Companies are responsible for the development of procedures to ensure zero energy state, and prevent inadvertent start-up of equipment, machines or process to protect workers. Every company using equipment, industrial machines and processes that could potentially expose workers to hazards, should have an energy control policy or similar plan in place that describes all safety procedures for each job function. This policy must be made available to new workers during orientation, and must explain all safety procedure types, including when and how to use them. The policy should describe all company-worker requirements and include the frequency of worker retraining or skills demonstration.

Depending on the type of manufacturing environment, the energy control policy may need to describe methods of energy control that go far beyond the traditional lockout method, keeping in mind that lockout is not the only method of energy control. When special circumstances exist, other methods can be used in accordance with CSAís Z460 standard, making matters more complicated for energy control policy developers.

In spite of all the efforts made by companies to implement energy control programs, we continue to hear about workplace accidents regularly, begging the question why?  In my opinion, there is a great deal of misunderstanding when it comes to energy control policies. Workers donít understand the difference between energy control policy, a safety device and a safety procedure. Recently, a worker was arguing with me during class. Why do we need safety procedures when safety switches are installed to protect us? Safety protection devices and the steps on how to perform a task safely are two different things.

Yes, we need safety protection devices to ensure energy is interrupted under certain operating conditions, but hazards are all around workers when multiple energy sources are present. The only way to ensure a task is performed safely is to follow the steps outlined in a safety procedure after all risks have been assessed.  

In my opinion, the most common causes of work-related accidents are: human error, outdated safety procedures and/or lack of training, and improper risk assessments.

• Human Error: Some workers continue to believe that just because they have performed a task several times, they have memorized the steps, and are convinced they could perform the task safely every time. This is definitely a fallacy, and the cause of numerous workplace injuries. During one of my classes, I had an individual tell me that "if I canít perform this task without the piece of paper, then I should not be called a tradesman, and definitely should not be here doing what Iím doing." I was very sympathetic with the individual and knew where he was coming from; still, I stressed once again, the reason for writing procedures is so that we read them every time we perform a task, to ensure the task is performed consistently, without forgetting a step in order to minimize risks. By not following written procedures, we accept higher risk, which may lead to worker injury.
• Outdated Safety Procedures: Safety procedures must be maintained and current at all times.  Safety procedures should be reviewed when equipment, machines or process modifications are made, because workers rely on them to gain safe access to equipment, machines or processes. Making modifications on interlocks, operation and/or safety devices, demands a complete review of all relevant safety procedures and a PSR to be conducted, to ensure risk assessment is complete and all energy sources are isolated or controlled. It is also very important to train and/or re-train workers on how to use safety procedures. It is wise to involve workers from different departments during the assessment, escalating the importance of safety, creating meaningful dialogue and raising the awareness level.     
• Improper Risk Assessments: Safety procedures in general must be developed by qualified people, and must always be based on the results of a risk assessment. Conducting a risk assessment plays a key role in any safety procedure implementation in that it identifies all energy sources, hazards and equipment/process interactions or interlocks that may cause inadvertent start-up of equipment. The result of a risk assessment identifies all hazards and the steps required to eliminate them, which may include "specific controlled actions" by the worker. I witnessed one situation where the worker performed a task inside the hazardous envelope, without a written procedure and all energy sources present. Someone had told the worker it was okay to do this on the machine, when no one was looking. I believe you can figure out on your own how much risk the worker accepts by performing a task inside a hazardous envelope, without a written safety procedure.

An energy control policy should be the most critical element driving any safety program. It is like a business strategy plan; deserving much greater attention from both employers and workers. 

Bill Valedis is the president of Imperial Automation Technologies Inc. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .