If safety is some separate thing you layer on top of working, people will work less efficiently — and at least some people will get hurt. If safety principles and practices are integrated into the work, people work more efficiently and safely.

Plan the job

Correctly planning a job isn’t what many people think it is. Good planning starts with identifying what really matters. Think in terms of what it is that this job should achieve, not in terms of steps to do. Let the steps support the goal, not be the goal. This approach reduces the chance that other stakeholders will pressure you or that you will take shortcuts to get through a litany of unnecessary steps.

For example, the drive motor on Line 3 stopped running and won’t restart. You notice work in progress piled on that line’s conveyor. You don’t need to conduct a full set of PMs on that motor. After verifying there is no gross problem, such as a ground fault, you clear the line, replace the blown overload strips, and restart the motor. Your plan is simple and doesn’t take long to execute. This reduces your exposure time (increased safety) and wasted steps (increased efficiency).

Review the plan to ensure it has you following industry standards, company or departmental practices, and other guidelines or rules that apply. Review the plan and imagine yourself following it: What tools, materials, and equipment do you need for each major sequence in the plan? Line those up before you start.

Assess and inspect

You need to assess the work area before setting up to work in it. Where are the fire extinguishers? Is there a clear exit path in case of a fire or other emergency? Are the working conditions safe, or is there a problem to address such as combustibles stacked right next to the switchgear? Do you see Code violations that will require addressing before you can safely work? Will you have to work at elevation? In a confined space? A noisy area? Or a dusty area?

You’re well into the job when it’s time to use your reciprocating saw. But the blade is dull and the battery is dead, prompting a trip back to the shop or over to the nearest home center. Before heading out to the job, you should have inspected your test leads, power tools, test equipment, hand tools, and communication devices. Now you have the inefficiency of interrupting your work flow to address this time-wasting problem (reduced efficiency). And you have additional time pressure when you come back to complete the job (reduced safety).

Isolate energy sources but not yourself

Before you start with the lockout/tagout, ensure you understand the system. You might lock out the drive motor circuit breaker, but get killed by a kinetic energy source. If you’re not familiar with the equipment, have the operator walk you through it. If there’s no operator, find the process flow charts, ladder logic diagrams, and other information and use those to identify all energy sources you might encounter.

Fully synch with whoever has authority over the equipment and the area where it’s located. For example, your task is to replace a servo motor on Asset 3923. So you log your plan at the desk of that shift’s lead operator. But he tells you there’s a chemical purge slated for that area in the same time slot. Never just go ahead and do something; always check in first. And when you arrive at the work location, talk with any operators present. These conversations don’t need to take more than a couple of minutes, and they can prevent you from losing decades of living time.

If, in the course of your work, you run into a safety problem, make sure you notify these same people. For example, if there’s a large leak, contact the responsible operator or the spill response team rather than trying to mop it up yourself.

Follow the plan

Don’t just read the plan and then do the work. Follow the plan as you work. Refer back to it upon completing each significant sequence of steps. This approach not only prevents you from skipping important steps, but it also helps you avoid making dangerous mistakes.

Things don’t always go according to plan. Sometimes you have to modify the plan to adapt to unforeseen changes in circumstances. Rather than just toss the plan aside, thoughtfully modify it, and then follow the modified plan.

For example, your task is to replace a PLC module and the procedure calls for conducting a series of functional steps. But the lead operator won’t allow you the time to perform them because of a looming production deadline. Do you just not do it?

No. Remember the principle of talking with the operators instead of working in isolation? Go over that list of tests with the operator and ask which ones will be demonstrated during the production run that is about to start. Then stay there and witness each “test” as it is performed in real life. If something’s wrong, you can fix it. If nothing’s wrong, the functional testing is complete. If there’s a safety feature, such as a light curtain or E-stop, perhaps the operator can fit a test in there as part of the set-up change.

Don’t work over yourself

This mantra was commonly spoken by OJT mentors at one time. It joins the ranks of “measure twice, cut once” and is really good advice. But it means you have to think spatially — that is, you must think of how things relate to each other in the physical space where you’re working.

Lay things out so that you’re not reaching across tools and test equipment. If you need to pour solvent from one container to another, set the containers close together to reduce the time you are moving an opened container (this reduces spillage and sloppage to a remarkable extent).

Set things down in a predetermined way. For example, my screwdriver always goes in this spot even when I am not using it. I always put nuts and bolts in this coffee can when I take them out. I always do X in Y manner. It’s the consistency that saves time and prevents errors. People who work this way don’t depend upon a tool count before energizing; they depend on their habitual work methods and use the tool count only to verify.

Regarding the tool count, don’t do it just once at the beginning. Double check it so you aren’t trying to reconcile a correct tool count at the end with the incorrect one you did at the beginning — and not knowing which is right. Pro tip: Wherever practical, use a tool storage system where each tool has hits own labeled slot.

Check your work

Go through the plan to see if you missed anything. Odds are slim that you did if you worked per the plan as you went. But a final walk-through is always a good idea. This isn’t usually a safety enhancer, but it can be.

The next phase, however, is a safety enhancer. Check how you left things. Are covers reinstalled correctly? Did the tool count match, or is there now a mysterious missing tool problem? Don’t let that problem go unsolved.

Always clean up the area before leaving. A mess is unprofessional, and you don’t want that to be your calling card — especially if you left a slipping or tripping hazard behind you.