The MFCS Saegertown facility is bringing their safety culture into the 21st century. With a safety culture that stretches back decades before they joined the MacLean-Fogg family, they are proud of their people, and how far they’ve come as a family. When they were looking to improve their Lock Out, Tag Out, Try Out (LOTOTO) program, they turned to what makes Saegertown great, their people.
Employees Need Standardized Procedures
Suggestions center on convenience. Saegertown employees needed standardized procedures, simple to be understood by all, and thorough enough to accurately identify all energy sources. Because many machines require multiple locks and other devices to isolate energy sources, maintenance and set up crews spent unnecessary time searching for the right equipment, often struggling to find enough equipment, when multiple machines were out of service simultaneously.
Operator-Friendly LOTOTO Program Roll Out
A system was needed that would work in conjunction with the current LOTOTO procedures. Rather than giving each operator five or more locks and devices to maintain equipment, Saegertown envisioned a LOTOTO station where locks and devices could be housed for each machine. In November 2017, this first step towards a more operator-friendly LOTOTO program was rolled out in Saegertown’s Cold Forming Department.
Rather than spending time searching for equipment, an operator can go to a centrally-located station, find the equipment needed for his/her specific Cold Former, and immediately correct whatever issue has arisen. Safety controls for the process include individualized tags, so that there is no confusion as to which authorized user is performing maintenance; and new locks, verified to ensure that no two LOTOTO locks can share a key. These steps provide a seamless transition of authority, so that authorized control can be transferred between shifts.
Continuous Update and Rollout Improvements
As with any change, user feedback is crucial to success. Within hours of this program’s rollout, updates and improvements were being voiced. This feedback will improve Cold Forming operations, as well as Washing, Heat Treating, Tooling, and other secondary operations.
This is exciting for all who call MacLean-Fogg home. As MacLean-Fogg moves into the future with visions such as Mission Zero and You+, the MacLean-Fogg family and position in a global market is improving.