sign Communications.