Streamlining the Safety of Lockout/Tagout Procedures

Two factors prompted the development of the i-AVT Plus, EC&M’s 2025 Platinum Product of the Year award-winning product — market need and market confusion.

“Electric injury and fatality trends have been steady over the last 10 years, despite intensive investment in safety awareness training,” said Edmundo Perich, vice president of sales and marketing for I-Gard Corp. “It was clear there was a need to change the lockout/tagout (LOTO) process to be safer. This led to the development of the absence of voltage tester (AVT). The interest has been positive, although changing LOTO procedures takes time, training, and awareness.”

The i-AVT Plus combines an absence of voltage tester (i-AVT-R) with a voltage test portal (VTi) in the same product. While other individual products are available in the market, this product combination is unique to I-Gard. The two-in-one electrical safety device is designed to enhance workplace safety, streamline maintenance processes, and protect personnel/equipment from hazardous voltage risks.

Addressing confusion in the industry

While meeting a need in the marketplace, the product also helps to clear up confusion in the electrical industry. From 2018 to 2021, companies could use a voltage test port or absence of voltage detection device. Then, in 2021, NFPA 70E changed the standard from test device to absence of voltage tester.

While AVT technology is now recognized as an accepted means to verify the absence of voltage, it wasn’t clear if a permanently mounted voltage test was still a necessary and valid product.

“The answer was yes — but not for verifying the absence of voltage,” Perich said. “Instead, it was needed to measure voltage through a panel door in a safe manner, whether for maintenance or troubleshooting purposes.”

NFPA 70E reaffirmed this by noting in Annex 0.2.4.13 that high-impedance test points are a safety-by-design technology. As such, they allow for the measurement of voltage with the door to the electrical panel closed, thereby removing the worker from the risk of electric shock or arc flash.

“Armed with the information that both a voltage test port and an absence of voltage tester are needed but for two different purposes, we combined the products into a single enclosure and added a known voltage source to save time when using the voltage test port,” Perich said.

Protecting workers from hazards

The combination product was in development for 18 months due to the complexity of SIL-3 for the absence of voltage tester.

“The biggest challenge was meeting SIL-3 requirements as required by UL1436, simply because this was a requirement we were unfamiliar with,” Perich said. “It required extensive research in terms of component selection and architecture to ensure the fail-safe requirements.”

Traditionally, the standard procedure is to confirm absence of voltage after the gear has been de-energized. Electricians then wear the corresponding PPE, open the cabinet door, and manually perform the voltage test phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground.

“This can expose the worker to a potential hazard if the equipment is inadvertently energized and/or to potential errors when taking the voltage measurement,” Perich said. “This product comes to solve this problem—instead of exposing the worker to an open cabinet, the worker has the means to push a test button from outside without the need of opening any doors.”

Launching the product

While the AVT was introduced in 2023, the combination product was introduced in late 2024 for $800 for the standard 600V model. The product is also available in medium-voltage AC and DC applications. The extension of the application now ranges from 600VAC to now 15kVAC and 3kVDC.

The absence of voltage tester, which is made in North America, does not use a lithium battery as a secondary source. Instead, the secondary source is a super-capacitor, which is maintenance free and environmentally friendly, Perich said. In addition, the UL508A-certified product, which is securely housed in a NEMA 4X enclosure, offers advanced features like automated self-checks, redundant phase and ground testing, and intuitive LED indicators.

Companies can use the i-AVT Plus in any industrial facility where LOTO is required. The initial applications are food processing, plastics, and paper manufacturers, where the incidents of LOTO violations and penalties are the highest. When I-Gard designed the product, the main considerations were full compliance with UL1436 and NFPA 70E

The standard procedure of manually determining absence of voltage takes about 20 minutes. When using an absence of voltage tester, however, the time reduces to 10 seconds. If necessary, users can re-charge the absence of voltage tester in 20 seconds using a standard portable charger.

“There is a huge contribution to boost efficiency and reduce costs, but, more importantly, it drastically reduces the electrical hazard as the worker is not exposed to any potentially energized equipment while performing the test,” Perich said. “The voltage test port and the known voltage source mean that qualified personnel can measure voltage and ensure the correct functionality of their meter more quickly and safely than traditional means.”

Learn more about how the i-AVT Plus can enhance your LOTO safety program at www.i-gard.com/products/people-protection-panels/i-avt-plus.