Didn’t know that you needed to have a Lockout/Blockout program? Every California employer is required to have one under Cal/OSHA, the purpose of the program being to prevent worker injuries from equipment being energized while working on it.

In 2008, 404 employees were killed in California on the job and 5,071 were killed in the U.S. Although not all of these are the result of equipment being inadvertently energized, this is considered a major cause of fatal accidents by OSHA and Cal/OSHA and is entirely preventable. Despite this, many employers don’t have any lockout/blockout procedures in place, and for many that do, it’s not effectively being utilized.

Last week in Springfield Missouri, an operator was crushed to death while performing preventive maintenance on an injection molding press when another employee turned on the press while the operator was still in the machine. The employee thought, tragically, that the operator had walked away from the press and that the machine was clear.

In an article I read here, there were apparently some general issues about employee safety concerns at this particular plant. However, regardless of any other safety related concerns or complaints, the root cause of the accident in this case was not following a lockout/blockout procedure.

Having a procedure in place is one thing, but following it is an entirely different matter. There are many excuses used  by both employees and employers alike as to why a lockout/blockout program isn’t being used. Most of the reasons I’ve heard center around convenience and/or productivity issues.

The reality is that there may be a learning curve when a lockout/blockout procedure is being implemented, but once mastered, most equipment can be locked out with a negligible impact on productivity. Unfortunately, it often takes serious accidents like this one to get people to focus on working safely.

Do you have an lockout/blockout program and is it being utilized? If not, give us a call or send us an email. We’re here to help you succeed.