Industry · Food and beverage
LOTOTO in food and beverage
On a food or beverage line, people intervene often and briefly: cleaning, a format changeover, swapping a part, clearing a jammed pack. The risk does not come from one large shutdown but from routine. When the same task is done many times a week, what matters is whether the person at the machine has the right procedure and actually carries out every step.
LOTOTO in food and beverage is the lockout, tagout and tryout procedure applied to maintenance, cleaning and changeovers on processing and packaging lines, where short interventions on the same equipment are repeated very often.
The risk comes not from one big shutdown, but from routine.
Why is LOTOTO in food production mainly a question of routine?
Short answerBecause most interventions are short and repetitive: cleaning, changeovers and minor repairs. The biggest risk with them is a step that gets shortened or skipped.
A line is cleaned after a production batch, at a product change or according to the sanitation schedule. A changeover means new formats, adjusted guide rails and swapped forming parts. Each of these requires the equipment to be stopped and secured, however brief the job.
Short jobs come with natural time pressure. A procedure kept in a binder in the supervisor’s office does not help at the line. In food production, a digital process therefore rests mainly on having the right procedure available at the machine and on confirming individual steps.
Where does hazardous energy arise on a food line?
Short answerOn fillers and packers, mixers, conveyors, homogenisers, CIP stations and refrigeration equipment. Alongside electrical and mechanical energy, this often means compressed air, steam, hot water, cleaning chemicals and refrigerants.
| Equipment / area | Examples of energy sources and media |
|---|---|
| Fillers | electrical, pneumatic, mechanical, product in the pipework |
| Packaging machines | electrical, pneumatic, mechanical, thermal (sealing jaws) |
| Mixers and blenders | electrical, mechanical |
| Conveyors | electrical, mechanical, gravitational |
| Homogenisers | electrical, mechanical, pressurised medium |
| CIP stations and pipework | chemical (cleaning media), thermal, pressurised medium |
| Refrigeration equipment | electrical, refrigerant, mechanical |
These are illustrative examples only. The actual energy sources and isolation points of your equipment are defined by your equipment register and approved site procedures.
Compressed air and cleaning media are easily overlooked because they are less obvious than the main isolator. In the digital record each energy type is confirmed separately, and the equipment counts as locked out only once all of them are confirmed. More on energy isolation.
ReadEnergy isolationHow do you get the right cleaning and changeover procedure to the line?
Short answerThrough a QR label on the equipment. The operator scans it with a phone and opens the procedure for that specific machine, split into steps with photos and confirmations.
We can digitalise your existing procedures for cleaning, changeovers or part replacement. The content stays yours; we turn it into steps in a defined order. A step can include a photo of a specific isolation point, such as a compressed-air valve, a safety warning, or a check that has to be confirmed before moving on.
Equipment with a QR code
The label identifies the equipment in the register.
Phone, no installation
Scan with the camera and open in the browser.
Interactive procedure
Instructions, photos and warnings in the right order.
Steps, checks, sign-offs
The worker confirms each step and checkpoint.
Equipment QR labels can be printed in bulk, and when a lockout is created the equipment is selected by scanning its QR code in the browser, with no retyping of codes. How QR access to procedures works on the shop floor, and what to consider when placing labels, is covered under QR work instructions. The exact scope of the digital procedures is agreed during implementation.
How is an unfinished job handed over between shifts and teams?
Short answerEvery team working on the equipment attaches itself to the lockout. The line cannot be unlocked while any of them is still working, even if the shift has changed in the meantime.
Maintenance, the sanitation crew and production operators all take turns on the same line during the day. Their work often follows on: maintenance replaces a part, then sanitation cleans the line. When each team attaches to the lockout, it is clear who is still working and how to reach them. Unlocking becomes possible only once no team is active.
In multi-shift operation an authorised substitute can take over a step, and the record keeps who actually carried it out. Details on the group lockout page.
How do you keep track of dozens of short interventions?
Short answerEvery intervention gets its own lockout record with requester, approval and confirmed energies. Active lockouts are visible in one place and finished jobs in the archive.
Short jobs are the hardest to record on paper. The form gets filled in afterwards, or not at all. In a digital process creating a lockout is quick: the equipment is picked from the register or by QR code, and its energies are already assigned. For planned cleaning, a record can be prepared in advance, or a group of equipment that belongs together can be locked out in one go.
The overview of active lockouts can also be shown without login, for instance on a screen at the entrance to the production hall. More on lockout tracking.
What can a digital LOTOTO process bring to a food plant?
No promises in percentages. These are concrete changes in daily work:
Where to start: one line, one recurring job
Short answerWe recommend choosing one line and the intervention repeated most often on it, such as cleaning a filler or a format changeover.
In food and beverage we build on our experience with LOTOTO processes and on an analysis of your site. We first review your existing procedures and equipment register, then digitalise the selected procedure and test it at the line with both the sanitation crew and maintenance. How implementation works is described on the solution page.
What does digital LOTOTO in food production not replace?
Even a well-designed digital procedure does not replace physically securing the equipment before cleaning or a changeover, nor verifying that the machine cannot be started.
Frequently asked questions
Can cleaning procedures be digitalised, not just maintenance procedures?
Yes, as long as it is a procedure for work on specific equipment. We start from the procedures you already have and agree the scope during implementation.
What if a QR label on the line gets damaged?
The equipment can always be selected from the register by its code as well. QR labels can be reprinted at any time, including in bulk.
Does every worker need their own login?
That depends on your rules. The application runs in a browser on phones, tablets and PCs. Depending on site requirements, the solution can be extended with kiosk stations or RFID card identification.
Next step
Show us how you secure your lines today.
We will look at your cleaning, changeover and maintenance procedures and suggest which one is worth digitalising first.