I was recently involved in a safety review at a client with two (2) separate LOTO failure events in a month. I know this client and the PM very well, and I was never more disappointed in their decisions about the discipline around these two (2) very different LOTO events. One event resulted in NO injury, and that employee received no discipline; the other event injured two workers (both recordable), and the worker involved in that LOTO was suspended without pay for five (5) days. I tried to fix this horrible situation, as I have lived this first hand and know the damage it will do to trust and credibility in safety. Here are the details of the events and why my positions were opposite of facility management’s.
When/if the time comes when disciplining worker(s) is needed for safety, just remember: CONTEXT is everything!
