Process digitalisation · Tracking
Digital lockout tracking
A lock board or a logbook in the control room tells you that equipment is locked out. It often does not tell you which energy is isolated, who isolated it or who is still working on the equipment. Digital lockout tracking captures these details for each energy and makes them available where people need them.
Not one lock per machine. Every energy gets its own lock and name.
What does digital lockout tracking record?
Short answerThe equipment, the requester, the approval and, for each type of energy, the authorised person, lock number and lockout time. Plus the record’s status, attached work groups and attached documents.
Equipment is selected from the register by code or by scanning its QR label with the camera in the browser. There is no need to retype the code, and similarly labelled items are less likely to be confused.
Do we have to change how we identify equipment?
Short answerNo. The equipment register works with the identifiers your site already uses. You don’t have to change how you identify equipment for new software.
Same type of equipment, different identifiers
- Site AInternal IDDOP-104
- Site BTechnical tagCV-204
- Site CCompany standardL2-07-POH01
Every site identifies its equipment differently. Some use internal ID numbers or their own technical tags, others identify assets by production line or area, use identifiers from an existing maintenance system (CMMS/EAM) or follow a standard set across the whole industrial group.
- no renumbering of equipment,
- no new identification scheme to introduce,
- existing identifiers and established technical naming stay in place,
- the QR label can carry the same identifier people on site already know.
Linking the equipment register to an external maintenance system, for example taking over assets from a CMMS/EAM, is an option for individual implementation, not a ready-made integration.
How are the lock number and the person recorded?
Short answerEach authorised person confirms only their own energy and enters the lock number when confirming. The system stores their name and the time.
A single piece of equipment often requires several separate tasks carried out by different people. An electrician isolates electrical energy; another worker handles pneumatic or mechanical energy. The record therefore does not link the equipment to one lock, but each energy to a specific lock and person. Why this matters is explained on the Energy isolation page.
Unlocking is recorded in the same way. Each authorised person confirms unlocking of their energy, so when the equipment is released it is clear who removed which lock.
What does the “locked” status in the application mean?
Short answerIt means the responsible workers have confirmed isolation of every required energy. It is a recorded status based on their confirmations, not a measurement of the equipment’s physical state.
The overall Locked status is set only once all energies are confirmed. Until then a partially completed process is visible: which energies are already isolated and which are still pending. Instead of a vague “isolation in progress”, you can see exactly which task is missing.
A record moves through the states In preparation, Requested, Approved, Locked, Completed and Archive. Their meaning and sequence are described on the Digital permit to work page.
What if another lockout is already active on the equipment?
Short answerWhen a record is created, the system warns that an active lockout already exists on the equipment. What happens next is determined by your site rules.
The warning helps catch overlapping jobs at the preparation stage. If another group is to work on the equipment under the same lockout, it can join it. The equipment then cannot be unlocked while any attached group is still active. More on the Group lockout page.
Can active lockouts be shown on a wall-mounted screen?
Short answerYes. The application includes a public overview of active lockouts that is shown without logging in and refreshes automatically. It suits a screen in the control room or workshop.
The overview shows which equipment is currently locked out and in what state. Workers do not need to call the control room or log in for every piece of information. When placing the screen, consider who will be able to see it, since the overview is available without logging in.
How is the handover of a key, lock or tag recorded?
Short answerRecording the handover of a key, lock or tag is not part of the standard record. Depending on the process and site requirements, the solution can be extended to include it.
Sites differ in whether they use lock boxes, personal tags, locks issued on entry or a combination. If handing over a key or tag is part of your procedure, we will design how to record who took what, from whom and when. Identification can be made easier with RFID cards or a kiosk workstation where needed.
How does lockout tracking help at shift changes?
Short answerThe incoming shift sees all active lockouts, their status and attached work groups in one overview. It does not have to rely on a verbal handover alone.
For each active record it is clear which energies are isolated, who isolated them and which tasks are still outstanding. The list of attached workers and groups shows who is working on the equipment, how to contact them and whether they have finished. If the originally assigned worker is unavailable after their shift, an authorised substitute can take over the task, and the record keeps who actually carried it out.
The verbal shift handover still matters. The record gives it a shared basis for checking that both sides are talking about the same equipment and the same status.
Where can closed jobs be found?
Short answerIn the archive. A closed record stays there with its energies, lock numbers, people, times and attached documents.
The archive lets you trace the course of a specific job afterwards, for example during an internal audit. Data changes – who changed what, the old and new value, and when – are recorded in the audit trail.
ReadAudit trailWhat does digital lockout tracking not replace?
Frequently asked questions
Can we keep our existing locks?
Yes. The record works with the number of the lock the worker applies at the isolation point. Physical locks and how they are issued remain under your own rules.
Can we trace who unlocked the equipment?
Yes. Each authorised person confirms unlocking of their own energy, so name and time are stored with the record.
Is an app installation needed to view the records?
No. The application runs in the browser on computers, tablets and phones. The public overview of active lockouts is available without logging in.
Next step
Show us how you track lockouts today.
Lock board, logbook or spreadsheet: we will look at what you record today and propose how digital lockout tracking would work under your rules.