New Website Highlights Hazardous Energy Control Methods

A new informational resource is available for manufacturers through the National Occupational Research Agency (NORA) Manufacturing Sector Council that highlights various methods of controlling the release of hazardous energy in production environments during operations and maintenance, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) announced this month. 

Information on the recently-introduced website can help facilities initiate, improve, and maintain lockout/tagout programs and other measures to control hazardous energy like guarding, comply with regulations, train employees, and conduct audits and inspections of machines. Customizable documents available on the site to will help operators to implement the energy control measures are also included. 

“The failure to develop and use hazardous energy control (Lockout) procedures is one of OSHA’s annual top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations. Injuries and fatalities that happen for failure to implement a lockout program are much more costly than the citations (not only in economic terms),” NORA wrote on the website. 

In addition to the procedures laid out in the Hazardous Energy Control (Lockout and Other Means) Guide, the agency also provided tips on planning, acquiring, and designing equipment to accommodate lockout procedures.  

NORA is a program created by NIOSH to examines workplace safety and health concerns and then works to increase awareness of the hazards.

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